Baseball: Centerville, loaded D-III field highlight regional matchups
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Multiple area baseball teams are two wins away from regional championships as state qualifiers will be decided this week.
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Division III, Region 12 is loaded with all four teams being ranked in the top-six of the final regular season state poll. In all, seven teams from the Miami Valley ranked in the top 10 are still alive in their respective divisions.
The Midwest Athletic Conference has the most teams remaining with three, followed by the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed, Miami Valley League, Shelby County Athletic League and Western Ohio Athletic Conference with two, respectively.
The state tournament will take place in both Akron and Canton from June 11-14. All state championship games will be held in Akron.
Here’s a look at the games involving teams from the Miami Valley before regionals get underway Tuesday, June 2:
Division I
* No. 1 Centerville (24-4) vs. No. 4 Pickerington North (20-9). 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Wright State’s Nischwitz Stadium
Centerville’s deep batting order earned them the praise of being the state’s top ranked D-I team to end the season. A .350 team average is led by Lucas Clark’s .481 performance this season and aided by Luke Maciejewski (.410), Ryan Muchmore (.384) and Bronson Weng (.383).
A win over Lakota East secured the Elks’ first district title in eight years, but the drought to qualify for state has been much longer. Centerville’s only appearance was in the first-ever OHSAA tournament in 1928.
Centerville will likely ride the arms of Maciejewski (1.40 ERA) and Weng (1.23 ERA) as they try and create history nearly a century in the making with two more wins.
Pickerington North finished third in the Ohio Capital Conference’s Ohio Division and has defeated Hilliard Davidson and Thomas Worthington. Jackson Turnbull leads the Panthers in average (.487) and home runs (7), with Keegan Reuscher and Max Duwe as two of the top arms.
The winner faces either No. 1 Moeller (23-6) or No. 9 Grove City (18-9) at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 3. Centerville lost to Moeller and defeated Grove City in successive games two weeks ago.
Division III
* No. 1 Badin (25-3) vs. No. 4 Tippecanoe (24-5). 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Miami University’s Hayden Park
A mid-week, mid-tournament tune-up against Lakota East to stay sharp has been the only time any opponent has stayed within three runs of the Rams during its 21-game win streak. The season opener against Toledo St. Francis is the only time Badin has lost to an Ohio team this season with impressive wins over Mason, Moeller, Elder and Springboro on the resume.
Caleb Driessen is just one of several Badin players all over the GCL Co-Ed leaderboards. Vince Laugle and Chandler Taylor led the league in average and RBIs with Colt Emerson close behind.
Badin is attempting to win its third consecutive regional title.
Tippecanoe stepped out of Troy and Butler’s shadows in the MVL with a sweep of Butler late in the season that has been part of 23 wins in 25 games.
Ethan Harney is one of the MVL’s top power hitters and is backed by Brady Liskey’s .446 average.
* No. 1 Butler (24-5) vs. No. 3 Kenton Ridge (21-5). 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Miami University’s Hayden Park
Butler was ranked as the state’s top D-III team for most of the season and has multiple quality wins over Troy, Jonathan Alder and Centerville. Koby Dues, Jack Egbert and Jackson Schilling has terrorized opposing pitchers all season.
Butler’s pitching depth is one of the deepest in the area between Tate Richardson, Davis Ketterer and Dues all being top starters.
The one-two punch of Brennan Shaffer and Jakob Groeschel have led the Cougars back to regionals. The win over Tecumseh to open the postseason was followed by a masterful performance by pitcher Julian Daniels against Bellbrook in the district title game.
The two D-III winners play in a regional final at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 4.
Division IV
* No. 3 Fenwick (20-8) vs. No. 2 Licking Valley (19-4). 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Day Air Ballpark
There have been no signs of rust for Fenwick in the postseason following a 10-day wait due to a first round forfeit and multiple rain postponements. The Falcons run-ruled Clinton-Massie and then knocked out top-seeded Urbana behind 16 strikeouts by Carter Shouse.
Isaac Barker leads Fenwick in hitting. Jackson Kauffman is the only GCL Co-Ed player to record double-digit doubles.
Licking Valley has a pair of tournament wins against Bishop Ready and Buckeye Valley. The Panthers won the D-III state championship last season.
* No. 6 Bethel (12-11) vs. No. 4 Roger Bacon (20-8). 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Day Air Ballpark
Bethel’s district title win is its first in 20 years. The Three Rivers Conference champions have found a groove outside of the league with tournament wins over Shawnee, Oakwood and Indian Hill.
Brennan Montgomery is batting .437 for the Bees and is second in RBI behind Anderson Mohler’s 25.
Roger Bacon started the postseason with a pair of shutouts before shutting down Benjamin Logan to reach regionals. Terrance Todd and Max DeFranco have been the team’s top hitters.
The two D-IV winners play in a regional final at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 4.
Division V
* No. 1 Arcanum (23-4) vs. No. 7 Gahanna Columbus Academy (13-16). 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Mason
Arcanum has backed up its WOAC regular season title with its first district championship since 2013. Regan Christ had a slow start in the title win over Mariemont for the Trojans, but the top pitcher in the WOAC exited the contest having thrown 128 strikeouts to go with a microscopic 0.41 ERA.
Kolton Quigney leads the team with a .425 average. Luke Stephens has been one of the top run producers with 26 RBI.
Columbus Academy took down the district’s top-seed Johnstown Monroe in its district title victory. The Vikings finished below .500 in the Central Buckeye League and had lost five straight before straightening the ship in the postseason.
* No. 3 Versailles (20-9) vs. No. 1 Summit Country Day (24-6). 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Mason
Versailles has eliminated Milton-Union, Carlisle and Cincinnati Christian in its run to regionals.
Sam DeLand and Ian Bergman have been the top pitchers for the Tigers during their postseason run. Eli Keiser and DeLand both had multiple RBI in the district title win, which was the program’s first since 2019.
Summit shut down Anna in its district final. Grayson Houchin made his case as one of the Miami Valley Conference’s best pitchers for SCD with a 0.88 ERA and 72 strikeouts.
The two D-V winners play in the regional final at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 3.
Division VI
* No. 1 Fort Recovery (16-10) vs. No. 1 Miami Valley Christian Academy (17-8). 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Newton
The Indians came into the tournament in the midst of a dry spell after losing four of its final five regular season games. After defeating Triad, FR needed extra innings to get past Cincinnati Country Day and got the winning runs off a multi-base throwing error.
Alex Gaerke and Reece Wendel were first team All-MAC selections this season.
MVCA’s Max Simon has a .522 average and 10 times has produced multi-RBI games.
* No. 8 Dayton Christian (15-11) vs. No. 4 Galion Northmor (23-5). 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 at Newton
Dayton Christian has gotten hot at the right time. The Warriors have won seven straight games and have dominated Yellow Springs, Riverside and Dixie by outscoring the trio 28-3 on its way to a district title.
Brody Schmidt has found an extra gear on the mound during DC’s winning streak with 29 strikeouts in 21 innings and has only allowed eight hits and two runs. Titus Riddell led the Southwestern Buckeye League with a .486 average.
Northmor saw its own win streak reach 12 thanks to a pair of one-run postseason wins capped by a district title win over Ohio Heritage Conference champion and state No. 1 West Jefferson.
The two D-VI winners play in the regional final at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 3.
Division VII
* No. 1 Newton (22-4) vs. No. 4 Russia (15-12). 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Cedarville University’s Yellow Jacket Field
Newton’s pitching staff displayed a sample of its season-long dominance in its 9-0 district title win against Fayetteville-Perry. Cole Alexander had 15 strikeouts and secured a second consecutive shutout for an Indians team that has only allowed 52 runs against them all season.
Austin Tippie leads Newton with 29 RBI. Newton – making its first appearance at regionals in 31 years – averages more than five stolen bases per game as a team.
Russia started the season slow with a 5-7 record. The Raiders clinched its ninth consecutive district title by overcoming a three-run deficit against Cedarville thanks to an 8-run fifth inning outburst. Russia is seeking its fifth straight regional championship.
Cooper Unverferth is the SCAL Player of the Year, marking five consecutive seasons a Russia player earned the honor. He was joined by fellow first team selections Michael Voisard and Maddox Goubeaux.
* No. 2 Fort Loramie (18-9) vs. No. 1 Delphos St. John’s (17-7). 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Cedarville University’s Yellow Jacket Field
After finishing the season as the runner-up in the SCAL, Fort Loramie has beaten Southeastern and walked-off Tri-County North in the district final.
Carson Arnold and Sam Goubeaux both made the first team in the SCAL this season for FL.
Cameron Elwer is one of the MAC’s top pitchers for the Blue Jays.
The two D-VII winners play in the regional final at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 3.