Ashland County Softball Power Rankings: Hillsdale, Mapleton, Loudonville close out 1-2-3
With the softball postseason set to kick off this week, this will be the final power rankings for the 2024 regular season. Let's see where every team in Ashland County finished at to wrap up the regular season.
More: Ashland County Softball Power Rankings: Several teams continue high level of play
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9. Ashland (2-18)
Ashland didn't fair too strong this week (0-3) and head into the postseason having struggled to stay competitive with most of the opposition on their schedule.
8. South Central (11-9)
South Central will have to make a charge in this week if they want to jump to the top of the Firelands Conference standings (current it is in fifth place). The Trojans dropped both games to New London in the regular season and they could very well see them in the Division IV district semifinals in Galion in another week.
7. Northwestern (12-8)
Northwestern has been steady throughout the season, as it went 1-2 last week, dropping both games to Hillsdale.
6. Black River (10-6)
Black River finds itself sitting second in the Lorain County Conference behind Keystone, and went 2-1 last week, including a nice nonconference win over New London 8-4 on Friday. The Pirates will meet Northwestern this week in a Division III sectional semifinal game.
5. New London (14-5)
Since dropping two in a row to Crestview in mid-April, New London has reeled off seven wins in a row. Its lineup led by Madison Rowland, Gracie Thomas and Emilee Rowland have been swinging the bats well, while Emile Rowland has been handling things in the circle. A doubleheader with league-leading Monroeville this week could give the Wildcats a taste of what a district final could like between the two in Galion in another week, if they both advance that far.
4. Crestview (15-6)
Crestview is currently tied for second place at 9-2 with Mapleton (have the tiebreaker advantage in head-to-head) behind Monroeville in the Firelands Conference, and the Cougars have a chance to make a move with league games against St. Paul and Mapleton this week. Either way, the Cougars are the No. 2 seed in their side of the district tournament in Division III.
3. Loudonville (17-5)
Let's just say Loudonville had a perfect week. Four games. Four wins. Each by shutout. The Redbirds outscored their opponents 67-0 last week. The whole batting lineup got rolling and that could pay dividends for the Mid-Buckeye Conference champions as they look to navigate a challenging district come postseason.
2. Mapleton (17-4)
Mapleton has been in grand form all year, and given how top-heavy its league is, it might not even finish in the top two (tied for second with Crestview). It dominated Western Reserve in a doubleheader early last week, then dropped a game at Keystone 19-16 on Thursday and lost at FC-leading Monroeville 3-1 on Friday. The Mounties will close the season out playing two games against South Central, then they will have a much-anticipated game against Crestview on Saturday.
1. Hillsdale (18-3)
The No. 5 ranked team in Division III, according to MaxPreps, has been on a tear this season, while also being undefeated in the Wayne County Conference (12-0). The Falcons are on a six-game winning streak, and in those six games, Kennedy Fickes picked up five wins as the winning pitcher. The Falcons will take their current lofty play into the postseason, where they hope to be playing deep into May.
jsimpson@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland Softball Rankings: Hillsdale finish No. 1 in final power poll
