Clear Fork, Shelby on collision course, top spot in Richland County Baseball Power Poll on line
MANSFIELD — The race for the top spot in the Richland County Baseball Power Poll just got tight.
But after this week, the picture will become very clear.
Clear Fork and Shelby are the clear No. 1 and No. 2 teams in Richland County and a two-game series between the two could be the deciding factor in who takes home the power poll championship. But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let's take a look at how this week's poll shook out.
SCORES AND MORE: Richland County Baseball Scoreboard: Lexington offense explodes in win
10. Mansfield Christian (2-6)
The Flames had a solid week picking up their first two wins of the season after dropping a pair of Mid-Buckeye Conference contests. After losing to Crestline 11-0 and 7-6, the Flames swept Northside Christian in a doubleheader with matching 11-0 results. Zach Dumbeck had three hits and four RBIs in Game 1 before adding two hits and also earning the win on the mound with a five-inning no-hitter with nine strikeouts. Getting those first two wins had to feel great for the Flames as they head into a series with Lucas before taking on Danbury and Monroeville at the end of the week.
9. Mansfield Senior (2-10)
The Tygers had a nice start to their week before losing three straight to go 1-3 since the last power poll. Mansfield Senior beat Bucyrus 12-2 in a dominant performance as Guy Trader had two hits and two RBIs while Dominique Horn had a nice day with a hit and three RBIs. The Tygers followed that with back-to-back one-run losses to Madison 2-1 and 3-2 before falling to Orrville 15-9. In the first loss to Madison, Joshua Malone pitched a gem allowing two runs, just one earned, with 12 strikeouts. They have a busy week ahead with Sandusky, Lexington twice and Lima Senior once.
8. Madison (3-7)
The Rams had a successful week going 2-1 with two wins over Mansfield Senior before falling to River Valley, 5-4, to round things out. The Rams were involved in three one-run ballgames last week and came away with two victories, which is a nice step in the right direction. In the 2-1 win over the Tygers, Elijah Fox pitched a masterpiece allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts, and his defense backed him up. In the second win, Liam Stone threw a nice game allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts in seven innings of work. He also had a hit and scored a run. The Rams have two games with Mount Vernon, one with Harding, one with Shelby and two with Vermilion this week.
7. Lexington (3-10)
The Minutemen look like they are about to turn a corner. Last week, they went 2-3 but only lost to Shelby 7-6, Ashland 2-0 and Highland 9-4. They did knock off Ashland 3-1 and Johnstown-Monroe 15-11 for two very nice victories. Cooper Dreibelbis had a nice day on the mound in the win over Ashland going six innings allowing one run on five hits with five strikeouts. Michael Togliatti had two hits in that win. Against Johnstown, Togliatti had two hits, two RBIs, two runs scored and two walks to continue his great year at the plate. The Minutemen have a huge opportunity this week to turn things around with Ontario, two against Mansfield Senior and Norwalk on the schedule.
6. Crestview (5-7)
The Cougars have been a tough team to figure out. They went 3-3 last week beating Monroeville 12-0 and New London twice, 14-1 and 19-1. But they lost to Monroeville 8-6 in a shocker before getting swept by Galion in a doubleheader 5-1 and 4-1. In the three wins combined, Jarek Ringler had eight hits, five RBIs and eight stolen bases while earning two wins on the mound allowing one run on three hits with 20 strikeouts in 10 innings of work. He tossed a no-hitter in the win over Monroeville. When Ringler is on the mound, the Cougars are hard to beat, but when he isn’t, anything can happen. The Cougars have two big ones with Mapleton this week before rounding out the week with Western Reserve.
5. Lucas (4-6)
The Cubs had a successful week last week going 2-1 since the last power poll. They beat Colonel Crawford in a thriller 17-16 where they scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to come away with the W. Jack Dibartolomeo had himself a day with three hits and six RBIs, while Ray Caudill had three hits and four RBIs for a big offensive day. Against Crestline, Dibartolomeo earned the win on the mound allowing one run on two hits with 11 strikeouts in six innings of work. Anthony Fanello added the offensive fireworks with two hits and four RBIs. The Cubs then lost to a very good Highland team 16-0 to end the week. But it was enough to give them momentum heading into this week against Mansfield Christian, East Knox and Mapleton.
4. Plymouth (5-5)
The Big Red had a great week of baseball getting five games in and going 3-2 in the process. They knocked off New London 22-1 and 6-3 before winning a thriller over Mapleton, 7-6, in eight innings. They lost to the Mounties 11-3 in the second game and Northwestern 12-2 on Saturday. Colton Hass threw a five-inning no-no in the first game against New London with five strikeouts and six walks while Canaan Slone had three hits and four runs scored. Hunter McClure had two hits and four RBIs in that win. McClure then scored the winning run against Mapleton where the Big Red plated two in the bottom of the eighth to win it. McClure scored on a wild pitch after reaching base with a big single to get the inning started. Plymouth has a ton of momentum right now and it will need it in a tough week against St. Paul twice, South Central, Buckeye Central and Willard once. With FC wins this week, the Big Red could find themselves in first place.
3. Ontario (7-6)
The Warriors were even last week going 2-2 since the last power poll. With back-to-back 4-2 wins over Galion and Pleasant, the Warriors gave themselves a chance to get in the MOAC title race but fell to Clear Fork 6-2 before ending the week with a 10-9 loss to Triway. In the win over Galion, James Mahon had three hits and two RBIs while Peyton Dzugan took care of things on the hill allowing two runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings of work. Against Pleasant, Dzugan had two hits while Ian Rachel had two hits and two RBIs and Mahon took the win on the mound allowing two runs on two hits with nine strikeouts in six innings. The Warriors have a big week against Lexington, two with Harding and one with Pleasant as they try to keep within reach of that league championship.
2. Shelby (8-2)
The Whippets had themselves one heck of a week since the last power poll beating Lexington 7-6, River Valley twice 5-0 and 10-6 and Marion Harding 6-4. They walked it off against Lex when Maverick Noel drove in the winning run to end it. Nic Eyster had a stellar Game 1 against RV with six shutout innings allowing five hits with two strikeouts while also adding two hits and two RBIs. In Game 2, Alex Bruskotter had two hits and three RBIs while Kaleb Stairs worked five innings of relief allowing just two hits with five strikeouts to shut down the RV threat. Eyster then earned the win over Harding allowing three runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and collecting two hits on offense. The Whippets showed their balance last week and hope to have it again this week against Clyde, Clear Fork twice, Madison and Huron.
1. Clear Fork (11-2)
The Colts stay in the top spot again this week after going 3-0 since the last power poll. They knocked off Harding twice 11-4 and 8-1 before beating Ontario 6-2. Nate Lind continues to heat up at the dish with six hits, five runs scored and three RBIs combined in those three wins. Luke Schlosser continues to make his case for MOAC Player of the Year allowing one unearned run with 10 strikeouts in the second win over Harding while Garret Hotz earned two wins on the mound last week beating Harding while allowing four runs, just one earned, on five hits with four strikeouts before allowing two unearned runs on six hits with five strikeouts against Ontario. With Lind providing the spark at the top of the order and Schlosser and Hotz pitching very well, the Colts hope to take two from Shelby and one from Loudonville this week.
Last week’s rankings
10. Mansfield Christian
9. Mansfield Senior
8. Madison
7. Lexington
6. Crestview
5. Lucas
4. Plymouth
3. Shelby
2. Ontario
1. Clear Fork
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Clear Fork Colts No. 1 in Richland County Baseball Power Poll, Shelby 2
