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OHSAA baseball tournament draw: Here's who area teams will face

mike brown
·6 min read

The long and sometimes bumpy tournament trail that leads to Akron’s Canal Park, site of the OHSAA state championship baseball games June 7-9, begins soon for teams across the Buckeye State, including those in the Times-Reporter coverage area. Tournament drawings for the sectional were held recently, and many area teams fared well.

Here’s a look at who area schools will be facing in tourney action:

DIVISION I NORTHEAST

Dover (12-10), which competes in the Division I Northeast sectional-district, is the No. 17 seed in the big-school tourney and will entertain No. 25 seed Warren Harding (10-10) in an opening-round sectional game on Tuesday, May 14 at 5 p.m. at Dover City Park.

“We don’t know much about them (the Raiders), but when you get to that point it’s just about playing good baseball,” Dover head coach Jeff Fondriest said. “We like the fact that neither of the teams know much about each other, so hopefully we can play off that.”

The Dover-Harding winner advances to meet the No. 8-seeded Chardon Hilltoppers (14-9) for a sectional championship on Thursday, May 16 at 5 p.m. in Chardon.

“We like where we’re at,” added Fondriest, whose team has played a strong schedule, including many Federal League teams. “There are some teams we haven’t seen yet (like Harding), as opposed to the fact we’ve played a lot of the Federal League teams. We’ve seen those guys, and they also know a little bit about us.”

Dover's Ethan Kellicker follows through on a swing during an annual rival game against New Philadelphia, Friday, April 19 at Tuscora Park.
Dover's Ethan Kellicker follows through on a swing during an annual rival game against New Philadelphia, Friday, April 19 at Tuscora Park.

More: Dover baseball can't pull off late rally against Canton Central Catholic

DIVISION II EAST

New Philadelphia, which reached the regional semifinals last season, drew the No. 5 seed in the Division II East sectional tournament draw. The Quakers (13-4) have a first-round bye and will host the winner of the No. 11 East Liverpool (10-12) vs. No. 17 Beaver Local (6-13) game for a sectional championship on Tuesday, May 14 at Tuscora Park at 5 p.m.

“We put ourselves in a really good spot this year with how we’ve played,” New Philadelphia head coach Tyler Weisel said.  “I think we’ve gotten the draw we wanted. We play the winner of East Liverpool and Beaver, so we’ll go Saturday and scout them, and we’ll go from there. It’s one day at a time and one game at a time.”

Weisel likes the fact the Quakers have extensive postseason experience returning from last season.

“We’ve only got two seniors and everybody that plays for us every day has a lot of experience from last year, so we’re pretty seasoned,” the New Philadelphia coach said. “We’ll just come out and compete.”

The No. 1 seed in the D2 eastern district is St. Clairsville (19-2).

West Holmes (10-13) and the 10th seed, also drew a first-round bye in the D2 sectional and will play the seventh-seeded Cambridge Bobcats (11-5) for a sectional crown on Tuesday, May 14 at 5 p.m. at Don Coss Field in Cambridge.

Indian Valley is the No. 8 seed in the tourney. The Braves (9-6) will host the No. 9-seeded Morgan Raiders (11-8-1) in a sectional championship game on Tuesday, May 14 at 5 p.m.

Claymont received the 19th seed in the tourney. The Mustangs (5-16) will face the 15th-seeded Meadowbrook Colts (6-14) in an opening-round sectional contest on Saturday, May 11 at 1 p.m. in Byesville. The winner of that contest will play at No. 2 seed Tri-Valley (19-2-1) in a sectional title contest on Tuesday, May 14 at 5 p.m. in Dresden.

Carrollton, which finished third in the Eastern Buckeye Conference this season behind Alliance and West Branch, is the sixth seed in the sectional. The Warriors (15-6) received a first-round bye and will host Eastern Buckeye Conference arch-rival Minerva (2-17), the 21st seed, in a sectional title game on Tuesday, May 14 at 5 p.m. The Warriors defeated the Lions in both of their regular-season meetings.

New Philadelphia's Owen Courtney hops into home after a solo home run blast to left field during an annual rival game against Dover, Friday, April 19 at Tuscora Park.
New Philadelphia's Owen Courtney hops into home after a solo home run blast to left field during an annual rival game against Dover, Friday, April 19 at Tuscora Park.

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DIVISION III EAST

The Tusky Valley Trojans were accorded the No. 2 overall seed in the Division III sectional-district pairings.

The Trojans (11-7) gained a first-round bye and will host the winner of No. 9 West Muskingum (12-9) vs. No. 10 Harrison Central (11-13) for a sectional championship on Wednesday, May 15 at 5 p.m. in Zoarville.

The Barnesville Shamrocks (16-4) received the top overall seed in the D3 sectional-district.

The Garaway Pirates earned the No. 4 seed. The Pirates (9-6) will host the No. 14 Coshocton Redskins (3-18) in an opening-round sectional contest on Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. The winner of that matchup will face the victor of No. 5 Martins Ferry (11-6) vs. No. 12 Union Local (0-12) for a sectional crown on Wednesday, May 15 at 5 p.m. at a site to be determined.

Sandy Valley is the No. 3 seed. The Cardinals (15-5) are penciled in to host the No. 13 Bellaire Big Reds (3-12) in an opening-round sectional game on Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. The winner moves on to meet the survivor of the No. 7 Fort Frye (11-9) vs. No. 11 Ridgewood (6-15) game for a sectional title on Wednesday, May 15 at 5 p.m. at a site to be announced. The Ridgewood vs. Fort Frye game will be played Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. in Fort Frye.

DIVISION IV EAST

The Hiland Hornets (16-5) received the No. 1 seed in the Division IV East sectional-district.

The Hornets will entertain the winner of the No. 16 Bridgeport (2-12-1) and No. 17 Tuscarawas Central Catholic (0-15) game in an opening-round sectional contest in Berlin on Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. Tuscarawas Central Catholic and Bridgeport will square off in their sectional contest on Saturday, May 11 at 1 p.m. in Bridgeport.

The Malvern Hornets (6-14) gained the No. 13 seed and will play at No. 11 Beallsville (9-11) on Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. The winner of the Malvern-Beallsville game will play the winner of the Hiland vs. Bridgeport-Tuscarawas Central game for a sectional crown on Wednesday, May 15 at 5 p.m. at a site to be determined.

Strasburg received the No. 5 seed in the tourney. The Tigers (14-9) are penned in to host the No. 15-seeded Shenandoah Zeps (2-16) in a sectional opener on Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. at Franklin Park. The winner will go up against the victor of the No. 4 Bishop Rosecrans (16-7) vs. No. 12 Newcomerstown (6-7) game for a sectional crown on Wednesday, May 15 at 5 p.m. at a site to be determined. Newcomerstown and Rosecrans will play at Zanesville’s Gant Municipal Stadium on Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m.

Conotton Valley was awarded the No. 9 seed. The Rockets (9-9) will travel to No. 7 River to play the Pilots (8-5) in a sectional opener on Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. The victor moves on to meet the survivor of No. 2 Toronto (16-2) vs. No. 14 Frontier (1-10-1) game for a sectional championship on Wednesday, May 15 at 5 p.m. at a site to be announced.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: OHSAA baseball tournament draw: Here's who area teams will face