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Which Southwest Ohio schools can win the 2024 regional softball championships?

brendan connelly, cincinnati enquirer
·4 min read

It's the penultimate week of the Ohio high school softball season. Last week's district tournaments delivered thrilling results each day. Could more of the same be in store on the regional stage?

For the third time since 2018, the Greater Miami Conference has three teams in the Division I regional bracket. In DIII, Bethel-Tate is in the regional tournament for the first time since 2014.

Before the semifinals get underway Wednesday, here are previews for each Cincinnati-area team.

Can the Greater Miami Conference lay claim to Division I?

From a statewide power rankings perspective, seventh-ranked Centerville (24-4) enters this week's regional tournament as the favorite. The Elks will have to go through Mason and the winner of Fairfield vs. Lakota East if Centerville wants to make its first state tournament appearance.

The Comets (21-7) fended off the rest of the GMC to win their first league title since 2018. Led by Avery Blinn, AnnaBelle Geiser, Alea Hensley and Addie McBrayer, the offense has come on strong at the end of the season. They've scored at least 10 runs in 15 games and displayed their ability to score in bunches when they dented the plate six times in the seventh inning of their district semifinal against Milford.

The Elks and Comets have several opponents in common this season. Centerville beat Miamisburg twice while Mason lost to the Vikings. The Comets split their season series with Lakota East; Centerville beat the Thunderhawks 10-0. The Elks split their season series with Fairmont, while Mason beat the Firebirds less than two weeks ago.

Mason pitcher Alisha Fox leads the Greater Miami Conference with 14 wins, is third with 107 strikeouts and fourth with a 1.96 ERA.
Mason pitcher Alisha Fox leads the Greater Miami Conference with 14 wins, is third with 107 strikeouts and fourth with a 1.96 ERA.

Greater Western Ohio Conference Player of the Year Hayley Arnold leads Centerville. She is hitting .448 with 32 RBIs and six home runs. She is also 17-2 with a 0.91 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings. Ally Middleton, who can give the Elks innings in a pinch, was the only other player named to the GWOC first team. Ardyn Hopf leads the team with a .505 average, 47 RBIs and eight home runs, but Arnold, Chayse Adkins, Riley Bakan, Natalie Carr and Lillie Hopf are all hitting over .300.

The Comets and Elks play at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Indian Hill.

The first semifinal will be the third meeting between Fairfield (21-3) and Lakota East (22-8) in 2024. The Indians won both previous matchups, 10-6 on April 16 and 5-2 on April 29, to claim the tiebreaker for second place in the GMC.

The Indians and Thunderhawks play two different styles of ball. Behind Megan Spence and Jillian Huey, Fairfield has the best defense in the GMC, allowing less than two runs per game. Lakota East has the highest-scoring offense in the league as evidenced by their nine-run comeback to beat Fairmont in the district championship.

Fairfield outfielder Ava Hensley is one of four Indians with a fielding percentage higher than 0.950.
Fairfield outfielder Ava Hensley is one of four Indians with a fielding percentage higher than 0.950.

It's almost ironic that these two teams clinched district titles within minutes of each other on May 16 and now they're playing in the regional semifinals.

Both teams litter the GMC leaderboard in the offensive and pitching categories. Spence and Huey lead the league in ERA; Lakota East seniors Halina Schulte and Amber Munoz have combined for 17 homers.

Both teams have a chance to break regional title droughts. The Thunderhawks went to the state championship game in 2019, but you'd have to go back to 1991 to find Fairfield's last state tournament appearance.

The Indians and Thunderhawks face off at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Indian Hill. The regional final is at 5 p.m. Friday.

Regional final prediction: Lakota East vs. Centerville

Bethel-Tate looks to keep rolling in Division III

The Tigers (19-8) are the only local team left in Division III after a run to their first district title since 2014. They received an all-around effort to come back against league foe Clermont Northeastern in the district semifinals before Haley Johnson and Addi Redmond starred in their 4-1 win over Brookville.

Haley Johnson pitched seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball as Bethel-Tate won its first district title in 10 years.
Haley Johnson pitched seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball as Bethel-Tate won its first district title in 10 years.

Their opponent, Miami East (22-3), is making its third straight regional appearance and appeared in the 2022 state tournament. The Vikings own wins over Beavercreek, Ross and Kenton Ridge (ranked No. 3 in DII). Six players are hitting over .400. Abigail Kadel leads the team with nine home runs; Jadyn Bair has six of her own.

Jacqueline Kadel is the Vikings' top pitcher with a 20-1 record and 141 strikeouts in 120 2/3 innings pitched. She only has four shutouts in games she has started and has allowed six runs on four occasions, so the Tigers can give themselves a chance by denting the plate early. As a team, Miami East scores 11 runs per game and allows just 2.8. By comparison, Bethel-Tate averages 8.7 runs per game while allowing 3.9.

On the other side of the bracket are the Liberty Union Lions (20-6) and the Carlisle Indians (26-3). Carlisle is appearing in its fourth straight regional tournament but has never advanced to the state tournament. Liberty Union last won the region in 2011.

Bethel-Tate and Miami East face off at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Centerville. The DIII regional championship is Friday at 5 p.m.

Regional final prediction: Miami East vs. Carlisle

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: OHSAA softball: 2024 Southwest Ohio regional tournament previews