It’s that time of the year when the OHSAA spring sports state finals take place and area teams head to Akron with aspirations of softball titles, followed by baseball nines a week later, while track and field events are on tap at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State. Let’s take a quick glance at the two teams from West Central Ohio heading to the Rubber Capital after winning regional softball crowns, the Tri-Village Lady Patriots and the Covington Lady Buccaneers.
T-V takes an unblemished 28-0 mark into one D-VI semifinal against Dalton in a game scheduled for Friday at 3:00 in Firestone Stadium after defeating Minster 1-0 on a run-producing bunt in the bottom of the seventh inning in the regional final. Covington (21-9) earned a spot in a D-VII semi by beating Southeastern 10-6 and will make the trip to Firestone Stadium for a meeting with Portsmouth Notre Dame Wednesday at 5:30. Unfortunately the Lady Wave of Greenville came up short in a 6-2 D-III regional final loss to Western Brown while Ansonia’s Lady Tigers fell earlier to Covington in a semifinal contest. Great seasons by all four teams; good luck to T-V and Covington in Akron!
Four area baseball squads will move on to regional semifinal games this week at various sites around the area. Butler advanced with a district D-III title while also winning district crowns were Fort Recovery in D-VI and Russia and Minster in D-VII.
Congratulations are in order for regional track team champions: the Mason girls and Butler boys claimed D-I crowns, D-II laurels went to the Oakwood girls and Brookville boys, and D-III titles were won by the Fort Loramie girls and Ansonia boys. Among area regional individual champions special mention goes to Anna Roessner of Fort Recovery who took home gold medals in the D-III 100, 200, and 400 meter dashes; Cole Kaiser of St. Henry for wins in the D III 100 and 200 dashes; Ansonia’s Bennett Lehman with a sweep of the D-III 1,600 and 3,200 runs; and Coy Hyre of Brookville with a state D-II record in the 100 meters with a time of 10.41 seconds and a first place finish in the 200 meters as well, giving him the honor of holding state D-II records in both events! He also ran on the Blue Devils’ winning 4×200 and 4×400 relay teams so the senior had quite a day!
There were many other area regional champions and state qualifiers in all three divisions. For a complete listing, go to MileSplit.Live. Again, congratulations to all who are making the trip to Columbus, and here’s hoping for personal records for everyone!
Before moving on to a few other topics, here are two trivia questions to test your knowledge of the insignificant! In an all-Greater Western Ohio Conference D-I softball regional title game, the Lady Elks of Centerville ousted Fairmont’s Lady Firebirds and advanced to the Final Four. Can you name the last GWOC team to make the trip to the state semifinals prior to Centerville?
For a second brain teaser, can you name at least two of the three best-selling cold breakfast cereals in the U.S last year? Answers to follow!
Wright State’s Raiders baseball team made school history in the NCAA regional tournament by defeating East Tennessee State Saturday in an elimination game following a heartbreaking loss to Vanderbilt Friday night by a 4-3 count. Sunday, the Raiders pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA annals by eliminating the nation’s number one overall seed, those Commodores of Vanderbilt, hanging on for a 5-4 victory. Picking up the save was junior right-handed reliever Warren Hartzell of Greenville. The former Green Wave pitcher came out of the bullpen to get the final two outs of the game and seal the deal in the top of the ninth inning Sunday. Unfortunately, the Raiders were forced to play a second game later that evening and were emotionally spent, falling to Louisville 6-0 in the regional final contest, thus ending the season with a 40-21 record, including a Horizon League title with a 25-5 mark. Hats off to the Raiders!
I had a great time with my three closest friends from high school Thursday as we got together for the Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin at the beautiful Muirfield Village Golf Club. Bruce Drew, John Moore, and Steve Redman all joined me as we walked the grounds of Jack’s Place, taking in the immaculate condition of the course, the challenges of the eighteen hole layout, and the talents of the world’s best golfers (minus Rory McIlroy who for some reason was a no-show along with a few LIV players) on what turned out to be a nice day weather-wise after some early morning clouds and sprinkles. Scottie Scheffler showed once again why he is ranked number one in the world by playing almost flawless golf in earning his second consecutive trophy from host Jack Nicklaus. If you haven’t been there in person and ever get the chance to attend the annual event, don’t pass up the opportunity. This was my eighth trip over to Franklin County for the tournament, and I am always impressed!
I have to say that I’m glad to see the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder facing off in the NBA Finals. On the other hand, television network and league executives are probably apoplectic at the thought of a finals without at least one of the so-called “glamour” teams from big television markets!
The last GWOC softball team to reach the state Final Four? The Lady Wave of Greenville, who went to the promised land in 2010 and 2012 as GWOC representatives. The Lady Wave won a D-II title in 2007 as an independent before moving to the Miami Valley League in 2019 and returning to the state in 2023.
Finally, Cheerios, Frosted Flakes (They’re Grrreat!!), and Honey Nut Cheerios are the three top sellers in the U.S. cereal market. And you thought Cap’n Crunch and Trix would be in the top three (Silly Rabbit, Trix are for Kids!)!! Stay healthy and active, eat your Raisin Bran!
