Tag Archive for: MVAC

HEADED HOME: MCDONALD BLUE DEVILS BASEBALL PREVIEW

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MCDONALD, OH – Head coach of the McDonald Blue Devils is Bill Ifft. COVID cost the McDonald Blue Devils just like every team in state of Ohio, and you’ll get no excuses from Coach Ifft. Coach Ifft is playing a lot of young guys this year, he expects his players to grow and gain the experience that they missed out on last season. With only three players who seen action in the 2019 season Coach Ifft and the Blue Devil staff are looking to coach up roster. Looking to compete hard every day in practice, simulating game like atmosphere each day to get his guys ready for the grind of a high school season. Pitching situation this year Coach Ifft is looking to “pitch by committee” using multiple guys in different spots this year.  Coach Ifft talked a little about how good their league is and how tough that grind can be. Bill also spoke about the team goals getting better each day and going out and competing to win ball games.

Catch the Blue Devils this year on YSNLive.com!

 

HEADED HOME: LOWELLVILLE LADY ROCKETS SOFTBALL PREVIEW

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LOWELLVILLE, OH – Head coach Josh Kelly and the Lowellville Lady Rockets cannot wait to get on the field and start playing games! The Lady Rockets will look to Kennedy and Samantha Kelly, Marissa Rivera, and Callie Kester to be key leaders and contributors this season as they will try to knock off the rust and get back into the swing of things. Until then though, the Lady Rockets will look to take it day by day, game by game, and piece together their own success and continue to build the program, the “Rocket way” as the season goes on. Lowellville will open their season on Saturday, March 27th, at home against the Warren JFK Eagles.

YSN’s own, Billy McCartney and Quinn Puskar, had the opportunity to catch up with Coach Kelly to talk about how COVID effected the Lowellville softball program throughout last season and the preseason to this year, what Coach’s expectations are for this year and some of the goals that he and the team have set for themselves, as well as some of the key players that might make a huge impact on the team and the softball diamond all season long!

Check out this special softball sneak peak at the Lowellville Lady Rockets with head coach, Josh Kelly!

 

HEADED HOME: NEWTON FALLS LADY TIGERS SOFTBALL PREVIEW

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NEWTON FALLS, OH – First year head coach, Christina Baker, will take over the Newton Falls Lady Tigers. With only two seniors coming back this year, Coach Baker is looking to the seniors to lead this team. While being a first year head coach is always a challenge in itself Christina Baker is up for the task. A COVID cancelled season meant a lot of players were stuck having to experience game and practice time with travel and rec season, most of the Lady Tigers had that chance to get a bunch of games in over the summer. Coach Baker is looking to have an exciting team a lot of untapped talent here in the Falls, and as the season progresses coach expects her girl to play better towards the tournament. The MVAC has a ton of challenges ahead and Newton Falls is always near the top.

YSNLive.com will cover all the Lady Tigers updates this year!

 

HEADED HOME: CHAMPION LADY GOLDEN FLASHES SOFTBALL PREVIEW

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WARREN, OH – We spoke to the head coach for the Champion Lady Golden Flashes, Cheryl Weaver this past week. Coach Weaver is a 6 time state champion as head coach with the school having been to 9 state championships. Key players returning from the 2019 season are captains Emma Gumont, Lauren Fife, Cassidy Shaffer, and Brooklyn Witt. They will look to get these Flashes off to a hot start. Coach Weaver talked to us about the experience some of her girls missed out on with last season being cancelled. Almost all the girls got a chance to play some sort of travel ball and or rec ball into the summer months. Missing the season last year was hard for any team, but Coach Weaver stressed freshman need that first year to get the details of what it takes to play varsity softball. I asked Coach Weaver what does it take to consistently keep playing at a high level year in and out ? Cheryl Weaver responded that it’s the details, harp on the details in practice and make the games simple. That’s the key to success in high school softball. We also imagine talent helps too and the Lady Flashes have plenty of that too.

Follow the Flashes right here as they look to have an incredible season YSNLive.com!

 

HEADED HOME: CRESTVIEW REBELS BASEBALL PREVIEW

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COLUMBIANA, OH – The Crestview Rebels are back in action this spring as COVID wiped out their season last year and head coach Kory Whitacre has the boys eager and ready to get on the diamond. The Rebels are led by a strong group of seniors that are willing to do whatever it takes to win ball games and build upon their season as it progresses. The underclassmen will look to make their mark on the Rebels program as every spot is open for the taking and that competition is what drives Crestview to success.

Check out this very special baseball preview at the Crestview Rebels as YSN’s own, Billy McCartney and Quinn Puskar, had the opportunity to talk with head coach, Kory Whitacre!

 

HEADED HOME: CHAMPION GOLDEN FLASHES BASEBALL PREVIEW

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WARREN, OH – As the weather begins to heat up, the Champion Golden Flashes are doing the same! Head coach Rich Yauger and the Golden Flashes are excited and ready to make another run at an MVAC title and then some! The Golden Flashes are led by a great group of seniors that are all in and are excited to get back on the diamond. Coach Yauger will rely heavily on those seniors to teach the “Champion way” to the underclassmen to continue the success of the program as the season and their careers progress.

Check out this special baseball sneak peak at the Champion Golden Flashes as YSN’s own, Billy McCartney and Quinn Puskar, was able to talk with head coach, Rich Yauger!

 

HEADED HOME: SEBRING TROJANS BASEBALL PREVIEW

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SEBRING, OH – The weather is turning from winter to spring, the fields are getting ready for games, and first year head coach Tyler Whitlatch and the Sebring Trojans are ready to get back on the diamond and play some baseball!

Coach Whitlatch will look to his five seniors for leadership and experience as the rest of the team is very young underclassmen. Coach is looking for Dylan Johnson and Frankie Lozoya to be a 1-2 punch for the Trojans. Coach Whitlatch also discussed how his style of coaching is similar to a college system that he is building based on his time playing for Malone. Not only does Coach Whitlatch want to succeed, he knows that starting with the fundamentals and building a program based on that is key to long term success.

Check out this special baseball sneak peak at the Sebring Trojans as YSN’s own, Matt Siedel, was able to talk with head coach, Tyler Whitlatch!

 

HEADED HOME: SEBRING LADY TROJANS SOFTBALL PREVIEW

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SEBRING, OH – The Sebring Lady Trojans are led by head coach Jason Whaley and the excitement is through the roof as the Lady Trojans are returning nine members from last year’s team! Coach Whaley will lean heavily on the experience of his team, as well as, Emma Whaley who will be the ace in the circle this year. Coach Whaley has high expectations for the Lady Trojans and as the weather begins to break, the girls are chomping at the bit get on the diamond and make some noise in the MVAC! Coach Whaley also looks to have a successful year in hopes that the team success will lead to more of the Trojans youth to take interest in playing softball and continue to grow the program for long term success!

Check out this exclusive softball preview of the Sebring Lady Trojans on YSNLive.com, as Matt Siedel was able to talk with head coach, Jason Whaley this week!

 

HEADED HOME: JACKSON-MILTON LADY BLUE JAYS SOFTBALL PREVIEW

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NORTH JACKSON, OH – The Jackson-Milton Lady Blue Jays come into this season a very young team that surrounds four seniors in Jenna Jones, Logan Grunder, Dana Saunders, and Camryn Mitchell as the core of the team. Coach Mariah Ciccolelli believes the team is “a force to be reckoned with when they’re clicking.” Ciccolelli said. However, in-conference rivals Western Reserve and McDonald look to be stiff competition this season, making success in the MVAC anything but easy.

Check out the Lady Blue Jays all season long on YSNLive.com!

*Contributed by Ty Bartell

 

HEADED HOME: LABRAE LADY VIKINGS SOFTBALL PREVIEW

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LEAVITTSBURG, OH – After her 2020 season was taken away, LaBrae softball coach Demetra Noble is looking to build on past seasons and be competitive within their league. She said that a tough non-conference schedule should help prep them for a very competitive league, with teams like Champion and Newton Falls.

Noble said she has returning lettermen such as Seniors Desi Allen, Aryana Hartman, as well as Junior Alaydren Beck looking to carry the load of the team. She also said that we should keep an eye out for underclassmen Jessica Morris, Grace Barnhart, and Kennedy Sanderson looking to make a big impact this year.

Talking about the impact of missing last year, Noble said that she expects the team to take a while to get adjusted, but expects to be fine in the long run. She expressed concerts with the sophomores, who lost their freshman year, but expects big things from what she called a loaded class.

When asked about her goals and expectations, Noble first expressed that they play in a tough league, with the perennial state-finalist Champion Flashes, as well as teams on the rise such as Newton Falls and Brookfield. That being said, she expects the time to be ready come time for league play. She said she stacked her non-conference schedule with teams such as Ursuline, Howland, and Boardman to help prepare them for their tough conference schedule.

The Lady Vikings open their season on March 27th in Austintown. They begin league play on April 5th with Champion.

*Contributed by Jacob McCartney