Tag Archive for: OHSAA Tournament

ST JOHN’S SWORD SHARP IN SECTIONAL GAME

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East Palestine, OH- With runners in scoring position, it was miller time for the Heralds. Tom Miller was clutch at the plate with runners on base on Thursday, driving in five on three hits to lead Saint John past the Wellsville Tigers 18-5 on Thursday.  Miller drove in runs on a single in the third, a single in the fourth, and a single in the seventh. Saint John earned the victory despite allowing Wellsville Tigers to score four runs in the third inning.  Wellsville’s big inning was driven by a single by Landes and an error on a ball put in play by Ramsey. The Heralds got things moving in the second inning.  Bryson Vennitti grounded out, scoring one run. Saint John exploded for seven runs in the seventh inning.  Anthony Severino, Ryan Williams, Matt Miller, Miller, and AJ Henslee each drove in runs during the inning. Will Anderson led things off on the hill for the Heralds. The right-handed sophomore hurler allowed ten hits and five runs over five innings, striking out 11 and walking zero. Landes led things off on the mound for the Tigers. The pitcher went three innings, allowing ten runs on ten hits, striking out three and walking zero.  Brewer and Heffner entered the game from the bullpen, throwing three innings and one inning respectively.

Saint John launched one home run on the day. Sophomore slugger Ryan Williams sent one packing in the seventh inning. The Heralds racked up an impressive 17 hits on the day. Truly a group effort as Tom and Matt Miller, Severino, Williams, Ezra Campbell, and Anderson each had multiple hits for Saint John.  Matt Miller led the Heralds with four hits in six at bats. The Wellsville Tigers totaled ten hits.  Brewer, Ramsey, and Landes all managed multiple hits for Wellsville Tigers.  Brewer went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead Wellsville in hits. The Heralds next matchup will truly be a test as they will face off against the number 1 seed Lake Center Christian Tigers 05/23/23 at the beautiful Cene Park in Struthers.

THE LADY LAKERS MAKE A BIG SPLASH IN OHSAA TOURNAMENT PLAY

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East Palestine, OH- Saige Payne had all the right stuff on Tuesday for Pymatuning Valley Lakers, allowing zero runs in the opening round win over Liberty by a score of 10-0. The Lakers secured the victory thanks to six runs in the fifth inning.  The offensive onslaught by Pymatuning Valley was led by Kylie Luke, Ruby Beck, Payne, and Mandie Herman, all knocking in runs in the inning.

Pymatuning Valley scored six runs in the fifth inning.  The offensive onslaught by the Lakers was led by Luke, Beck, Payne, and Herman, who each had RBIs in the inning. A bright spot for Liberty was a single by Fleps in the fourth inning. Payne was in the pitcher’s circle for the Pymatuning Valley Lakers. The Laker ace allowed one hit and zero runs over five innings, striking out eight and walking one. Fleps was in the circle for Liberty. Fleps went four and two-thirds innings, allowing ten runs on 11 hits and striking out six. Pymatuning Valley tallied 11 hits on the day.  Payne, Brooke Gray, Mariah Sharpe, and Rieane Zajac all had multiple hits for the Lakers.  Zajac, Sharpe, Gray, and Payne each collected two hits to lead Pymatuning Valley. Pymatuning Valley will host Garrettsville Garfield 05/11/2023 for the sectional semi-final.

FALCONS ONE STEP AWAY FROM AKRON

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YOUNGSTOWN OH- The tension was high on Tuesday night as Fitch ventured into the regional semifinals for the first time since 2013. Their opponent Brecksville Broadview Heights had just as an impressive season as the Falcons did. Both teams came in with 22+ wins, and a pitcher with an ERA lower than 0.65.  The Falcons were able to set the tone early and escape with a 5-2 win.  The Falcons are now one win away from a trip to Firestone Stadium.

Caitlin Mitchell got the Falcons on the board first as she hit an RBI single in the first inning to make it 1-0 Falcons.  She finished with multiple hits on the day. Samantha Severn knocked in a pair of RBI.  Ayla Ray also finished with multiple hits and a RBI.  She made a fantastic play at short to end the third inning.

Sydnie Watts was not phased by the impressive offense the Bees presented.  Chelsea Mack carried an average above .700 coming into the game. The future Kentucky Wildcat had over 70 hits on the season. She eventually got 2 hits and an RBI, but Watts struck her out her first two at bats.  Watts struck out 14 batters total on her way to the win. She gave up 2 runs on 6 hits. It makes her total 310 on the season.

Fitch will play in the regional final on Friday night against North Canton Hoover.  This will be a rematch of the 2021 district championship.  First pitch from YSU is set for 5:00.

LEOPARDS PUNCH TICKET TO CANTON

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LOUISVILLE OH- The Leopards welcomed in the Spartans of Boardman on Saturday afternoon to open tournament play in division 1. Louisville used a big run before the half to secure a win over Boardman 67-51. After a back and forth start, and the Spartans leading 10-8, Louisville went on a 16-2 run in the second frame and never looked back. The Spartans never led again after that 10-8 lead.

The Leopards were paced by Sherilynn Mullet who put in 17 points on the day. The Leopards were balanced and saw three other players get in to double figures. Paige Cole scores 12, Aubrey Thorne used 3 threes to finish with 11, and Brooke Haren finished with 10. Cole also broke her own single season three point record in the game. She has hit 44 threes this season.

Raegan Burkey ended her basketball career scoring 18 points to lead the Spartans. Gia Triveri added 9 points for Boardman.

Louisville advances to the sectional finals traveling to Canton McKinley on Thursday at 7:00, but before that they do finish their regular season schedule by hosting Orville on Monday.

 

CARDINALS ADVANCE TO SECTIONAL FINALS

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CANFIELD OH- The Canfield Lady Cardinals are moving on in Division 1 tournament play after a convincing  57-35 victory over the visiting Hudson Explorers.

Alyssa Dill poured in 22 points for the Cards with Summer Sammarone adding 13 points.The Cardinals hit on 7 3-pointers in the contest.

Canfield upped their season record to 12-7 and will  travel to Massillon Perry to take on the Panthers  in Thursday nights tournament play.

*Contributed by YSN’s Gary Leininger

YSN VOLLEYBALL REGIONAL PREVIEW

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EAST PALESTINE OH- The OHSAA Volleyball tournament is Down to its sweet 16 and we have 3 teams in the YSN family hoping to keep advancing the in the regional rounds. All regional  semifinal matches are slated for Thursday night and we have all you need to know about each team’s matchups with our regional preview.

Division IV

Wellsville vs Monroeville 5:30 at Uniontown Lake High School

The Tigers are coming off a decisive district championship victory over Western Reserve. They swept a good Blue Devils team that beat them in five sets earlier in the season. Emma Smith was a big reason why. She led the team with 13 kills and 4 blocks. Smith is the player to watch as the Tigers continue in the tournament. She leads the team in kills with 305. The Tigers gave other options that will need to step up. Teams can have to have multiple reliable hitters to advance at this level. The Tigers have 3 other players with over 100 kills. The 6-2 rotation lends itself to always having hitters available in the front row. And the Tigers have two setters that both do a great job moving the ball around. The biggest thing to watch for the Tigers success is their block. They blocked very well against Western Reserve and as the level of play gets higher, their front row will need to prove they can consistently get hands on balls. That will force attack errors trying to avoid the block.

The Tigers opponent Monroeville comes in to the match undefeated, and have yet to lose a set in tournament play. Their strength is their middle blocker Kylee Brooks who has 319 kills on the season. That is a big matchup between her and the blockers of the Tigers. It won’t be easy. Brooks hitting percentage is .404 which tells me she hasn’t been challenged too much in the block.

For me, the Tigers key to victory is moving their outsides and spreading the ball around. They have a more spread out offense by the numbers. They have to make Brooks run across the net. If they let her stay stationary, or become predictable on offense they will have a tough time.

Mineral Ridge vs Dalton 7:30 at Uniontown Lake High School

The Rams come into regionals with a record of 22-2 and won their district championship in four sets over Columbiana.

Katelyn Lesko is the heart and soul of the Ridge offense. If she finds a rhythm, the other hitters will as well. Katelyn demands so much attention from the opponent’s block that the other hitters usually end up with either an open net, or a one on one situation. The question for the Rams is will they be able to capitalize on those opportunities.  The Rams have arguably the best setter in the area in Danielle Aulet. Her volleyball IQ and instincts are at the highest level.

For the Rams, their biggest challenge will be consistently passing and getting in to system. They struggled with serve receive at times against Columbiana and they need to sure that up. With the size disadvantage they have, they cannot afford to be consistently out of system and become easy to block. I think the player to watch outside of the obvious for Ridge is Morgan Sigley. Not only is her serve deadly, but she fills in the front row while Lesko rotates to the back. Sigley has to stay aggressive and put the pressure on the opponents outsides.

Ridge’s opponent Dalton doesn’t have the best record in the world, coming in to the match with a 16-8 record, but don’t let that fool you, Dalton plays a very tough schedule. Smithville who is the Division III regional semifinal pops up on their schedule twice, along with volleyball powerhouse Orrville. The Bulldogs have a deadly 1-2 punch in middle blocker Brennah Arnold, and outside Tess Denning. Arnold has 320 kills, and Denning has 229. This will make it very tough for Ridge to key in on one of them. Dalton hits pretty efficiently with an impressive team hitting percentage of .256, so I expect the Rams will have to match that and try to stay away from unforced errors.

Division III

Crestview Vs Smithville 8:00 at Barberton High School

The Rebels are making their second trip to Barberton for a regional semifinal in two years. However, this team looks a lot different than last year’s. Eight seniors gone, no problem for the Rebels. They have introduced the amazing 1-2 punch of Grace Auer and Lucy Montgomery, who both have multiple triple doubles on the season. Watching this Rebels team, it’s hard to pick out a glaring weakness. They pass well, they have two great setters, who double as strong hitters. They have a pair of strong muddled in Shelby Rambo, and Molly Emch. Montgomery is one of unique hitters at this level that hits better down the line than cross court. A lot of teams are not used to a hitters first option be down the line. It will be interesting to see how Smithville decides to come out initially on defense, and then what kind of adjustments they make if Montgomery consistently hits line.

 

Smithville is a solid team in a tough conference. They come in with a record of 23-1. Smithville is led by a dominant 5’11 outside hitter in Brooke Fatzinger, she is just 4 kills away from 400 on the season. The Rebels also can’t sleep on Brooke Karlen who has 236 kills herself. The Smithies are another efficient team hitting at a percentage of .268. The Rebels have a higher percentage though hitting .279. This could be a very clean volleyball match, which is always fun to watch. Smithville only have 38 blocks on the season so the Rebels may have an advantage in the middle with Emch and Rambo.

Stay tuned to YSN’s twitter account for score updates throughout the night for all three of the matchups.

-Anthony Hartwig

RIDGE FIGHTS OFF CLIPPERS FOR A DISTRICT TITLE

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MINERAL RIDGE OH- Mineral Ridge Volleyball has gone a long time without a district championship. They’ve had several teams over the years with promise who have gotten to the title game, but came up short. Their 2020 squad was determined to put an end to the drought. They’d have to battle their way past a very scrappy Columbiana team in order to do it. The Rams came away with a hard fought four set victory to finally be crowned district champions (25-22 25-16 14-25 25-23).

Leading the Rams offense was Katelyn Lesko who finished with 19 kills on the day. She also completed a double double tallying the team lead in digs with 20. Morgan Sigley had a strong outing finishing with 19 digs, and 9 kills. She had the title clinching kill as well. Danielle Aulet ran the offense to perfection collecting 37 assists.

Columbiana was led by Tori Long who finished with a double double. She tallied 10 kills, and 10 digs. Maddie Witherow put together a strong performance with 7 kills, and 15 digs. Maci Linhart led the Clipper offense with 16 digs. Grace Witmer set up 19 assists. She also compiled 8 digs, and 4 kills.

(Chris Giovannone)

Mineral Ridge advances to the regional semifinals where they’ll travel to Uniontown Lake on Thursday to take on Dalton. That match is set to begin at approximately 7:30.

Columbiana ends the season with a 20-6 record.

(Chris Giovannone)

*Postgame interview with Katelyn Lesko, and Head Coach Ron Lesko

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwwqTyUHEAA[/embedyt]

 

REBELS CLINCH BACK TO BACK DISTRICT TITLES

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COLUMBIANA OH- Crestview went in to Saturday’s district championship with the opportunity to repeat as champions. Standing in their way was a Mooney team who was on an upset tour in the bracket as the 16 seed. It was a tough battle, but eventually the Rebels were too much to overcome and they took the title in four sets (25-17 21-25 25-19 26-24).

Both Grace Auer and Lucy Montgomery collected triple doubles for the Rebels. Montgomery finished with 16 kills, 28 digs, and 16 assists. Auer finished with 16 kills, 21 digs, and 19 assists. Molly Emch Player well out of the middle with 7 kills, and 2 blocks. Kendra Greaves collected 22 digs.

The Rebels advance to the regional semifinals where they’ll travel to Barberton to take on Smithville. That match will be on Thursday at 8:00

REBELS PUNCH TICKET TO TITLE MATCH

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COLUMBIANA OH- Crestview is heading to their second district championship in a row as they made quick work of Pymatuning Valley on Wednesday in a straight set victory (25-13 25-8 25-12).

Lucy Montgomery added another double double to her collection with 12 kills, and 13 assists. She also served up 6 aces. Molly Emch had a good night in the front row with 6 kills, and 4 blocks. Grace Auer had 4 kills, and 13 assists on the night. Hannah Cope led the defense with 8 digs.

Crestview will now host the district championship Saturday as they welcome in a Mooney team that has upset their way into the title match. That match is set to begin at 1:00.

CLIPPERS WIN A WILD MATCH TO ADVANCE TO TITLE

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COLUMBIANA OH- Newton Falls came to the hanger in Columbiana on Wednesday night in the district semifinals. The Tigers brought everything they had and it made for a wild match. The Clippers were able to do enough to win in four sets, but none of the sets had a team below 20, and two of the sets went to extra points (27-25 30-32 25-20 25-20).

Tori Long was impressive earning a double double with 29 digs, and 18 kills. Maddie Witherow also contributed a double double with 12 kills, and 12 digs. Not to be outdone, Grace Witmer was able to notch a triple double with 29 assists, 10 kills, and 10 digs. Maci Linhart made incredible defense and gathered 44 digs.

Columbiana advances to the district championship where they’ll travel to top seeded Mineral Ridge on Saturday. That game is set to start at 1:00.