5 storylines from Greater Cincinnati baseball, softball postseason May 22
The pressure is on now for Greater Cincinnati baseball and softball squads with postseason tournaments in full swing.
In Ohio, the state softball field has been significantly trimmed as teams move to the regional tournament after capturing district championships. Cincinnati area baseball teams will compete for district championships this week. In Northern Kentucky, the Eighth, Ninth and 10th Region baseball and softball tournaments are underway and will conclude later this week.
Here's who is standing out so far in the playoffs.
More:'We're looking to hang banners.' Williamsburg chases 1st district title in 58 years
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Baseball
All chalk in Division I so far except for one big GMC upset
Oak Hills pulled off the biggest upset by seed in the local Division I sectionals. And it was a big one, as the Highlanders, seeded 21st, knocked off No. 4 seed Fairfield 6-3 in the sectional semifinal.
Oak Hills, who was fifth in the Greater Miami Conference at 8-10 and 12-17 overall, upset second-place finisher Fairfield, who was 13-5 and finished 19-8 overall. Oak Hills avenged two prior losses to the Indians, 3-0 and 4-1.
Oak Hills, who had six hits combined in those prior two losses, only had four against Fairfield in the playoff rematch. But they took advantage of two Fairfield errors and seven walks from Fairfield ace Aaron England, one of the top pitchers in Cincinnati. England only gave up hit in 4.2 innings, but four runs, three earned.
Meanwhile, Oak Hills junior Aiden Thomas and senior Micah Valdez held Fairfield to four hits and two earned runs while walking four.
Oak Hills will play in a district semifinal Tuesday at West Clermont, which improved to 20-8 by edging St. Xavier 8-6 last week. WC is the seven seed. The Wolves got a huge game from junior Riley Wooldridge, who had two home runs and five RBIs.
Eight other DI teams will play district semis on Tuesday.
No. 3 seed Elder (20-8) will play No. 8 seed Milford (16-13). Milford knocked off No. 20 seed Hamilton 13-1 after the Big Blue (9-18) upset ninth seed Ross 1-0 on a four-hit complete game with 11 strikeouts by junior Clint Moak. Elder advanced with a 5-1 win over Sycamore with senior Jared Eckstein allowing three hits and one run while striking out seven in five innings.
No. 2 seed Mason (24-4) will host No. 13 seed Loveland Tuesday. The teams just played May 13, with Mason winning 8-7. Mason advanced with an easy 10-0 win over Anderson as Michigan commit Michael Murphy pitched a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts. The Tigers edged No. 19 seed La Salle, 4-3. Senior Tyler Huff had two hits and drove in two runs, including the walk-off winner in the bottom of the seventh.
No. 1 Moeller (25-3) will host No. 10 seed Princeton (15-13). Moeller had no trouble advancing over Northwest, winning 10-0 behind a two-hit, nine-strikeout complete game from Toby Hueber. Princeton fell off a bit after a hot start but has still had one of the biggest turnarounds in Cincinnati this year, going from six wins last year to 15 in 2023. Princeton knocked off Talawanda 7-1 to advance, led by senior Andrew Edrington, who struck out 10 and allowed one run in six innings.
No. 5 seed Lebanon (20-8) will host No. 6 Kings (19-9) after both had easy wins in their sectional openers. Kings won both games, 4-0 and 16-9 (9 innings).
The district finals are Thursday. The Elder-Milford and Kings-Lebanon winners will play each other, while the winners of the other two local games will face Dayton-area schools.
The top six seeds in Division II battle it out
The top six seeds in the Cincinnati Division II sectional all advanced to Tuesday’s district semifinal round, but not without some drama.
No. 1 Badin (26-1) will host No. 4 seed Reading (18-6). Badin, the Greater Catholic League-Coed champion, who has been to the state Final Four the last two seasons, rolled over Mt. Healthy. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils, who were runner-up in the Cincinnati Hills League, beat Clinton-Massie. Badin and Reading did not play this year. Badin did not play any CHL teams this year and was 2-0 against the league in last year’s playoffs.
No. 2 seed Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (17-10) will host No. 5 seed Batavia (18-9). CHCA, the Miami Valley Conference-Scarlet champion, edged Wyoming 3-1 behind a five-hit complete game by Jeffrey Levin with one walk and eight strikeouts. Batavia edged No. 7 seed McNicholas behind two RBIs apiece from Nick Burke and Cy Gibson.
CHCA and Batavia did not play this season. Batavia reached the district finals last season and CHCA reached the regional semis.
No. 3 seed Indian Hill (20-7) will host No. 6 seed Fenwick (18-11). The Braves, champions of the CHL, beat Fenwick 11-1 on April 20. Fenwick advanced with a 7-1 win over New Richmond. IH edged Summit Country Day 2-1 in nine innings to advance. The Braves scored in the bottom of the seventh to keep their season alive and walked it off in the ninth. Junior Nick Rinala, the newly crowned CHL player of the year, lifted the Braves in clutch fashion. He had two hits, driving in the tying run with two outs and two strikes on him in the seventh. In the ninth, he got on base and scored on an error. On the mound, he pitched 7.2 innings, giving up four hits, one run (unearned) and striking out 11.
The district finals are Thursday, with the local winners facing Dayton-area schools.
Upsets abound among smaller schools
The Division III district semifinals are Monday evening.
No. 1 seed Williamsburg (22-15) will host No. 13 seed Waynesville, who edged No. 10 seed Norwood 2-0 to advance. The Wildcats rolled 11-1 over Purcell Marian behind a three-hitter from senior Carter Sunderman with 12 strikeouts.
No. 7 seed Cincinnati Country Day (17-11) will travel to No. 3 seed Carlisle. CCD upset No. 2 seed Blanchester 12-2 to advance behind three hits from Elijah Guttman and four RBIs from Jameson French.
No. 6 seed Madeira (15-11) will host No. 14 seed Middletown Madison, who upset No. 4 seed Mariemont 5-3 last week. Madeira beat Clermont Northeastern 12-2 behind four RBIs from Peter Breidenbach.
The three semifinal winners will play Dayton-area schools on Wednesday in the finals.
The Division IV district semis are set for Monday, with the two winners facing Dayton-area schools on Wednesday.
No. 1 seed Miami Valley Christian Academy, the MVC-Gray champion, advanced by forfeit and didn’t play last week. MVCA will play No. 6 seed Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington, who upset No. 4 seed St. Bernard-Elmwood Place 3-1.
No. 2 seed Fayetteville-Perry (12-9) also advanced by forfeit and will host No. 5 seed Felicity-Franklin (6-9), who upset No. 3 seed New Miami 14-0.
Three schools start district title streaks
In the 32nd District, Simon Kenton won its second straight district title by defeating Walton-Verona 10-7. The Pioneers had won every year from 2010-2019 but the Bearcats broke their streak in 2021.
Covington Catholic successfully defended its title by defeating Beechwood 7-4, their fourth title game defeat of the Tigers since 2017. Just 11 days prior, the Colonels suffered an 8-7 loss to the Tigers.
In the 37th District, Campbell County defeated Bishop Brossart 8-0 to go back-to-back. The Camels have won two straight district titles for the first time since 2016-2017.
Elsewhere, Dixie Heights became the 34th District champion for the third straight year, and Highlands won its 11th straight 36th District championship.
Who will advance in the 8th and 10th regions?
After qualifying for the regional tournament by means of making the district championship game, Walton-Verona and Simon Kenton took the field on Sunday hoping to keep their seasons alive.
The Pioneers took on Carroll County, a team they had never lost to in six previous matchups. That streak continued as they beat the Panthers 8-2. Simon Kenton has now won nine of their last 11 games this season.
The Bearcats were looking to keep a four-game winning streak against Owen County alive. After falling behind 2-0, Cayden Smithers hit a solo home run to tie the game at two before Julian Dixon's two-run homer gave Walton-Verona a 4-2 lead. That score became final after Evan Kerns finished a complete game in which he allowed five hits and struck out seven.
Walton-Verona will play Woodford County Monday at 6 p.m. and Simon Kenton will take the field in the nightcap against Shelby County. Both games will be played at the University of Louisville's Jim Patterson Stadium.
Over in the 10th Region, Bishop Brossart and Campbell County begin their regional journeys on May 22 and 23, respectively. The Mustangs take on Mason County at 5:30 p.m. while Campbell County faces Nicholas County at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Both games will be played at Harrison County.
Softball
Flynn's blast leads Milford past No. 1 Oak Hills
Milford's Kaitlyn Flynn was 0-for-3 going into the top of the seventh inning of Thursday's district final against top-seeded Oak Hills. The junior delivered when it mattered most, launching a three-run home run to give Milford a 4-2 lead. Fellow junior Isabella Zimmerman, who went 3-for-4, followed with a solo homer, leading the Eagles to a 5-2 victory and the program's first district championship since 2004.
Milford got multiple hits from seniors Callie Allison and Myra Darrah, along with stellar circle work from freshman pitcher Meghan McClellan, who struck out 13 over seven innings, yielding just two unearned runs on five hits with no walks.
Milford will play Fairfield in the Division I regional semifinals Wednesday at Mason. Fairfield sophomore Megan Spence surrendered two runs in the first inning in the district finals against Centerville but battled back with six scoreless frames to lead the Indians to a 5-2 win of their own.
Fairfield's offense tied it with two runs in the third and pulled away with a three-spot in the fifth. Junior Jillian Huey and freshman Madi Miller each went 2-for-3.
Lebanon walks it off for a district title
No. 1 Lebanon hasn't lost since April 7 but the Warriors were pushed to the limit in the district championship against Hamilton.
Lebanon's Aubrey Smith and Hamilton's Emili Schappacher were locked in a pitchers' duel with a scoreless affair through seven innings. Lebanon finally notched the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth inning when Julianna Gonzalez beat a drawn-in infield with a base hit to center field scoring Ashley Simko.
Lebanon now has a shot at revenge when it goes up against Miamisburg Wednesday afternoon in the DI regional semifinals. Miamisburg beat Lebanon, 3-2, on April 7 and the Warriors have won 23 straight since.
Miamisburg held commanding leads of 9-1 and 11-2 in the district championship against Mason before the Comets scored six times in the bottom of the seventh. The rally came up short, though, and Mason finished the year 17-11. Junior Jo Sander went 2-for-4 with a home run, double and four RBIs. Sophomore Alea Hensley went 3-for-4 while Alisha Fox and Avery Blinn each notched multi-hit games.
Taylor softball captures district championship
Taylor softball continues to survive and advance. The Yellowjackets scored a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Badin in the district semifinals, 2-1. In the district championship game, Taylor outlasted Benjamin Logan in extra innings, 3-2.
Taylor will face fellow No. 1 seed in Greenville, which ended New Richmond's season in the district finals, 11-2. The Lions were led by junior Lilly Summerville, who went 2-for-4 with a triple. Junior Daegan Flamm and sophomore Piper Willis each knocked in a run. New Richmond finishes the year 23-4.
Waynesville, CNE, Williamsburg fall in district finals
There are no Greater Cincinnati teams remaining in the Division III and IV tournament.
Waynesville fell in the district finals to Miami East, 8-7. The Spartans led 7-1 going into the seventh inning, but the Vikings rallied with six runs in the final frame to complete a stunning comeback. Waynesville finishes the year 15-8.
Clermont Northeastern came up short in the district championship against Indian Lake, 12-2. Senior Lilly Braden knocked in both runs for the Rockets with a home run. CNE finishes the season 20-6.
Williamsburg, Cincinnati's last team in the DIV field, fell to top-seeded Covington, 10-0. The Wildcats finish the year 16-12.
Simon Kenton wins first regional tournament game since 2017
The Lady Pioneers have appeared in 10 Eighth Region tournaments in the 21st century, with all 10 coming since 2008. They won a game in each of their first two appearances but did not advance again until they beat North Oldham in 2017.
Simon Kenton was 15-15 entering the tournament and their 14-2 win over Henry County could be considered an upset. The Ladycats were 15-10 and had beaten Ninth Region front-runner Highlands. Larkin Mitchell was 5-5 with two doubles, Emilee Young was 4-4 with two doubles and two RBIs and Andreena Barton was 3-5 with three doubles and three RBIs. Landrey Dance did her dance in the circle, pitching a complete game while allowing two runs on seven hits.
The Lady Pioneers will face Woodford County on May 24 at 8 p.m. at the University of Louisville’s Ulmer Stadium.