5 things to watch: State baseball tournament

May 17—The 2021 Ohio High School Athletic Association baseball tournament begins Monday, representing a resumption of the state-title chase after the entire 2020 season was canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.

On the local front in northwest Ohio, there are several interesting storylines heading into sectional play, and here are five things to watch for as the tourney progresses toward the district, regional, and state levels.

No. 1: Can Anthony Wayne regain its form?

The Generals opened the season at 17-1 overall, with the lone loss being a 3-2 nonleague setback against St. John's Jesuit. In the Division I state coaches poll released May 3, coach Mark Nell's team was ranked No. 1 in Ohio, one spot above Northern Lakes League rival Perrysburg, which AW had beaten 8-2 on April 16.

Since the 17-1 start, Anthony Wayne (20-4, 12-1 NLL) has lost three of its past seven games heading into Monday's first-place NLL showdown at Perrysburg (22-2, 11-1), needing a win to gain a share on the league title.

The top-seeded Generals, who were ranked No. 2 in the May 10 state coaches poll, will then have to bounce back quickly to open D-I tourney play Wednesday at home in a sectional final against Monday's Ashland-Mansfield Madison semifinal winner.

Provided AW advances, the Generals would then go to Bowling Green's Carter Park on May 26 to play a district semifinal against an NLL foe — the winner of Wednesday's Southview at Bowling Green sectional final.

If Nell's talented crew avoids these upsets, the district-final matchup at Carter Park on May 28 would most likely be against the winner of a probable semifinal matchup between Three Rivers Athletic Conference members Clay (18-4, 9-2) and Findlay (17-8, 9-5).

The Generals were D-I state runners-up in 2018 and reached the regional semifinals in 2019. They will likely have to bring their A-game to get past Clay or Findlay and reach a third straight regional.

No. 2: Perrysburg versus St. John's?

In the Division I district at Tiffin University, the projected finals matchup for May 28 would pit third-ranked Perrysburg, the No. 2 seed in northwest Ohio, against third-seeded TRAC title contender St. John's Jesuit (16-4, 10-2).

To make that intriguing matchup a reality, coach Dave Hall's Perrysburg Yellow Jackets will need to avoid what would be a monumental upset in Wednesday's home sectional final against either Bowsher or Lima Senior, and beat either St. Francis de Sales or Whitmer of the TRAC in a 2 p.m. district semifinal at Tiffin on May 26.

And, the other side of making that matchup possible would require St. John's to dodge an equally unlikely upset by Waite at home on Wednesday, and then get past Wednesday's Start-Northview sectional-final winner in the 5 p.m. district semifinal May 26 at Tiffin.

The winners of the Carter Park and Tiffin University districts would meet in a regional semifinal June 3 at Bowling Green State University's Steller Field at 5 p.m. The regional final at BGSU is June 4 at 5 p.m.

No. 3: Who will emerge from a wide-open Division II field?

In the Division II district at Archbold, it is anyone's guess which teams might meet in the noon final on May 29.

"We have nine teams in the district and any of the nine could beat anybody else," Wauseon coach Trent Thomas said.

In fact, one of the five losses this season for top-seeded perennial state power Defiance (19-5) was a 4-2 setback against No. 8 seed Maumee (7-15, 3-10 NLL).

Veteran Defiance coach Tom Held has guided the Bulldogs to D-II state championship in 2013, 2015, and 2016, and led them to two other state final-four appearances in 2002 and 2010.

That diamond pedigree makes fourth-ranked Defiance, which has already clinched a share of a Western Buckeye League title (8-1), the favorite.

But, this deep district also includes 11th-ranked Van Wert (19-4, 6-1 WBL), Northwest Ohio Athletic League champion Wauseon (16-5, 7-0) and runner-up Bryan (10-13, 6-1), TRAC contender Central Catholic (10-5, 5-4), and Ottawa-Glandorf (15-10, 6-3 WBL).

Defiance opens with a home sectional final Friday against the winner of the Maumee-Rossford semifinal, and with a win would play in a May 27 (4 p.m.) district semifinal at Archbold against the winner of Friday's Bryan-at-Wauseon sectional final.

In the other part of the district bracket, Van Wert hosts O-G in one sectional final on Friday, and Central hosts Napoleon (8-13) in another.

The district championship game is set for May 29 at noon at Archbold.

No. 4: How far will Ottawa Hills advance?

The Green Bears are talented, deep, experienced, and appear capable of a deep Division III tournament run, even if they are up a level from their usual Division IV status this year.

A challenging schedule against several strong programs from the D-I and D-II level has prepared 41st-year Ottawa Hills coach Chris Hardman's Bears very well. Now they must prove it on the field.

Ottawa Hills the No. 2 seed in the Defiance district, opens with a home sectional final on Friday against the winner of Wednesday's semifinal between Otsego and Northwood.

If the Toledo Area Athletic Conference co-champion Green Bears (22-2, 9-1) advance to the May 27 (6 p.m.) district semifinal at Defiance, they would likely see either Evergreen (13-7, 5-2 NWOAL) or Liberty-Benton (14-6), both of which Ottawa Hills has beaten earlier this season in nonleague play.

Should the Bears pass that test, the next one likely will be a big one against top-seeded Green Meadows Conference champion Tinora (22-4, 7-0), which is ranked 10th in the state in D-III. The Rams made four straight trips to the state final four, (2011-14), winning a D-IV state championship in 2014.

Of course, Tinora will have to get past either Northern Buckeye Conference leader Lake (20-5, 11-1) or Everegreen (13-7, 5-2) in the 4 p.m. district semifinal on May 27 at Defiance.

No. 5: Is Eastwood ready for a run?

The 13th-ranked Eagles of coach Kevin Leady (21-2, 9-2) embark on a big week, needing to beat Otsego on Monday to set up a first-place conference showdown in the NBC on Thursday against Lake.

In between, Eastwood opens D-III tourney play with a home sectional final on Wednesday against either Columbus Grove or Kenton. A win there would send the second-seeded Eagles to a May 27 district semifinal at Elida, likely against No. 3 seed Allen East.

If Eastwood gets that far, it would likely need to get past perennial state power Coldwater (18-7, 7-2) of the Midwest Athletic Conference. The Cavaliers, ranked 11th in D-III, have reached the state final four 20 times, with seven state championships and four runner-up finishes.