FC teams dominate Galion district

May 1—GALION — As expected, the top four seeds at the Division IV Galion softball district is made up of Firelands Conference teams.

The statewide tournament draws were held on April 30. And if things go as the seeds were projected, each district semifinal on May 16 at Heise Park will be a third meeting between FC teams — and assure a conference team would move on to the Sweet 16.

Monroeville (16-4) is the top seed and will have a first-round bye. The Eagles will be a t home at Clark Park in a sectional championship game at 5 p.m. on May 11. They await the winner of No. 10 Mansfield Christian at No. 6 Buckeye Central (4-12), which will be played at 5 p.m. on May 8.

Opposite of the Eagles is a sectional title game on May 11, as No. 8 Crestline (3-9) visits No. 4 Plymouth (8-8).

The other half of the bracket features No. 7 St. Paul (3-15) traveling to No. 5 Lucas (5-9) in a sectional semifinal on May 8. That winner will visit No. 3 South Central (8-8) in a sectional title game, also at 5 p.m. on May 11.

The fourth sectional title game features No. 9 Seneca East traveling to No. 2 New London (10-5) at 5 p.m. on May 11.

The district semifinals are slated for 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on May 16 at Galion.

If the top four seeded teams advance, the bracket could potentially feature Plymouth vs. Monroeville and South Central vs. New London.

The current Eagles and Big Red are no strangers to meeting in the district, as the Big Red claimed a 9-8 win in the same possible matchup in 2021. The two teams also split the regular season matchups, with the away team winning teach time.

Monroeville claimed a 12-2 win at Plymouth on April 18, while the Big Red won at Clark Park, 6-2, on April 28.

If the weather holds, the Trojans and Wildcats would potentially face off three times in eight days. The two regular season meetings are slated for May 8-9.

Also of note, should the Flyers upset the Cubs and visit South Central, those two teams just played last week. The Trojans claimed a pair of wins by scores of 9-6 and 6-1.

New London won at Plymouth, 7-1, with the second game rescheduled because of weather and the Big Red leading 3-2 in the fourth inning.

Plymouth and South Central also split the two FC meetings, 6-0 and 6-5, on April 10-11.

The Eagles and Wildcats — the top two seeds — played a pair of one-run thrillers, both won by Monroeville, with scores of 2-1 and 3-2 on April 3-4.

The district championship game is scheduled for 5 p.m. on May 18 back at Galion. The winner of the district advances to the regional semifinals against the Bryan district winner at Gibsonburg High School.

The top seeds in the Bryan district include Edgerton (11-6), Defiance Ayersville (11-5), Montpelier (11-5) and Hicksville (9-11).

DIVISION II

Norwalk gets rubber match

WILLARD — At the Div. II Willard district, the Truckers (8-10) were seeded eighth among 10 teams.

Norwalk will travel to No. 5 Perkins (11-7) in a sectional semifinal at 5 p.m. on May 9 in a third meeting between the SBC Lake Division foes.

On April 6, the Truckers rallied past the Pirates for a 3-2 win at home — their first eight straight victories after an 0-7 start to the season. The Pirates then won the rematch, 7-3, on April 26 at Perkins.

The Norwalk-Perkins winner draws top-seeded and state-ranked No. 5 Mansfield Madison (14-2) in a sectional title game at 5 p.m. on May 12.

Other games in the district include No. 10 Mansfield Senior (2-8) visiting No. 7 Lexington (8-8) on May 9. That winner draws No. 2 Bellevue (11-1) in the sectional championship on May 12.

No. 6 Shelby (10-7) visits No. 4 Clyde (12-7) and No. 9 Vermilion (2-7) travels to No. 3 Ontario (13-4) in another pair of sectional title games on May 12.

The district semifinals are slated for 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on May 16 at Willard. The Shelby-Clyde winner is paired with the winner between Norwalk-Perkins and Madison, while the second game will feature the Vermilion-Ontario winner along with the Mansfield-Lexington-Bellevue winner.

The district championship game is scheduled for 5 p.m. on May 19. The winner advances to the regional semifinals at New Riegel High School.

DIVISION III

Edison gets rematch path

SHELBY — The Chargers are the No. 7 seed among the 12-team district at Shelby High School, and will see a very recent and familiar opponent.

Edison (7-10) will host No. 8 Bucyrus Wynford (5-11) in a sectional semifinal at 5 p.m. on May 9. The teams just met in Milan on April 27, with the Chargers claiming a 15-5 win in six innings.

The winner of that game will travel to Lions Park in Castalia on May 12 to face No. 2 Margaretta (12-8) in a sectional title game.

Edison lost at Margaretta, 4-2, in an SBC Bay Division game on April 18. The teams are scheduled to play in Milan on Wednesday. The Polar Bears are led by coach Dale Dawson, who was at Edison from 2009-15 and guided the team to four district titles and a Div. III state semifinal appearance (2012).

Two other area teams will be in sectional semifinal action on May 9. No. 12 Willard (1-13) visits No. 8 Bucyrus (7-10) and No. 11 Western Reserve (3-12) travels to No. 10 Galion (4-11).

The Willard-Bucyrus winner advances to face No. 1 Huron (13-5) and the Western-Galion winner travels to No. 4 Upper Sandusky (13-6) in sectional title games on May 12.

The district semifinals are slated for 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on May 17 at Shelby High School. Huron and Upper Sandusky are on the top half of the bracket, with the bottom half featuring the Wynford-Edison-Margaretta winner, and also the winner between Crestview-Clear Fork and Colonel Crawford.

The Cougars (10-6) are the No. 6 seed and travel to No. 5 Clear Fork (11-6) on May 9. That winner then advances to visit No. 3 Colonel Crawford (13-7) in the fourth sectional title game on May 12.

The district championship is back at Shelby at 5 p.m. on May 19. The winner will then stay at Shelby, as the school also hosts the regional semifinals and championship game the following week.