Girls Best of the Week: Softball league races shaping up in area
The area's high school softball races for league championships are far from over, but the finish line is looming.
In the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference, River Valley, Shelby and Ontario are all tied for first place with 7-1 records, but RV and the Whippets play a home-and-home series Tuesday and Wednesday, while Ontario has two games with Pleasant. The Warriors and Shelby play each other in the final week of the regular season as the Vikes and Ontario split earlier in the year.
River Valley and Ontario were helped by Highland's 3-1 victory last week over Shelby as Stevie Asher struck out six and allowed six hits. The Scots were limited to just three hits, but Kaymi Lewis had an RBI, and Highland scored two runs off a late error.
In the Northwest Central Conference. Elgin knocked out Ridgedale with a pair of wins last week, one a previously reported 11-1 six-inning victory and also a 4-3 victory at home where Alyvia Roth tossed a five-hitter with a walk, 11 strikeouts and two earned runs, and Gracie Isler and Madison Hill singled twice, and Kyra Wilcox doubled. Kenzie Delaney struck out 10, walked none, scattered eight hits and gave up two earned runs as Abby Bridges doubled for two RBI for the Rockets.
Now 7-0 in the NWCC, the Comets are tied atop the standings with Upper Scioto Valley. The two frontrunners will meet May 1 and 2 for a home-and-home series for a likely league championship.
Centerburg currently holds sway in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference with a 7-0 mark, but Cardington is right there at 5-1 with a game at the Trojans played after press time on Monday and a game in Cardington with Centerburg on Wednesday.
North Union and Benjamin Logan are 7-2 in the Central Buckeye Conference's Mad River Division, and both are a game behind Indian Lake in the loss column. The Wildcats and Indian Lake split earlier in the season, and NU suffered a loss to Kenton Ridge. Indian Lake still needs to play Ben Logan twice and a game with Kenton Ridge. North Union and Ben Logan will play each other May 1 and 3.
Here are some other highlights from around the area for girls spring sports teams and athletes over the last week:
∎ Northmor knocked off Cardington 6-4, scoring four runs in the sixth inning. Taylor Cantrell led the Golden Knights with a 3-for-3 effort, hitting a home run and two doubles for two runs and two RBI, while Emily Zeger hit a double and single, Raelyn Fulk a double and Madison Simpson two singles. Northmor's Kate Kissling allowed three hits and no earned runs, striking out four and walking one. For Cardington, Genevieve Longsdorf struck out 16 and walked no one, but allowed nine hits. Ari Simpson doubled for the Pirates.
∎ Northmor fell to Danville 4-1 after being held to four hits. Simpson doubled twice, and Shelby Cooper and Kissling teamed for four strikeouts, three walks and nine hits allowed.
∎ In a 16-10 win over Bucyrus, Simpson tripled and doubled twice for the Knights, while Lexi See tripled twice, Maddie May and Saje Miley doubled, Mahaila Strobel doubled and singled for three RBI and Zeger doubled and singled to score three times. Northmor's defense committed nine errors, while Kissling and Cooper countered by allowing only five hits with five walks and four strikeouts.
∎ Shelby beat Highland 8-1 despite only leading 2-1 in the sixth inning. Asher struck out eight as Abbi Burke doubled and singled, and Guinevere Jackson doubled.
∎ Highland dropped Buckeye Valley 11-2 with Asher firing a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts and one walk. Jackson tripled and singled; Bri Tuggle doubled and singled; Kate Clements doubled; and Dalaynie Hernandez singled three times.
∎ Cardington toppled East Knox 4-1 with Simpson and Longsdorf combining for a no-hitter with a walk and eight strikeouts. The Pirates scored all four of their runs in the third inning with Longsdorf swatting a homer, Myleigh Bishop recording a double and single and Morgan Powerll getting a double.
∎ River Valley blanked Marion Harding 18-0 with Riley Hamm and Sidney Street sharing the ball to allow just a hit and two walks with four strikeouts. The Vikes scored 14 runs in the first two innings with a triple from Kamryn Fowler, a double and single from Bentley Auld, a double from Delaney Myers and Hamm, and two singles from Lanie Wooten, Addison Braun and Alexis Williams.
∎ In a 17-5 win over the Presidents, Wooten limited Harding to six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. Samantha Woods paced RV with a home run, two doubles and a single followed by a triple and two singles from Street, a double and single from Myers, and two singles from Hamm and Wooten. Taylor O'Connor singled and doubled for Harding, and Abbey Hoertz singled twice, while Kameron Biederman and Taryn Simmers doubled.
∎ Colonel Crawford scored a run in every inning of a 7-5 victory over RV. Hamm and Wooten pitched, getting 12 strikeouts and a walk while surrendering 10 hits. Myers ended with two doubles, Wooten with a double and Hamm and Street with two singles.
∎ Reese DeCamp threw a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts and two walks to lead North Union to a 20-0 victory over Urbana. DeCamp tripled and singled for four RBI, too, and was followed by Jada Davis with a triple, double and single for three runs and three RBI, Cagney Stewart with a triple, single and three runs,, Kale Keigly with a triple and single, Kennedy Harrah and Chailyn Fishbaugh with a triple, Laine Sparks and Ryleigh Rasey with a double and single, and Emma Padovano with a double.
∎ In a 19-0 performance against the Hilltoppers, NU's Sparks struck out 10, walked none and gave up two hits. Davis homered and doubled twice for four runs and four RBI; Sparks doubled twice and singled twice for three runs; Stewart doubled and singled for three runs; Savannah Queen doubled and singled; Padovano doubled; and Harrah and Keigly singled twice.
∎ Clear Fork and Pleasant played a wild one with the Colts prevailing 18-15. Hannah Miller doubled twice for three RBI for Pleasant, while Grace Staley doubled and singled for three runs and three RBI, and Katie Jordan singled twice for three runs. Avery Malcom hit three singles, and Nicole Robinson hit two for the Spartans. In a 12-6 loss to the Colts, Miller doubled and singled for four RBI.
∎ Isabella Adkins limited Cardington to two hits, walking six and striking out two, but the Pirates still beat Pleasant 1-0. For Cardington, Abby Ufferman doubled, and Longsdorf struck out 12, walked two and gave up two hits.
∎ Miller had two singles and two RBI and Jordan two singles and two runs scored in a 15-4 loss to Lakewood.
Coaches and statisticians are encouraged to send their results to the Marion Star's Rob McCurdy at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, Twitter @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.
Marion Star Girls Best of the Week Performer Poll, vote:
Northmor softball's Taylor Cantrell was 3-for-3 with a home run, two doubles, two runs and two RBI in a win over Cardington.
River Valley softball's Samantha Woods hit a home run, two doubles and a single in a win over Marion Harding.
North Union softball's Jada Davis knocked a home run and two doubles to score four times and drive in four runs in a win over Urbana.
Highland softball's Stevie Asher threw a six-hitter with six strikeouts to give Shelby it's first Mid Ohio Athletic Conference loss of the season.
Elgin softball's Katie Penry was 4-for-6 batting in a 7-7 tie with Cardington.
Voting continues at MarionStar.com and its app through early Sunday morning.
In last week's poll, Marion Harding track's Lydia Price, who won the 3200 meters in 12:59.43 and the 1600 in 5:29.22 at the Ontario Relays, earned 1,255 of 3,580 votes (35 percent) to win it. Other nominees were Ridgedale softball's Kenzie Delaney, River Valley softball's Lanie Wooten, Pleasant track's Taydon Obenour, North Union track's Hannah Carney, Elgin softball's Alyvia Roth, Highland softball's Stevie Asher and Gilead Christian track's Teresa DeZurik.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Girls Best of the Week: Softball league races shaping up in area
