Notebook: Gahanna Lincoln Lions girls lacrosse squad sees positive results

Understanding the challenge of facing the No. 1 seed in the Division I, Region 3 tournament, the Gahanna Lincoln girls lacrosse team entered its matchup May 20 at Upper Arlington with the modest aim of being more competitive than when the programs met in the past.

The Lions hope this season was a step toward having loftier goals when they face a team such as the Golden Bears in the future.

Gahanna lost to UA 19-7 in a quarterfinal, concluding one of the best seasons in program history at 9-9.

“We’ve just worked on the things we see in the game, watching game film and trying to correct what we can before the next game,” coach Stephanie Belz said. “There have been some new concepts, but it’s been easier for them to understand. With teams (like Upper Arlington) we always want to see what we can do to slow their attack down, learn how they can move the ball and seeing if we can stop them, too, just working off our attack.”

Although the Lions lost 15-14 in overtime to Hilliard Davidson on May 5, Gahanna received the 11th seed and the Wildcats were seeded 12th for the postseason.

In a rematch between the teams May 16 in the second round, the Lions won 15-12 to set up their matchup with UA.

Senior Kendall Barker, a Howard University commit who split time between defender and midfielder, had seven goals and two assists against the Wildcats.

Senior Kenzie Streby, a Florida Southern commit, had five goals against Davidson.

It was Gahanna’s first postseason win since 2016, the season before the sport became sanctioned by the OHSAA. The Lions also won postseason games in 2011 and 2013 but had lost tournament openers in each of their first four OHSAA postseasons.

“It’s really big for us,” Streby said. “We lost to (Davidson) in the regular season, so it was really good for us to come back. We were a lot more excited and that’s what got us over the edge.”

Barker and Streby were part of a senior class that also featured Aryam Goitom, who was new to the program but proved to be one of the Lions’ top defenders.

Streby finished with 79 goals and six assists, and Barker had 46 goals and 11 assists. Sophomore midfielder Addy Haines had 61 goals and 24 assists.

Sophomore Kaitlynn Hedrick is eligible to return at goalie, and junior Paige Canter expects to lead a defensive unit that also should include sophomore Olivia Hall.

Junior Grace Bell (midfielder) and sophomores Samantha Hanm (midfielder/defender) and Lili Stacev (attacker) are others eligible to return.

“We (built) a sense of family,” Streby said. “This season we’ve really bonded so much more than we ever had before, which is unique to any other season I’ve been here, so hopefully that carries on and the team spirit carries on with it because that’s what pushes us over and gets us the wins.”

•Junior third baseman Jordan George led the way for the New Albany softball team, which averaged 7.8 runs per game and finished 13-12 overall and 4-6 in the OCC-Ohio Division.

George, a Pittsburgh commit who was named first-team all-district and second-team all-state, led the Eagles in batting average (.636), hits (42), home runs (10) and RBI (33). Seeded 25th of 48 teams in the Division I district tournament, New Albany lost 7-2 at sixth-seeded Olentangy Liberty in a second-round game May 12.

The Eagles won seven of their final nine games to secure a winning record after going 10-17 in 2021.

“We peaked at the right time. We hit the ball top to bottom,” coach Marc George said. “Offensively, we smoked the ball. We were running the bases really aggressively, which caused problems for the defense. It’s just execution. The girls caught on and they were executing really well.”

Junior outfielder Logan Riley batted .432 with 35 hits, three home runs and 19 RBI, ahead of senior shortstop and Findlay recruit Aurora Lescody (.379, 33 hits, 2 home runs, 13 RBI) and senior pitcher Sophia Angles (.345, 17 hits, 14 RBI).

Other players eligible to return include the team’s other two pitchers in junior Jessica Goldhardt and freshman Grace Benner, and freshman starters Ava Bowersock (2B/RF) and Izzy White (1B). Benner also plays second base and right field.

—Dave Purpura

•Tanner Compton always will have fond memories of his athletic career at Columbus Academy.

A standout in baseball and basketball, Compton capped his prep career by helping to lead the baseball team this spring. The Vikings finished 13-14 overall and 7-5 in the MSL-Ohio.

Compton (INF/OF) batted .356 with 28 runs and 12 RBI and was second-team all-league and honorable mention all-district. He also was 4-0 with two saves and a 1.02 ERA. He had 29 strikeouts and eight walks in 27 1/3 innings.

“High school flew by,” Compton said. “Baseball always seems to go fast with our spring break schedule. Before the season even starts, it seems like it’s quickly coming to an end.”

Compton also was second-team all-league and honorable mention all-district in basketball last season.

Johnny Hill (P/C/OF), the team’s other senior, batted .437 with 33 runs, 16 RBI and six doubles. He was first-team all-district and all-league and will play at Hobart College in Geneva, New York.

“Johnny and I both knew we had to step up this season and take on a big leadership role,” Compton said. “We had fun. It was a good season.”

Freshman Theo Falkenhain (OF) batted .415 with 22 runs, 21 RBI and nine doubles and was second-team all-league.

Junior Dylan Ritzenthaler (1B/OF) batted .338 with 21 runs, 18 RBI and six doubles and was first-team all-district and honorable mention all-league. He also was 5-5 with a 1.19 ERA, 80 strikeouts and 27 walks in 65 innings.

Freshman Joseph Gurwin (P/C/INF) batted .387 with 23 runs, 17 RBI and 10 doubles and was second-team all-district.

Sophomore Peter Tsung (P/C/SS) batted .351 with 24 RBI and 23 runs, and junior Rex Whitney (P/INF) batted .333 with 16 runs and 12 RBI.

Seeded ninth for the Division III district tournament, the Vikings lost at third-seeded Centerburg 6-4 in the second round May 19.

“We thought the seniors had great leadership and led a young team,” coach Todd Dunkle said. “There’s a lot to look forward to. We played (Academy) baseball and that is we show up and we’re there to win. We never quit.”

—Frank DiRenna

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COLUMBUS ACADEMY BASEBALL 

•Record: 13-14 overall 

•MSL-Ohio standings: Buckeye Valley (12-0), Worthington Christian (9-3), Bexley (8-4), Columbus Academy (7-5), Grandview (4-8), Wellington (1-11), Whitehall (1-11)  

•Seniors lost: Tanner Compton and Johnny Hill 

•Key returnees: Theo Falkenhain, Joseph Gurwin, Dylan Ritzenthaler, Peter Tsung and Rex Whitney 

•Postseason: Lost to Centerburg 6-4 in second round of Division III district tournament

GAHANNA GIRLS LACROSSE

•Record: 9-9 overall

•OCC-Ohio: New Albany (4-0), Pickerington Central (3-1), Gahanna (2-2), Pickerington North (1-3), Westerville Central (0-4)

•Seniors lost: Kendall Barker, Aryam Goitom and Kenzie Streby

•Key returnees: Grace Bell, Paige Canter, Addy Haines, Olivia Hall, Kaitlynn Hedrick, Brooke Mondak and Lili Strancev

•Postseason: Def. Hilliard Davidson 15-12; lost to Upper Arlington 19-7 in Division I, Region 3 quarterfinal

NEW ALBANY SOFTBALL

•Record: 13-12 overall

•OCC-Ohio standings: Gahanna (10-0), Westerville Central (8-2), Grove City (5-5), New Albany (4-6), Pickerington North (3-7), Westland (0-10)

•Seniors lost: Sophia Angles, Camila Garcia, Bella LaCommare, Aurora Lescody and Abby Phelps

•Key returnees: Grace Benner, Ava Bowersock, Jordan George, Jessica Goldhardt, Logan Riley and Izzy White

•Postseason: Def. DeSales 13-0 (5 innings); lost to Olentangy Liberty 7-2 in second round of Division I district tournament

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Gahanna Lincoln girls lacrosse squad sees positive results