No baseball teams from the Beacon Journal’s five-county coverage area advanced to the state tournament.

Highland (Division II) and Canton Central Catholic (Division III) made it the farthest but both lost in regional finals.

Five softball teams from the Beacon Journal’s five-county coverage area have won regional titles and advanced to the state final four in their respective divisions.

Here are the teams:

Division I—Hudson

Division II—Archbishop Hoban

Division III—Fairless and Hillsdale

Division IV—Dalton

BASEBALL

Galion Division II Regional

Highland 11, Defiance 10

Varsity Letters Player of the Game: Highland senior outfielder/pitcher Ben Klafczynski

Klafczynski relieved starter Cory Johnston in the top of the fifth inning. Klafczynski was able to stop the bleeding after Defiance scored nine of its 10 runs in the first three innings.

Klafczynski allowed no earned runs, two hits, one walk and struck out three in 2 2/3 innings of work. He earned the win to improve his record to 3-1.

I tried to “get ahead with my fastball and just try to spot my curveball, mix it in there to keep them off balance,” Klafczynski said. “We’re in tight situations when they get guys on. I tried to get ahead (in the count), and that’s what I focused on.”

Klafczynksi also reached base all five times he came to the plate. He reached on a fielder’s choice and was intentionally walked four times. He scored twice to help Highland (23-8) advance to a regional final against Sandusky Perkins (23-5) at 2 p.m. today at Heise Park in Galion.

Posted by Beacon Journal sportswriter Nate Ulrich 

Division IV

Where: George Day Field, Elyria Stadium.

Schedule: Cuyahoga Heights (11-7) vs. Windham (13-4), 2 p.m. Thursday; Greenwich South Central (20-7) vs. Kinsman Badger (15-0), 5 p.m. Thursday.

Outlook: Windham won its third consecutive district title by defeating McDonald 7-6. Senior Brent Fincham had two singles and three RBI, and senior Matt Heller had two triples, a single and three runs scored for the Bombers. Windham sophomore Cody Apthorpe (3-1) pitched a complete game and hit a two-run triple. Cuyahoga Heights defeated Ashland Mapleton 19-11 in its district final.

Note: Regional finals are at 2 p.m. Friday. 

Division III

Where: Ed Sandy Field at Elida Middle School.

Schedule: Canton Central Catholic (24-5) vs. New London (22-3), 2 p.m. Thursday; Defiance Ayersville (19-5) vs. Bloomdale Elmwood (23-6), 5 p.m. Thursday.

Outlook: Junior Grant McCoury had a double, a triple and two RBI, and junior Rob Hoagland had two singles and a double to lead Canton Central Catholic to its second consecutive district title with a 10-6 win over St. Thomas Aquinas. New London beat defending district champion Elmore Woodmore 7-5 in its district final.

Where: Carl ‘‘Ducky’’ Schroeder Field at Massillon High School.

Schedule: LaGrange Keystone (22-6) vs. Burton Berkshire (18-9), 2 p.m. Thursday; Youngstown Ursuline (20-4) vs. Woodridge (26-2), 5 p.m. Thursday.

Outlook: Junior Jordan Wilhite (8-1) pitched a two-hit shutout to lead Woodridge to its second consecutive district title with a 10-0 win over East Palestine. Senior Fred Guerra had two singles, a triple and three RBI, and junior Joe Lewandowksi had two doubles and three RBI for the Bulldogs in their district final. Youngstown Ursuline was a state runner-up last season.

Note: Regional finals are at 2 p.m. Friday

Posted by Beacon Journal sportswriter Nate Ulrich 

Division II

Where: Hudson High School.

Schedule: Canfield (25-4) vs. Canton South (21-7), 2 p.m. Thursday; Parma Heights Holy Name (19-4) vs. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (18-9), 5 p.m. Thursday.Outlook: Seniors Nate Clark, Justin Gill and Devon Torrence each had three hits to lead Canton South to its third district title in six years with a 7-2 win over Minerva. Sophomore pitcher Matt Wilson, a left-hander, earned the win for the Wildcats in their district final. Canfield won its second consecutive district title by defeating Poland Seminary 5-0.

Where: Heise Park in Galion.

Schedule: Sandusky Perkins (22-5) vs. Walsh Jesuit (23-4), 2 p.m. Thursday; Highland (22-5) vs. Defiance (27-3), 5 p.m. Thursday.

Outlook: Junior David Starn pitched a complete game to lead Walsh Jesuit to its eighth district title in 11 seasons with an 8-2 win over Tallmadge. Senior Dan Sherwood had two RBI for the defending state champion Warriors in their district final. Sherwood, a University of Toledo recruit, is hitting .425 with 36 RBI and eight home runs this season. Sandusky Perkins defeated Fostoria to win its second district championship in a row. Senior Ben Klafczynski, a Kent State recruit, went 3-for-3 and pitched a one-hit shutout as Highland defeated Brookside 10-0 to win its first district title. Defiance beat Elida 10-3 to win its third consecutive district title.Note: Regional finals are at 2 p.m. Friday.

Posted by Beacon Journal sportswriter Nate Ulrich 

Here are scouting reports for baseball regional tournaments:

Division I

Where: Thurman Munson Stadium in Canton.

Schedule: Brecksville (22-4) vs. Austintown Fitch (14-11), 2 p.m. Thursday; Mentor 23-3) vs. Lake (18-9), 5 p.m. Thursday.

Outlook: Lake won a district title for the second time in school history with a 4-1 victory over Green. It was Lake’s first district championship since 1977. Senior pitcher Todd Miller (6-3) picked up his second complete-game victory of the postseason to lead the Blue Streaks past the Bulldogs in their district final. After losing in a district title game last season, Mentor bounced back and defeated Eastlake North 4-2 in its district final. Brecksville defeated Western Reserve Conference powers Hudson and Stow on its way to a district title. Austintown Fitch used a walk-off home run to defeat Lakewood St. Edward 2-1 in its district championship game.

Note: Regional finals are at 2 p.m. Friday.
 

Posted by Beacon Journal sportswriter Nate Ulrich

The Highland baseball team defeated Brookside 10-0 last Friday to claim its first district title in school history.

The Hornets (22-5) advance to play Defiance (27-3) in a Division II regional semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday at Heise Park in Galion.

Posted by Michael Beaven for the Beacon Journal

It would not be a shock to see Kenmore and Ellet back in the City Series Baseball Playoff Championship game next season.

As both coaches pointed out after Sunday’s game at Canal Park the teams will each return almost every player that started in the game, assuming any unforseen circumstances.

Kenmore (15-7) will return seven of nine starters and Ellet (16-9) will return eight, nine counting the designated hitter.

“Unless another City team steps it up, we could both be playing in this game next year,” said ninth-year Ellet coach John Sarver, whose Orangmen teams have won five out of the past eight City Playoff Championships and six out of eight City regular season titles.

Kenmore senior left-handed pitcher Adam Harris is one player who is departing, along with senior Mike Despot. Harris earned the win Sunday and said he was a bit surprised by his team’s emergence this season.

“I expected us to be good, but we were so young and I didn’t know how we would respond to the challenges of a season,” Harris said. “But we came together, bonded and did well.”

Much of that credit should be directed to ninth-year Kenmore coach Joe Nauer and his staff.

Kenmore and Ellet each asserted themselves over perrenial City Series contender Firestone early in the season. The Falcons suffered two losses each to the Cardinals and Orangemen and fell out of the race.

Ellet won the regular season title with a 12-0 record and Kenmore placed second at 9-3. Sarver said he wanted his players to not forget what they achieved.

“I tried to remind (our kids) we were here because we did so well in the regular season,” said Sarver, whose team will need to replace senior Mikey Canavan. “I tried to remind them they had a great year. Kenmore was one-run better than us on one particular day.”

Ellet had earlier beated Kenmore 5-4 and 2-0 this season.

“It’s ironic that both games at Canal Park (against Kenmore this season) ended with a 5-4 score,” Sarver said. “The three games we played were so close. It shows there is a lot of parity between these two teams.”

Kenmore will return: juniors Aaron Bond and Dominick Harper, sophomores Ryan Harris, Dusty Newberry and Brett Mudd and freshmen brothers Mike Massaro and Matt Massaro.

Ellet will return: juniors Chad Keppler, Isaiah Fridley, Jon Archual, Cory Martin and Kelcey Eberle, sophomores Travis Hamad and Cory Gravesmill and freshmen Steven Lively and Matt Merring.

Posted by Michael Beaven for the Beacon Journal

It was nice to see Kenmore senior Adam Harris conclude his high school athletic career as a champion.

Harris was the winning pitcher in Sunday’s City Series Playoff Championship game at Canal Park as Kenmore defeated Ellet 5-4.

Harris, a left-hander, tossed a complete-game. He struck out four batters, walked two and allowed nine hits on 89 pitches.

“It’s awesome to go out with a win,” Harris said. “I never could have imagined it ending like this.”

Harris compiled 11 varsity letters in high school; four each in football and wrestling and three in baseball. His best sport appears to be wrestling, where he qualified twice for the state tournament and was a dominant City Series champion.

Harris is a hard-nosed athlete who fits the mold of 2006 Ellet graduate Mark Hayhurst for example. Hayhurst also played football and baseball and wrestled.

Both are hard workers that improved throughout their high school careers and ended their senior campaigns as baseball champions at Canal Park. Their coaches in every sport always speak highly of their leadership skills and other intangibles that they bring to their teams.

Harris was honored to receive the City Series baseball Player of the Year award, and said: “I was shocked. I didn’t think I’d get it.”  

Harris said he will attend Muskingum College in the fall and play football and wrestle.