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	Madison Beats West Holmes in Extras Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jayson Stone Madison railed Wednesday night to beat West Holmes (5-3) in eight innings in Ohio Cardinal Conference baseball at Madison. They lost to the Knights (7-1) Tuesday night and coach Jayson Stone says they played much better Wednesday. “Throughout the day you kind of watch the weather you're not sure if you're going to play or not and we were fortunate enough to get the game in. We made some critical mental mistakes (Tuesday) night. We cleaned that up (Wednesday). We were able to actually come from behind again in the bottom of the seventh to get another win for our program. So, it felt good,” he said. Stone says he liked the way they responded. “Baseball's unique in the sense, especially for league play. In a football game, or whatever, on a Friday night you're going to play them and if you get beat by somebody you're going to sit on it for a year. In baseball this next night you're back at it. So, that's kind of the benefit of baseball. We were happy to get out there (Wednesday) night and make some things happen. Had a couple kids step up really big for us, which was good to see. Like I said, the kids really responded well,” said Stone. Madison has had limited success in baseball in recent years and Stone says building the program is going to take patience. “Baseball's a humbling game, so you have got to stay the course. You have to believe in what you're doing as a coach in the things you're teaching and preaching so to speak,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I talked to them all the time and send them some messages. You have got to trust what we're doing. You have got to trust me as your coach. You got have got to buy into what we're doing. If you'll do that you will reap what you sow in life. So, if you can just stay the course and stick with it through the good and the bad they'll be positive things at the end of this for them.” Published 4/30/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Calvert Survives St. Joe Click here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Coleman Tiffin Calvert, the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division Leader, survived a scare from Fremont St. Joe in beating the Crimson Streaks (6-4) in a division game played at Heidelberg College on Wednesday evening. Coach Matt Coleman says it wasn’t their best performance, but it was good enough to win. “We were sleep walking a little bit (Wednesday) night, I think. We had a little bit of a high (Tuesday) night the bats were in full force against Liberty-Benton, who's a very good team always in division V top ten team and I think we're sleepwalking a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Wednesday night, “The weather wasn't great. We decided to move the game to Heidelberg. Got to play on the turf and get used to that a little bit. Fremont St/ Joe put up a nice fight. Luke Jenkins threw well on the mound and we found a way to win, which that's always nice to have happen.” Calvert has had two games against Hopewell-Loudon suspended this year and others just canceled to be played later. The Senecas (13-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division, has on most night scored a bunch of runs, including a (14-3) win over highly regarded Liberty-Benton on Tuesday night. Colmen says keeping your focus is a mental thing. “Baseball's a hard sport with a lot of failure to begin with and to add in the elements like we've had this year, and then kind of just a roller coaster. We played Watterson last Saturday in a 1-0 game played Liberty-Benton and played well,” he said. He doesn’t like to use it as an excuse, but Coleman says Wednesday night felt like a trap game. “I don't want to call it, I don't love the term trap game because you're playing league opponent, a rival, another Catholic school, but in a sense it it felt like that a little bit. You just have got to find a way to win and be mentally tough,” said Coleman. Published 4/30/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Clear Fork Bombs Highland Click here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Brokaw Clear Fork scored seven times in the first two innings and went on to thrash Highland (10-1) in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference softball game on Tuesday evening. Coach Adam Brokaw says they were able to get that lead and felt more comfortable. “We finally got started off the last three games twice against West Holmes Friday and Saturday and then (Tuesday) we got some runs on the scoreboard early, which helps our defense relax we got up 7-0 after two innings (Tuesday). So, I don't want to go on coast mode, but we were able to relax a little bit,” said Brokaw. Brokaw added that the offensive outburst to some pressure off their defense. “There's some good hitting teams. Highland is capable of hitting the ball well,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday night, “Us being able to put the pitcher out there on the mound up 7-0 and she's able to relax a little bit. If maybe we get a couple of runners on base, it's not the end of the world.” Clear Fork (14-5,7-4) plays at Highland (12-9,7-4) on Thursday. They have a tough schedule over the next week, including conference leading River Valley, and Brokaw hopes they can take some momentum from the win on Tuesday night. “We have got Highland (Wednesday) or Thursday and then we have got Lex on Friday and Hillsdale Saturday and then River Valley twice next week. So, hopefully we can keep producing runs and playing decent defense,” he said. Published 4/29/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby With Big Win Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jon Amicone Shelby responded late again Tuesday and the Whippets beat arch rival Ontario (5-4) in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference baseball game. Whippets coach Jon Amicone says his kids did the little things and that was key. “I thought the kids played extremely well. It was a very competitive game. Our kids did the little things I thought necessary to win and we played the game the right way. We played hard and it was important for us to get that game. Kind of get us back to where we wanted to be all season. Hopefully, that can catapult us going into the second half of the year,” he said. Ontario coach Bret Simmermacher says Shelby responded and they didn’t. “We did have a good practice on Monday night and we were hoping as a coaching staff that it wouldn’t carry over to (Tuesday). However, it did and we came up short. We talk about playing other teams at their place all of the time and them having the last at bat. When we don’t get hungry and try to put them away when we have chances it allows them to build off it feel like they are in the driver’s seat. Shelby took advantage of that (Tuesday) night was able to win the game,’ said Simmermacher. Amicone says doing those little things is the wany Shelby wants to play baseball. “That’s something we talk about. Unfortunately, this year we haven't been doing those sorts of things and it reflects on the record that we have. So, we kind of went back to basics and just kind of reset the season and try to reset the season mentally,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Tuesday night, “We are just going to try to play one game at a time, one pitch at a time. (Tuesday) I thought it was really, probably the best game we played on all three phases pitching and defense and productive hitting all year. So, it was nice to see our guys go back hopefully we can build off of this.” Shelby (7-6,4-3) plays at Ontario (11-6,5-4) on Wednesday if the weather man allows it. Amicone says they just have to go out and play baseball. “Just play the game the right way and give yourself an opportunity to win. A game like this was very competitive on both sides. Ontario played a clean game for the most part as well. These are games even if you come up a little bit short you can rest a little easier at night. That's part of the game, that's part of baseball sometimes. As long as you play well give yourself chance you can live with that. This was a game I thought we needed to win and our kids really responded,” said Amicone. Published 4/29/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports

	Northmor Rips First Place East Knox Click here to listen to an interview with coach Buck Workman Northmor got a huge win on Tuesday evening when they crushed first place East Knox (7-1) in a Know Morrow Athletic Conference game at home. Coach Buck Workman says it was a win they almost had to have in terms of the league. “Yeah, for sure, we needed that. I mean there's no way we could have fell four games behind them in the loss column that wouldn't have been a good situation,” said Workman. Trevor Brubaker went the distance scattering six hits, walking no one and striking out eight. Workman says when Brubaker pitches they always have a chance. “He's been like this since he was a freshman. Anytime he's on the mound we feel like we've got to do shot of winning the ball game,” he said. Northmor had eight hits in the game. Brendan Barber had two. Workman says they did good situational hitting. “Nobody went crazy per se, but like everybody chipped in here and there. We had some good solid at bats,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday night, “We took walks and moved runners and had good situational hitting and did a little of everything.” Now, if the rain stays away, the Golden Knights (11-4,6-3) play at East Knox (12-4,7-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division, on Wednesday. Workman says wining that one is just as important. “Definitely, we need to come out (Wednesday) and just keep going. We were very aggressive on defense attacking the baseball. You get away from the friendly confines of the turf sometimes it gets a little different, so we have to be ready for that,” said Workman. Published 4/29/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	New Philly Roughs up Ashland Click here to listen to an interview with coach Tyler Weisel Ohio Cardinal Conference co-leader New Philadelphia smoked Ashland (16-4) in five innings in an “OCC” game Tuesday evening at New Philly. Quakers Coach Tyler Weisel says they had the right mindset going into the game. “We got roughed up pretty good on Saturday by a good team. Kind of the message we're going to bounce back and we're going to be aggressive early. We want to score and get ahead, we want to score first, we want to score often, so that's what we did,” he said. Ashland coach A.J. Beer says New Philadelphia took advantage of their opportunities and really played well. “Sometimes it’s just not your night. I felt our guys came ready to go, but New Philly came out firing on all cylinders and capitalized on the opportunities they had, especially with the extra base hits and in the run game and capitalizing on the free bases. Coach Weisel has a really good squad and he has them playing really, really well. Hats off to them (Tuesday). I have confidence our guys will learn from this and continue to grow and compete,” said Beer. Weisel says they wanted to be aggressive at the plate. “It spread like wildfire. It's fun to watch. It's fun to see the guys be aggressive and kind of play the game free and easy. That's what we did (Tuesday) and it's spread, and it's contagious, and we just kept it moving,” he said. New Philadelphia (13-2,9-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Ashland (7-5,4-4) on Wednesday in the second game of their “OCC” series. Weisel says they have to come out focused and ready to go Wednesday, weather permitting. “I think that was kind of the message coming out Saturday like I talked about a few minutes ago. We just can't go out there and throw our gloves on. We have got to be ready to play,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We had a really good day at work (Monday) for practice. Hopefully, that carries over to (Wednesday) the work we had (Monday) and kind of mindset that we had (Tuesday) where our seniors step up and we stay locked in and we go out. It's a new seven innings and it's a new game.” Published 4/29/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	South Central Blasts New London Click here to listen to an interview with coach Nick Kirk South Central drilled New London (11-0) Tuesday evening in Firelands Conference baseball. Coach Nick Kirk says they were playing their best baseball Tuesday. “We played probably our best baseball (Tuesday) night. We still need to clean a few things in the field, but overall I would say really great,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday night, “Our bats are coming alive here towards the end of the season, which you want to see as a coach. Wes June was on the mound for us and anytime he's on the mound he gives us a good chance to win. The defense behind him made plays all night long for him.” Kirk says they have started to hit the ball better by keeping things simple. “I think a lot of guys were pushing early on. Getting frustrated when they weren’t producing. We just went back to the basics. I reached out to Sam's Seidel over at “BG” and just kind of picked his brain a little bit and see what they do up there at Bowling Green. I just translated that to the guys. You just keep it simple when you're struggling. See ball, hit ball, jump on the first good pitch and don't be late on the fastball,” said Kirk. South Central (6-7,6-3) plays host New London (6-9,2-7) on Wednesday in the second game of the series. The Trojans trail Norwalk St. Paul by two games in the Firelands Conference standings. St. Paul beat Monroeville (8-4) on Tuesday evening. Kirk says they are going to take it one day at a time. “Just take it game by game not looking too far in the future. We have them again (Wednesday). They hit the ball. They're going to come ready to play. As long as we take care of business day in and day out it gives us a chance to be there at the end,” he said. Published 4/29/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby Scores Late; Beats Columbian Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jon Amicone Shelby scored four times in the sixth and rallied to beat Tiffin Columbian (9-7) in a non-conference baseball game on Monday evening. Coach Jon Amicone says they played good team baseball. “The kids did a nice job kind of grinding through at bats. They did a really good job in the bottom of the sixth inning. We were able to scratch four across to take the lead. Kaleb Stairs closed it out for us. So, played really good team baseball for six or seven innings and gave us a chance to win,” he said. Amicone says they were able to battle adversity. “Earlier on in the season, the first half, I think we let a lot of bad baseball kind of snowball on us. We couldn't rain it back in and we weren't playing our best. (Monday) might was different team. I thought (Monday) we did a much better job of handling adversity in that tough inning we played and we were able to battle back and stop that snowball effect and play good baseball and gave ourself a chance. Our guys did a nice job in the bottom of the sixth inning and scratched a few across,” said Amicone. Shelby (6-6,3-3) plays Ontario (11-5,5-3) the next two days in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play. Amicone says they have to play very well. “That's always fun Shelby-Ontario. They have a new baseball coach in “Simmy”, I love Bret Simmermacher. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take away from the way he coaches and take that to what I've done in my career. “Simmy” has had a big impact on my baseball life with the way he coaches and I appreciate that,” he told Swanomports.com on Monday night, “He does a great job in Ontario and he's already started that with their record in baseball games. They're grinding and that's some of what “Simmy” can do. Anytime you go against a Bret Simmermacher coached team you know you have got your work cut out for us. You better play a great game because that is a guy that is willing to step on your throat. He loves winning. So, that’s the type of game we're going to have to play.” Also, Amicone says they would like to send their wishes to Columbian player Jackson Little. “I wanted to take this time from the Shelby baseball program to Jackson Little for a speedy recovery. A great baseball player from Tiffin. He is their number one, hitting about .500. (Monday) laying out for a baseball and ran into another outfielder. It looks like he might have brook his collarbone. You hate to see that from a kid who plays the game hard, a kid and plays the game the right way. You can appreciate that even being as an opposing coach. You see him go down that way it was heartbreaking to see him go down that way. The Shelby baseball program really wishes him a speedy recovery,” said Amicone. Published 4/28/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Edison Blanks Vermilion Click here to listen to an interview with coach Sean Hoover Edison remains tied with Margaretta for first place in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference after a (10-0) five inning win over Vermilion on Monday evening. Coach Sean Hoover says they got great pitching Monday night. “Bryson (Wittmer) threw a great game (Monday). 12 strikeouts in five innings and only gave up one hit and he only had a couple walks, so it was a really nice outing for him,” he said. Hoover says Wittmer can get a strikeout when they need it. “The majority of the outs he gets come on strikeouts,” he told Swankonaports.com on Monay night, “He's got the high pitch count because he is a strike out pitcher. Guys just have trouble putting the ball in play against him. That's not a bad thing. It just means he has good stuff and he was able to get the job done.” Edison (10-3,6-1) has been the dominate team in the Bay Division over recent years. Hoover says their goal is to keep winning. “If we take care of our end and win our last three here and then we at least get a share. It would be great to get some help, but at the end of the day we can only control the controlables. So, we need to go out and take care of our job each and every night,” said Hoover. Published 4/28/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Highland Outscores River Valley Click here to listen to an interview with coach Donnie Kline Highland continues to hold a two game lead in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference standings after they scored more than two touchdowns in an (18-11) romp over River Valley on Thursday evening. Coach Donnie Kline says a lot of balls were hit hard. “I guess in honor of the NFL draft and the game of football we played like a football game. Right now, we've got a lot of young guys we're trying to figure out positions. When you play good offenses and you give them extra outs they're going to put balls in play. This kind of good weather I think both teams kind of heated up and put a lot of barrels in play. I think right around 30 hits combined on the day, which is very uncharacteristic, but defiantly American League baseball,” he said. Minnick had three hits for Highland. Kline, Landefeld and Collins all had two. The Fighting Scots hit the gaps with three doubles. Kline says sometimes baseball is contagious. “Well, that’s the good part of it and we talked about that and we talked about you know how good hitting is contagious. Just as contagious as bad defense and mental mistakes. They seem to be at the epidemic level at times. These are high school kids and I think that when the weather warms the barrels get going a little bit and they have fun. We've been able to score in bunches, which is good from a coaching standpoint, but we've also given up bunches, which is bad from a coaching standpoint. So, trying to figure some things out and we'll see where we go from here,” said Kline. Highland (10-4,7-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, leads Ontario and Marion Harding by two games. The Warriors beat Harding (5-4) in nine innings on Thursday. Kline says they are going to need to continue to be able to score runs. “It can be a little bit tiring at times. I think the goal of our guys was just trying to keep getting on base and try to keep pressure on a pretty solid River Valley defense,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Thursday night,” I think that’s what we are going to have to continue to have to do. This is a night when I guess we didn’t have a traditional Highland defense or pitching staff, so we have to adjust with that. Part of that adjustment is that we've got to be able to score more runs. Whether that means the small ball more or small ball less, I think ultimately as a staff we recognize that we're going to have to put more runs on the board and again it just changed the way we look at things.” Published 4/24/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Ontario Wins in Extras; Stays Alive Click here to listen to an interview with coach Bret Simmermacher Ontario scored in the bottom of the ninth and beat Marion Harding (5-4) in a huge Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game that was finished on Thursday evening. They had lost (5-2) at Harding on Tuesday, Coach Bret Simmermacher says they were their own worst enemy on Tuesday. “Marion Harding is a good ball club. They beat us down there at their place 5-2 on Tuesday night. We did give up five unearned runs. Jaren Holden pitched a complete game and had 12 strikeouts and didn't get anything to show for it,” he said. The second game was tied when the rain struck on Wednesday evening. Simmermacher says they made a lot of key plays when action resumed on Thursday. “We came back Wednesday and we knew weather was coming in. We messed with the lead a couple of times and then we gave up the lead and let them tie the score in the sixth. We had guys on first and second with two outs and Max (Ciroli) was up and had to come back (Thursday). They scored and I think it was the eighth they scored a run. We scored with two outs. Kane Cantrell got a two out base hit scored Jaron Holden. We had the bases loaded and they had their outfield in and I had to hold Dane Kearns at third and then we struck out and ended the inning,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We had a freshman come in named Kasen Pittman. He held him for three innings (Thursday) night and pitched very, very well. We come up in the ninth and he was the guy that got a base hit, got a bunt down after Guy Trader got a hit. Guy went from first to third. They walked Jaron Holden and Dane Kearns hit a ground ball to the shortstop and they threw high to home and Guy scored. So, I can't be more proud of then guys for fighting like they did. It was a huge win for us to stay in the conference race.” Right now, Highland leads the “MOAC” race by two games over Ontario, Galion and Marion Harding. Simmermacher says Thursday night’s win was a must for them. “It was a do or die. As a coaching staff we talked about that. We have got to have this game. If we lose this game we’re 4-4 and they go to 6-4. Highland, I don't even know what their record is at this point, but I know they've only got one loss. We do play Highland. Marion Harding’s got some tough games ahead of them too. So, we're tied with them right now I believe. We've got some tough games ahead of us. It's going to come down to the wire, I think. If our kids keep fighting like they did (Thursday) I think we'll be right in the mix,” said Simmermacher. Published 4/24/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Mohawk Survives Click here to listen to an interview with coach Mindy Walton Mohawk downed Wynford (5-3) in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference softball game on Thursday evening. That keeps the Lady Warriors (11-2,6-1), #1 in the Swankonsports.com softball coaches poll in the small school division, a game behind first place Upper Sandusky. They meet twice in the final 10 days of the regular season. Due to rain outs and such, Mohawk still has seven “N10” games to play. Coach Mindy Walton says they have to ready every time they go between the lines. “We talk about that a lot. We definitely have a target on our backs and we're well aware, so we do have those conversations on a daily basis,” she said. Walton says Thursday was not their best performance of year, but they found a way to win. “We had to manufacture some runs there earl. Blake Miller laid down a great bunt in the first inning and we scored two runs on that,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We struggled a little bit (Thursday) night offensively, which wasn't great to see, but it was also nice to know that even though we struggled a little bit offensively we were still able to come away with the win.” Mohawk plays at Van Buren in a non-league game on Tuesday. They play Bucyrus in their league series next week. Walton says they will be ready to play. “That's kind of what we talked about in our circle after game. Not a stellar performance by any means, but we walked away with the “W” and we'll come back (Friday) and go back at it,” said Walton. Published 4/24/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Clear Fork and Shelby Split Click here to listen tp an interview with coach Gabe Kennedy Clear Fork and Shelby spilt two games played on Wednesday at American Legion Field at Clear Fork in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action. Shelby won a suspended game (8-7) and the Colts hammered the Whippets (8-1) in the regularly scheduled contest. Colts coach Gabe Kennedy was happy with how his kids bounced back in game two. “It's pretty weird to finish a suspended game. They were able to come over to our place a little bit earlier. You have no idea how long that first one was going to go. We led off in the top of the seventh and couldn't get anything done and then they scored one in the bottom of the seventh, so that game was over. We were ready to go to the next one. Our kids showed a lot of fight. It would have been really easy to kind of get punched in the mouth there and fold, but our kids they tried their butts off,” said Kennedy. Blayne Schumacher got the win in game two for the Colts. Bryar Ousley earned the save. Jacob Brokaw had three hits and Landen Perry and Brevyn Bias had two each as Clear Fork totaled 12 hits. Shelby coach Jon Amicone was pleased with their approach to game one. “I loved the attitude getting off the bus and being ready to play in game one. There was a sense of urgency. I really apricated that as their coach,” he said. Kennedy says the Colts (7-9.3-5) command on the mound was solid in the second game. “It’s one of those things where you throw strikes you give yourself pretty good chance. You can kind of hold runners a little bit. We were able to do that. We had some good pitching (Wednesday) night. At times (Tuesday) as well, but ultimately we got some big outs when we needed to when they did get guys on base,” he said. Amicone says in the second game the Whippets (4-8,3-5) execution was poor in all aspects. “We played sloppy and inefficient in all aspects of the game and Clear Fork played clean and executed situational baseball very well,” he said. Kennedy says they always want to force the issue. “We always tell the kids when you're on base we want to push the envelope. Sometimes you look smart and aggressive and great and sometimes it's why the heck are we doing that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “That’s how we play, that’s how we are always going to play. No matter what, I like to be aggressive and see if the other team can make a mistake. If that happens, our kids are going to get more confidence. We're always going to be trying to you know push it a little bit on the bases.” Published 4/23/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	New Philadelphia Doing Good Things Click here to listen to an interview with coach Tyler Weisel New Philadelphia is the Ohio Cardinal Conference co-leader and the Quakers have lost only one game overall this season. They crushed Mansfield Senior (21-0) in five innings in “OCC” play on Wednesday. Coach Tyler Weisel says they have gotten great senior leadership this season. “I think the one thing I can put my finger on is our senior leadership. We have six seniors. They are all starters for me,” he told Swankonsports.com Wednesday night, “Three of them are four year letterman, so they've all been through the ups and downs and our leadership has been phenomenal.” Weisel says his seniors take care of business. “The old adage of players win and coaches lose I think holds true for what we have going. They handle their business. They take care of stuff in house. Things run smooth when our guys are doing what they're supposed to do,” he said. The Quakers, (12-1,8-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, “OCC” series next week will be against a pretty good Ashland team. Weisel says their pitching has really been outstanding. “It's been phenomenal this year our pitching has been just unbelievable. My pitching coach Logan Moorhead does a great job with our guys. We throw a lot of strikes. We pound the zone and we let our defense work. Day in and day out our guys go out there and do their thing on the mound,” said Weisel. Published 4/23/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby Beats Clear Fork Again Click here to listen to an interview with coach Sami Martin Shelby beat Clear Fork (8-3) on Wednesday evening in a girls’ softball game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference. That keeps the Lady Whippets (16-4,7-3), #3 in the Swankonsports.com softball coaches poll in the large school division, three games behind River Valley in the “MOAC” race. They had beaten Clear Fork (14-3) in five innings on Tuesday. Coach Sami Martin says they have to be more patient on Wednesday. “I told the girls even the game (Tuesday). It was nice because we started off pretty hot being able to score five runs in the first inning kind of boosted that confidence and gave us an edge right away. Then (Wednesday) night it was kind of a different game. We didn't score in the first inning and they threatened, but we were able to get out of it and we threatened too, but they got out of it as well. Then we didn't score until the third inning. It was nice in both games we still scored first giving us a little momentum and confidence. I was proud of the girls because Tuesday it felt pretty easy our bats were just on fire one through nine and then (Wednesday) night we had to work for it. I was proud of the girl's adjustments that they made at the plate after seeing Miley once through,” said Martin. Martin says they were able to win in different ways this week. “I told the girls even after the game (Tuesday). I said our bats were on fire and we found all the holes and sometimes that doesn't always happen. When you can have your bats on fire but then the next night maybe you struggle the first time through. It's nice to see the girls who were able to make those adjustments and know that if you start out hot or maybe you don't it's nice that the girls are able to find a way to win in both situations,” she said. With four games left in conference play Martin says when it comes to a possible league title all they can do is keep winning. “Our series with River Valley to put ourselves more in the driver’s seat we really needed to split with them. The first game was kind of one of those games where we hit right at them and they found every hole. We really tried to bounce back that second game tying it up at the end. There were just some uncontrollables that happened,” she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Them sweeping us really hurt because that put them in the driver's seat. We just tell the girls all we can focus on now is winning the rest and see what happens and set us up for tournament. Try to finish first or second see where we end up. It's good momentum going into tournaments either way. The whole goal is just to keep pushing and keep winning and just see where things fall.” Published 4/23/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Madison Beats Lex Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jayson Stone Madison went to Lexington on Tuesday and beat the rival Minutemen (7-3) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference baseball game. Coach Jayson Stone says it’s always fun to play, and especially beat, Lexington. “Years ago, when I coached with coach (Doug) Rickert some of those games were some great battles. So, I was excited to go over there (Tuesday) night and more pleased than we came away with a win,” he said. Stone says they were able to keep to their focus and that is an improvement for the Rams. “I think (Tuesday) night for the first time in a long time with our club when things went wrong, we were able to hold it together and just not allow us snowball effect if you know what I mean. The kids just grinded it out, didn’t let the little things bother them or allow one mistake turn into two or three and that was the difference. We're still learning how to win. At the end of the day, it's been a long time and we're still learning how to win, but I'm confident that we're figuring it out right now,” said Stone. Lexington coach J.R. Davis says they were not really to play on Tuesday. “We came out flat after a big win Monday night versus Ontario and Madison took advantage of it. The beautiful thing about it is (Wednesday) is a new day,” he said. Madison (4-8,1-5) will be at home against Lexington (6-6,3-4) in the second game of the series on Wednesday. Stone says one of things he continues to work on is making these players believe in each other. “When I came into this, I was kind of open minded, but you feel like you're a sports psychologist night in and night out with these kids. Like I said, you just have got to keep believing in them and allowing them to trust and believe in each other,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Their parents as well need to believe and in what we're doing and you see results. It's not instant gratification, this is a marathon not necessarily a sprint for us, but we're on the right path. Being mentally tough in the game of baseball it's critical.” Published 4/22/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	St. Paul Stays in First Click here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Fries Norwalk St. Paul continues to share first place in he Firelands Conference as they outslugged South Central (14-11) on Tuesday night. The Flyers (10-2,5-1) share first place with Plymouth, who beat Mapleton (9-5) on Tuesday. South Central (4-5,4-2) is a game back. The Trojans beat St. Paul (9-7) on Monday and coach Flyers coach Aaron Fries believes this was almost a must win for them. “I thought (Tuesday) night was a big game for us and definitely one we felt like we had to have being a home game. (Monday) at their place was kind of like it would have been nice to have, especially getting out to an early lead but didn't happen. So, that kind of put the added pressure on us (Tuesday) night to win at home and get a split for the series and give us some momentum going into the rest of the week,” said Fries. St. Paul built leads us (6-0) and (11-3) in the game, but had to hang on as South Central scored 11 times in the last three innings. “Unfortunately, we just couldn't find the plate towards the back part of the game there. We were in control at two different times. We were up by eight, nine and just all of a sudden we just couldn't find the plate,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday night,” We let them back in a little bit there and it kind of takes a little bit of shine off of what could have been a really, really nice victory. We'll have to circle the wagons a little and get our pitching on the control here and keep guys throwing strikes like we have been for most of the season.” Izaac Snyder had three doubles and a home run for the Flyers. South Central coach Nick Kirk says they just got too far behind in the game. “We dug ourselves too deep of a hole, but never stopped trying to get out of it. Fought until the end,” he said. This is the week Firelands Conference teams play four league games, weather permitting. St. Paul plays Monroeville Thursday and Friday. Fries says they need to be more efficient when it comes to their pitching. “You have to gut it out and South Central is a is a good baseball team and they do a good job of working counts and making you throw strikes and coming into you. So, they did a good job of that and they stayed patient and worked themselves back into the game a couple different times. It definitely takes some guts and hopefully we can learn from this and it'll propel us to some better things in the future,” said Fries. Published 4/22/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Ashland Downs Dover Click here to listen to an interview with coach A.J. Beer Ashland beat Dover (10-5) in Ohio Cardinal Conference baseball on Tuesday night. Coach A.J. Beer says it was a good win. “They're a really good program they're well coached. A very quality opponent we're happy to get the first one,” he said. Ashland lost two tough games last week (6-1) and (15-13) to “OCC” co-leader Wooster and Beer says Tuesday was an important win for the Arrows. “Wooster always gives us a challenge and they’re well run over there, so we had a couple tough losses, especially the heartbreaker there game two coming from suspended play,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday night, “It was good to see our guys kind of come out (Tuesday) night and put up a win against a quality opponent.” Ashland (6-3,3-2) plays at Dover (8-6,3-3) on Wednesday in the second game of the series. Beer says it’s another one they have to have in terms of the league race. “We know our backs are kind of against the wall right now dropping two to Wooster and we know New Philly is playing really good baseball too, but we have got to focus on (Wednesday) and getting the job done. We get (Wednesday) done then we can worry about next week,” said Beer. Published 4/22/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Colonel Crawford Gets Upper Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jordan Oliver Colonel Crawford keeps itself in the race in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference with a (3-0) win at Upper Sandusky on Tuesday evening. They trail Seneca East and Carey by two games. Coach Jordan Oliver says they were able to limit Upper with very good pitching and defense. “Van Wintersteller, a name I have mentioned to you before, a senior pitcher for us, just pitched a gem (Tuesday). Graddy Riggle behind the play did a nice job and threw out a key runner at an important point in the game. Paker Weithman at shortstop, Brayden Holt at second base made some outstanding plays for us. So, the pitching and defense was solid and that's what carried us to the win,” he said. Oliver says they executed well with the bats in their hands too. “We were fortunate, it’s high school baseball and we took advantage of a couple small mistakes that Upper Sandusky made. We were able to bunt here and there and move some runners playing some small ball. Brayden Holt drove in Wintersteller with two outs from second base to get us our third run and give us a little bit of cushion. So, a little bit of clutch hitting and small ball and taking advantage of some mistakes and got us just enough across the plate,” said Oliver. Crawford (7-4,4-2) hosts Upper (4-6,3-2) on Wednesday in North Robinson. Oliver says the Eagles are a baseball team that has shown very good mental discipline this spring. “I told our players after the game to me that's the biggest area of growth that we've had from this year to last year. Last year when we were making mistakes it seemed like we would get down on each other. We would get down on ourselves,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We didn't play perfect baseball by any means. I think we had three errors ourselves, but nobody pointed the finger or got super tense. We just continued to play ball and support each other and trust that if we work together and ultimately the outcome is going to be good win or loss. So, really proud of our guys for their mindset.” Published 4/22/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Northmor Stays in “KMAC” Race Click here to listen to an interview with coach Buck Workman Northmor scored nine times in the fourth inning and Trevor Brubaker fired a four hitter and the Golden Knights blanked Mt. Gilead (10-0) Tuesday evening in a game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference. They trail East Knox by three games in the conference standings. The Bulldogs edged Centerburg (6-5) on Tuesday to remain unbeaten in the conference. Buck Workman says it was a solid win over second place Mt. Gilead (8-3,5-2) on Tuesday. “Especially at they're place. We have kind of been scuffling a little bit and it was good to get one,” he said. After struggling a little bit against Danville last week, Workman says they had good focus. “It’s the next pitch mentality. We had some things snowball on us last week and our defense kind of struggled at times, but (Tuesday) night we made plays behind Trevor and then put a big inning together in the fourth and things all worked out,” said Workman. With a big crooked number in the fourth inning Tuesday, Workman says they were able to get some breathing room. “That's a lot about momentum,’ he told Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday night, “We haven't had too many of those innings, but we got started with a couple base hits and then everybody started gaining some confidence I think. The second time through the order helped I believe because Baker is a real good pitcher. We just got to him in that inning.” Brubaker went all seven for the Golden Knights (8-4,4-3) on Tuesday striking out 10 and walking nobody. Workman says he had better command than he did last week against Danville. “Trevor was on (Tuesday) night. He had a little bit more movement on his fastball with the two seem rather than the four seem. I think that paid dividends for him and he kept the ball down because the wind was howling out, so that was good and we got a lot of ground balls and strikeouts and it all worked out,” said Workman. Published 4/22/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Fredericktown Edges Cardington Click here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Hathaway Fredericktown downed Cardington (8-6) Tuesday night in a game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference. They remain in a three way tie for third place in the “KMAC”, three games behind East Knox. Coach Ryan Hathaway says this time they were able win a close one. “It was good to finally be able to be on the right side of it. We have got to be in those kinds of situations to help us later in season. We are starting to figure out how to win those games in tight situations,” said Hathaway. Hathaway says they are working with a lot of different pitchers right now. “You have got different guys that you putting out there on the mound in those situations,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Some of them have been there and some of them haven't. They're learning, so hopefully they continue to keep progressing and when they get in this situation again they will be ready to go. Fredericktown (6-7,4-3) plays host to Cardington (6-6,2-5) on Wednesday. Hathaway says they are just trying to game some experience. “You can't simulate in practice. I mean as much as you try and as close as you try to get in practice there's nothing like being in that moment in a game and it just takes experience that's the big thing,” he said. Published 4/22/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Wooster Outlasts Ashland Click here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Young Wooster beat Ashland (15-13) in eight innings on Thursday night in big game in the Ohio Cardinal Conference. The Generals (8-0,6-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, share first in the “OCC” with New Philadelphia. Wooster coach Steve Young says his kids showed a lot of resiliency in the win. “It was wild, it was interesting. That's one of those games that I think only happens maybe once or twice in a career. There were a lot of different variables that went into why it played out the way it did, but the most important thing is our guys shows the perseverance, showed some guts, showed some resiliency and dug deep and got it done. So, that's the most important thing,: he said. Ashland Coach A.J. Beer says the Arrows (6-3,4-2), #3 in our poll, also gave great effort. “I’m extremely proud of our kids for their grit and completeness. Wooster is a good team and to say we were able to compete with one of the best in the league is something we can build off of. We didn’t get the job done (Thursday) night, but our kids showed they can hang with the best of them and for that I am proud of them. All around effort and at the end of the day we will learn from this and continue to grow,” said Beer. Young says with the adversity they faced, he believes the Generals did a lot of growing too. “There were a lot of things that happened late in that game that are things that you don't necessarily see every day. You don't have the experience to overcome every day, but we kind of challenged our guys. We can hang our heads and feel sorry for ourselves or we can control what we can control. Play the next pitch, know what we're doing and again it shows perseverance and dig deep, which is very good for us. You want to win it the way that we thought we were going through early, but with such a young group playing five sophomores and a freshman it was good to kind of see the guys grow up and kind of go through something like that and not wilt and not give in and just kind of keep pushing and in the end of it done,” said Young. Young understands that a win like this can end up being very important. “That was something we were well aware of, not only going into it, in the game you're playing the game, but we also knew what it meant. We're well aware of where we're at in the standings and what is still ahead of us,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Thursday night, “We're all aware that we're still growing into the baseball team we're going to be towards the end of the season. So, for us it was again just staying in the moment, playing the next pitch, not really getting too high or too low. It was an emotional game, so just trying to refocus guys and make sure that we're playing the next pitch and executing what we need to do on each and every pitch. Again, just showing some guts. It was a gutsy performance from a lot of young guys.” Published 4/17/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Seneca East Downs Crawford Click here to listen to an interview with coach Rick Bowerman Seneca East maintains a share of first place in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference with a (5-3) win over Colonel Crawford at home on Thursday night. The Tigers share first with Carey. Seneca East Coach Rick Bowerman says they got pretty good pitching and defense. “Our starter Braydon Robinson threw very well, a few too many walks, but other than that, he was on. We played good defense and when you have good pitching and good defense good things happen and that's what it was (Thursday) night,” he said. Robinson gave up only three hits, but he did walk seven. Crawford coach Jordan Oliver says the Tigers did a lot of good things. “Seneca East is a solid team that is playing very well right now. They are well coached, they communicate as players and play team baseball. They limited us to two hits, and had some clutch hitting when they were on offense. Tip of the cap to them for winning a competitive, well played baseball game,: said Oliver. Seneca East (8-0,5-0), #3 in the first Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division also got some big hits, including a tie breaking three run homer from Colton Ehresman. “We got some big two out hits, a big three run home run by Colton Ehresman, which put us up 5-2 and then we were able to hold on for the win,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Thursday night, “Our kids are doing a really good job of situational hitting, not trying to pull the ball, going middle away. I think all but one of our hits (Thursday) night were either the centerfield or the opposite field.” Ehresman has gotten off to a great start for the Tigers. Bowerman says he has responded to coaching well. “He's hitting like .690. He's doing a really good job. We've made a few adjustments in him trying to keep him from pulling the ball all the time. looking up the middle and he's been doing that and he has been very coachable and yeah he's seeing good results,” said Bowerman. Published 4/17/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Madison Feeling Better Click here to listen to an interview with coach Tim Niswander Madison won their fifth in row Wednesday night when they trashed New Philadelphia (11-2) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference softball game. Coach Tim Niswander says they put together their best back to back games of the season. “We played them (Tuesday) night and we beat them 1-0 in eight innings and to come out (Wednesday) night and do what we did it shows that our kids learned from the night before. They were really well prepared and came out and got the job done early and took a little pressure off of us defensively. The biggest thing with us this year is we have left a ton of kids on bases. We've left the bases loaded nine times already this year. (Tuesday) night we had nine base runners left on again and we scored one run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night after the win, “Luckily tonight we had some kids that hit all the way through the order and we were able to knock some of those kids in. So, the timely hitting is starting to come around. We're starting to settle in a little bit and that's made a world of difference from the way that we play all the way around. We're getting healthy and that helps you defensively to relax a little bit. You're not quite playing with that tension that that if you make a mistake it might be the game.” Niswander says they make some changes in their positions in the field and that has made a difference. “We we're starting an entirely new outfield and our third baseman from a year ago is our catcher now and we have a freshman playing third. Initially she was catching for us at one point Makena Berkshire. It was a new position for her and Lexi Lewis has played there before and is a little spitfire behind the plate. So, we made that change and that's made both of them more confident. Then our outfielders, we just worked and worked and worked with them the last couple weeks basically letting them know what we need from them and what we expect and what they should be doing all the time. They're finally starting to figure it out and now that they are there we're seeing aggressiveness in the outfield. Those gaps are closing a little bit faster and we're just playing a lot more solid all the way around defensively,” he said. Niswander says it also helps to have their All-Ohio pitcher back in form. “Caliyah (Clapper) has been working her way back from an injury. The Ashland game two weeks ago was the first night we really thought we saw the kid from a year ago, and then not quite as much last week, and then this week she came out (Tuesday) night and (Wednesday) night and threw a four hitter both nights Finally looked like herself on back-to-back nights. So, we're hoping that that she's back to full strength now. She's mentioned a couple times that she just didn't feel like she was in shape. We've done some things and it's a delicate balance because you got a leg injury and you're trying to get a kid in shape and you don't want to overdo it and you have got to find that fine line. I think that she has done that. She's done a great job of managing herself and communicating with us. We think that that she's back to close to 100% anyway and that helps the kids as well because they know that we're got that wipe out pitcher out there now. In her absence Campbell Kiser is throwing a lot more innings than she has in the past. She has already thrown more innings than she did last year. She's done a great job, she’s completely different type of pitcher than Caliyah. She keeps kids off balance with a change up and a couple of breaking pitches. So, she's done a great job of filling in for us as well,” said Niswander. Niswander says the Lady Rams (8-5,4-1) feel a lot more comfortable and confident now. “I think we've just kind of finally come together and we look around and see who's where and know what we're getting and we can just go out and play free and easy. That takes the pressure off of you the plate because you don't think you have to hit the perfect pitch every time and you can sit on something that you like early in the count,” he said. Published 4/16/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Highland Edges Galion Click here to listen to an interview with coach Donnie Kline Highland is back all alone in first place after sweeping the two game series from the Galion Tigers this week. They won (3-0) on Wednesday at Heise Park behind outstanding pitching by Zach Underwood and Morgan Kline. They lead Marion Harding and Ontario h a game. Highland (7-3,5-1), #5 in the first Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, scored three runs in the top of the seventh to secure the win. Coach Donie Kline says they were happy to get the win. “Well, that's just good old high school baseball right there. I think the “MOAC” is a good league and I think on any given night, I know it’s kind of coach speak, but on any given night anybody can get anybody. It was a really fun series. Two coins flip games and like I said they could have gone either way and Highland was able to stay in the “W” level,” he said. Both games in the series were close and Kline says you have to limit your mistakes. “I think in a game like this, and this series, both games were so tight that every mistake is magnified. So, if you do not get a bunt down, if you bubble baseball, if you walk a leadoff guy and becomes more magnified. So, those mistakes become issues. Both teams playing really good baseball. You're talking about 3-2 ball game and 3-0 ball game. Very limited hits, really solid defense and pitching on both sides. It was really fun series,” ssid Kline. Highland only had one error on Wednesday and Kline says defense is vital in baseball. “I would argue is most paramount think about high school baseball because, I think everyone agreed that pitching is the most important thing, but if you don't have good defense behind the pitcher he is going to get wore out and that pitcher is not going to be able to last,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Every time you extend an inning and allow an offense to stay on the field your defense gets tired, your pitcher throws extra pitches and then you're forced to go deeper into your bullpen. So, I think the key element to any successful baseball team is playing good defense. We preach throwing strikes and play good, clean defense. If you do that then gets you off the field and lets your offense get on the field quicker.” Published 4/16/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Ontario Smokes Pleasant Click here to listen to an interview with coach Bret Simmermacher Ontario kept itself in the thick of the race in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference after whipping Marion Pleasant (15-3) on Wednesday evening. That is on top of a (13-0) win over the Spartans on Tuesday. Coach Bret Simmermacher says the Warriors are playing some pretty good baseball. “That's what we've been looking for all season so far. The kids are starting to play the way that we knew that they could. I'm very proud of the way that they've responded since we took a couple on the chin against Galion. We had a little team pow wow and things have gone pretty well since then,” said Simmermacher. The temperature has been warm this week and Simmermacher says that leads to swinging the bats pretty well. “There's nothing like that warm humid day in Ohio and all around the country. Everywhere I've coached it's always much better to play in the warm and sunshine than it is in the cooler temperatures. Our kids have really responded over the last few days,” he said. Right now, Ontario shares second place with Marion Harding, who beat Clear Fork (11-10) on Wednesday, a game behind Highland. The Fighting Scots downed Galion (3-0) on Wednesday. Simmermacher says they must keep their focus. “This league is solid from top to bottom. We've got a couple big series coming up, but we've got some non league games as well coming up here. We had to move Lex from last Friday to this coming Monday the 20^th,” he told Swankonsports,com on Wednesday night, “We have got a couple of league games coming up against Harding. We have go to Fredericktown first on Saturday. So, we got a tough stretch coming ahead of us. After them we've got Shelby I think and then Highland down the road and River Valley. So, we've got to take care of business. You can't look ahead. You have got to take one day at a time, one game at a time, one inning at a time, one pitch at a time.” Published 4/16/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Hillsdale Blanks Northwestern Click here to listen to and interview with coach Jason Snow Aiden Hoffman fired a complete game five hitter and Hillsdale edged Northwestern (1-0) in a Wayne County Athletic League game on Wednesday evening. Coach Jason Snow calls it a big win for the Falcons. “Adien Hoffman, one of our returning senior pictures, threw a five hitter and they threw a five hitter at us. I think there was one error in the game. So, we played clean. It was a big win for us. We have some good returners. We've had some struggles early with our bats and now we're just trying to find ways to win right now and if we can get our pitchers rolling hopefully we can get on a little run here,” he said. Hillsdale (6-3,2-2) lost twice defending league champion Waynedale last week, but they have now won three in a row. Snow says they need to be patient. “I think for us right now we're trying to be patient it’s still early in the year. It’s a short year, but it's early and we're trying to get some of our returners, get their bats going. We're trying to be patient and at the same time we're trying to make sure we're still getting wins and see if we can finding somebody to give us a spark. I think once we get a couple big hits and maybe we get one of those games where we break out, I think maybe our kids will gain their confidence back and we'll be more consistent,” said Snow. Hillsdale has made long tournament runs in football and boys’ basketball and Snow says they have a lot of potential on the diamond too. “They are confident. They know that maybe they're not playing their best baseball right now and that's why it's important to have guys like Adien Hoffman step up (Wednesday),” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Pound the strike zone get 10 K's and hold that 1-0 lead for us. I know you’re going to have to win some close games and that was good for us. That was good for us to keep winning. We've had our struggles overall as a group here. The last week we've been up and down. So, we're trying to turn the corner and I think we'll get there.” Published 4/16/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Clear Fork Hammers Marion Harding Click here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Brokaw Clear Fork drilled Marion Harding (13-1) in a softball game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Tuesday evening. Coach Adam Brokaw says they did some good things on offense and on defense. “Here we got a few bats rolling. We still have had some trouble stringing hits together. We finally got our number two pitcher on the mound. She pitched five innings and gave up one or two hits and was able to find the zone. We were able to have a big, I think it was a third inning, where we put up eight runs and strung some hits together,” said Brokaw. Clear Fork (8-3,5-2) trails River Valley by two games in the “MOAC” standings. The Lady Vikings blanked Shelby (10-0) on Tuesday. Brokaw says they need to do a better job overall of getting the big hits, so they can get some big innings. “We've been finding ourselves stranding runners in scoring position and not getting the runs in or putting the hammer down and keep scoring inning after inning to try and separate the lead,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday night, “We were able finally to do that (Tuesday) night. I mean we weren't taking Harding lately. They had just played a tight game with River Valley a week and half or so ago and only lost 1-0, so we weren't sure what we were getting into.” The Lady Colts play Marion Harding again on Wednesday. They play un the Wendy’s Tournament at Marshall Park in Ontario on the weekend. Brokaw says hopefully they can get on a little roll here. “We play Harding again (Wednesday) and then (Toledo) Notre Dame the first game Friday night and then we'll see who we play Saturday. Hopefully, the weather holds off and maybe we can start to keep going in the right direction,” he said. Published 4/15/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Lexington Downs Dover Click here to listen to an interview with coach J.R. Davis Lexington won its third straight Ohio Cardinal Conference game in beating Dover (4-2) on Tuesday evening. Coach J.R. Davis says it’s a tough road trip to Tuscarawas County. “It's tough for our conference. When we go to New Philly and Dover they are both hour and a half trips and it's kind of tough getting kids out of school early and kind of throws them off their usual game routines and all that stuff. So, it's always good to go down there and get a win. Dover is a very, very good program and so it's just very nice to be able to do those things,” he said. Lexington trails New Philadelphia and Wooster by two games in the ‘OCC” race. New Philly shutout Madison (6-0) and Wooster beat Ashland (6-1) in other “OCC” games on Tuesday. Davis they were able to battle back on Tuesday. “We played a clean game. I've been saying this all year, if we have played a very clean games the first few weeks of the year, we might be undefeated right now, but I mean that's just part of the first weeks of baseball knocking off the rust off and everything. (Tuesday) was a very clean game. We gave up a couple of runs in the first inning and then fought back hard. Tyler Galownia threw seven innings (Tuesday) and just shut them down after the first inning. So, I think they had five hits in total and they got three of them in the first inning. So, like two hits the rest play was pretty wild,” said Davis. Lexington (5-4,3-2) plays host to Dover (5-6,2-3) on Wednesday. The Minutemen have a five game winning streak and Davis, in first year at Lexington, says they and playing very well right. “For me from my past years (at Mansfield Senior) and all that stuff once we give up a couple runs the game is over. We're just trying to keep it close and all that stuff, but now it's a long game,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Tuesday night, “The way we're hitting the ball right now no game is out of reach right now. So, I did have a little nervousness at the beginning of the game. We fought back. We had base runners. We had a total of 10 hits in the game. We just kept barreling balls and hitting them right after people unfortunately. So, it's very encouraging for especially in this part of the season.” Published 4/15/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Mohawk Bounces Back Click here to listen to an interview with coach Mindy Walton Mohawk got almost a must win on Tuesday night as they edged Colonel Crawford (6-5) in Northern 10 Athletic Conference softball. They had lost (5-4) to the Lady Eagles on Monday night. Coach Mindy Walton says her kids responded. “I’m very proud of our team for rallying back (Tuesday) and responded to the loss that we took (Monday) night in nine innings and responding the way we did. So, it was a great win,” said Walton. Walton says a big key to the win was the way they played defense on Tuesday. “We knew we had to come out and hit early, but also the difference between (Tuesday) and (Monday) night was our defense needed to be ready because we knew that they were going to be hitting probably much more later than they did (Monday) night. We struggled in a couple of areas making some uncharacteristic defensive errors that are not typical of us, so we knew our defense had to be on spot.” Monday was the Lady Warriors (7-1,4-1) first loss of the season. They trail Upper Sandusky by a game in the conference standings. Walton says they are always telling the players being mentally tough and bouncing back. “We preach that on a daily basis. You have to bounce back from your errors. You have to keep growing and mentally you have to be strong,” she said. Published 4/15/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby Gets Big Win Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jon Amicone Shelby got an important win in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play on Tuesday night as they outscored River Valley (11-8) earning their second win of the season. Coach Jon Amicone says senior Kaleb Stairs really stepped up on Tuesday. “We had a rough spring break. We wanted to turn the page and then start a new week on the right foot. Really trusted our senior Kaleb Stairs. We gave him the ball and he pitched great for us,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Tuesday night, “He went the distance for us and that's what you need. You need your seniors to step up when you're in situations you don’t want to be in. You have got to rely on those guys that have been in it before. So, he did a great job for us. It was a really big win for guys to try to get back on track.” Amicone says they did a very good job of creating scoring chances with the bats and then taking advantage. “Our lineup did a really nice job top to bottom mass producing runs. Our guys at the top, our top four hitters, got two hits each. The bottom of the lineup did a good job of bunting and moving runners over and really setting the table for our hitters at the top of the lineup. So, 1-9 are guys did a really good job I felt like taking really productive at bats,” he said. Shelby (2-5,2-3) will play River Valley at home on Wednesday evening. Amicone says on Tuesday they were able to continue force River Valleyto make plays. “We continued to put pressure on your opponent by scoring runs and trying to extend the leads to give yourself a little bit of cushion. Defensively, I thought we played very poorly. We didn’t give out pitcher enough credit for what he did and that’s something we need to sure up going forward. Luckily our hitting and our pitching kind of bailed our defense out,” said Amicone. Published 4/15/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Northmor Wins Late Click here to listen to an interview with coach Buck Workman Northmor scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning and they edged Danville (10-9) Tuesday evening in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game. The Golden Knights (7-2,3-2), #4 in the first Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division, made four errors, but coach Buck Workman says they found a way to win. “It wasn't our best defensive performance. I think coming into the night we had made five errors in eight games. (Tuesday) night we might have that alone. We had four or five at least. Thankfully the bats kind of picked us up and got the job done in the end,” said Workman. The Golden Knight had 10 hits Workman says they were able to keep their focus and got some big hits in that seventh inning. “I don't think the boys want to get away from them ever. I think there was some frustration. Trevor (Brubaker) pitched pretty well. He just didn't get any help defensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night after the win, “He missed a couple spots here and there, but no big deal. We just kept grinding and we're able to get some good at bats. I'm thinking that 7th inning Billy (Bowlin) got a base hit up the middle and Jack (Bowdre) was able to double him in.” Northmor will play at Danville (2-7,0-5) on Wednesday evening in the final game of the series. Workman says every game in the “KMAC” this spring is going to be vital. “This league is no joke for small school baseball. You are talking divisions five, six, and seven every night it’s a grind. There's going to be no easy nights I mean it's nuts,: he said. Published 4/15/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Colonel Crawford Edges Mohawk in Extras Click here to listen to an interview with coach Ethan Weithman Colonel Crawford downed Mohawk (5-4) in nine innings in a huge Northern 10 Athletic Conference game on Monday night in North Robinson. The Lady Eagles (11-3,4-0) share first place with Upper Sandusky, who hammered Carey (27-3) on Monday. They play Mohawk again on Tuesday, this time on the road. Coach Ethan Weithman says it was a solid team win for the Lady Eagles. “We kind of had a talk before the game. We're entering the second half of the season, not through our league, but games played wise we were entering the second half of our season. I said there's one of two ways this can go. It can go really good or go really bad,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Monday night, “The kids have already come back from spring break and dealing with the other things that some of the seniors have to deal with. I know it can be trouble and they get distracted. We kind of talked before the game about buying into each other and being there for each other and staying off of Aubry’s rise ball, which we couldn't do for the first four innings, but we figured it out in the later half.” Weithman says they were able to stay patient against Mohawk’s talented pitcher Aubry Gottfried. “Once we kind of figured it out we made we made Aubrey Gottfried start throwing some more pitches and getting her pitch count up and trying to stay a little bit more disciplined at the plate. We put the ball in play and we forced them to make plays and they made some errors and we were able to capitalize on them,” he said. The loss was Mohawk’s first of the season. Weithman says their pitcher Aubrey Betts was outstanding. “Defensively, we were solid. I think we had one error. Aubrey Betts, our pitcher, I can't say enough about that kid she works her freaking tail off to be a good pitcher. She missed a couple (Monday) night, but she was able to spray some hits and they didn't hurt us. We made the plays defensively. I tip my hat to her because she is a workhorse,” said Weithman. Published 4/14/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Madison Responds; Smokes Tiffin Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jayson Stone Madison bounced back and blasted Tiffin Columbian (10-2) in a non-conference baseball game on Monday night. Coach Jayson Stone says they showed a lot of character on Monday night. “As a team we had 11 hits and probably more importantly we didn't have any errors or give up a big inning, so the kids played well and rebounded extremely and showed a lot (Monday) night with their character and what they're made of coming off the tough loss to Galion on Saturday. So, we're still working through some things, but it felt good to walk out of there with a win,” he said. Stone says they had some conversations about hitting on the trip to Tiffin Monday and the players were able to put that into action. “The kids had a great approach. We actually had some one on ones with the boys on the way up to Tiffin to just kill some time. Just kind of go through some things with them. I was really impressed that they took what I had said on the bus and applied that in the game. Like I said, it worked out for 11 hits. Weather has a lot to do with that. When you get some early hits it builds confidence throughout your line up and things worked out well for us,” said Stone. Madison (3-5,0-3) has a tough challenge in Ohio Cardinal Conference play this week with New Philadelphia (7-0,4-0), #1 in the first Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll. Stone says they are going to show up and compete. “Let's be honest, we have got tough task with New Philly (Tuesday) at home and then again on Wednesday. We expect to show up and compete every single day and that's kind of my philosophy and my mindset,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “At the end of the day as far as league play goes we start out with Ashland, Wooster and now we get New Philly. So, right out of the gauntlet we're getting some tough customers, not saying that the others aren't good. You play a solid Wooster team last week that hasn’t lost yet and is ranked in the state. Then you bring New Philly in this week who again hasn’t lost a game and is ranked in the state. That's a front loaded schedule. We're up for the challenge and we'll see how the chips fall (Tuesday).” Published 4/14/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Hermes No Hits Huron Click here to listen to an interview with coach Sean Hoover Edison junior lefthander Eli Hermes fired a no-hitter at Huron on Monday night as the Chargers blanked the Tigers (7-0) in a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game. Coach Sean Hoover says more importantly Hermes have them some length. “Eli Hermes came out and threw a great game and was able to give us a no hitter and maybe more importantly a complete game (Monday) night. We have four games this week and we needed to have a starter go a long way and he was able to do that for us. He threw great,” he said. Edison (4-3.1-1) is at Vermilion on Tuesday and at Willard on Thursday in division games. They trail Margaretta by game in the Bay standings after losing to the Polar Bears in extra innings last week. Hoover says Hermes had his curveball Monday night. “His curveball was sharp starting the game and that hasn't been a case of first couple starts, he’s had little trouble finding it. Finally, maybe the last half of his second start started control it a little better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night after the win, “It is a great pitch for him. He had control of that from the beginning and he did a great job keeping Huron off balance. I really thought from the start there that he had a chance to have a good night.” With only six teams in the division, there are only 10 division games and Hoover says they are all vital. “When you only have 10 league games between the six teams. You get down a game or two and there's not really enough time to come back. You’re really begging for some help from other teams. So, we just have to do our job and go try to win each and every league that we play. We're going to do that again (Tuesday) night at Vermillion,” said Hoover. Published 4/14/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Crestview Shuts Out Monroeville Click here to listen to an interview with coach Don Keener Crestview kept themselves in the Firelands Conference race with a (4-0) win over Monroeville on Monday night. They trail Norwalk St. Paul by a game. Coach Don Keener says the pitching and defense Monday night were outstanding. “Our pitcher Drew Spoerr did a great job of getting ahead in the count and hitting the zone and he had 12 K’s (Monday) night. Our defense was awesome behind him. We had no errors. We are really fielding the ball well right now. Hopefully, we keep it up. These guys are playing really well,” said Keener. Keener says playing good defense is critical at the high school level. “It's so important at the high school level to keep those numbers down there, fielding errors down because it just leads to a lot of different things,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “The pitcher has to throw more pitches. It snowballs a little bit. If you can field the ball, it gives you a chance.” The Cougars (4-2,2-1) will play Monroeville again on Tuesday. Keener says the Firelands Conference is going to be very competitive again this year. “I have been saying this since the beginning of the year. There's absolutely no off night in our league this year. Our teams are doing well out the league and then you have got to go in the league and face each other. It's good baseball,” he said. Published 4/14/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	South Central Trims Western Click here to listen to an interview with coach Nick Kirk South Central got past Western Reserve (2-1) in a Firelands Conference game on Monday night. Coach Nick Kirk says Wes June was tremendous for the Trojans. “We had Wes June on the mound. He’s a stud. He’s gotten off to a rocky start to start the year, but (Monday) he settled in,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night after the win, “I think he threw only 82 pitches, only walked one and struck out eight. So, definitely strong outing by him.” Kirk says June was very efficient on Monday night. “It’s good on his arm. I know the last time he was out he threw over 100, so it gives his arm a little bit of a rest going into next week. When you have someone out there doing like that you can always give yourself a chance to win,” said Kirk. It looks like the Firelands Conference is going to very competitive. South Central (2-5,2-1), the defending conference champion, is a game behind Norwalk St. Paul in the conference standings. They play Western again Tuesday. Kirk says his kids have shown the ability to win close games like they did on Monday. “Our guys are battle tested in the past two years they seem to always pull them out more than not. This league anybody can lose to anybody. It's going to be a tight race the whole way through and it's anybody's league to take,” he said. Published 4/14/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Clear Fork Downs Pleasant Click here to listen to an interview with coach Gabe Kennedy Clear Fork beat Marion Pleasant (7-2) Thursday evening in play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference. Coach Gabe Kennedy says they hit the ball pretty good on Thursday night, probably better than they have all year. “We finally hit the ball well. I think our approach is changing day-to-day in a good way. We're kind of sitting on pitches. We're not swinging at too many things outside the zone. We're waiting on our pitch. (Thursday) night we had 13 hits and that's by far the most we've had in any game. So, I like where we're headed,” said Kennedy. Gavin Domka, Landen Perry, Brevyn Bias, Mason Ball and Jacob Brokaw had two hits a piece. Domka had a two-run homer. Kennedy says they showed good plate discipline and that is always important. “Just think if you're the pitcher don't you want a matter that doesn't really know what he's doing, he's guessing, he's all over the place as far as swinging at something high or low and outside the zone. So, we want to make sure that the pressure is on the pitcher to make good pitches to us,” he said. Sophomore Gracin Crunkilton started and threw four innings giving up no hits and one unearned run. Kennedy says their pitchers are finding their rhythm. “Our kids are competing. We have a lot of games in a row. We have a lot of games in a row next week too. So, we said (Thursday) after the game all hands on deck. If you've ever pitched before you better be ready to go this week,” he said. Clear Fork (4-3,2-2) plays Ashland in a non-conference game on Friday. They meet Marion Harding in their “MOAC” series next week. They have won three straight games and Kennedy says they want to keep playing games. “It's kind of funny because both ways. If you're kind of on a losing streak and struggling I don't want to go to practice. I do not want to go to practice, I want to play a game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “If you're on a little bit of a winning streak and think you're going the same thing is true. You want to keep playing. Good Lord the weather is finally helping us out. This baseball, this is fun right now.” Published 4/10/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Highland Sweeps Series From Shelby Click here to listen to an interview with coach Donnie Kline Highland downed Shelby (8-4) Thursday evening in play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference. The win keeps the Fighting Scots, the four time defending league champs, in a share of first place. Coach Donnie Kline says the Scots (5-2,3-1) are really excited to beat Shelby in both game this week. “I think when you start playing league games and you play opponents like Shelby, who is a perennial power, it's nice to be able to take two. The boys are finding different ways to win and it's been an exciting series,” he said. Highland win (3-0) on Wednesday. Kline says they have to find different ways to win. “Well, I think that's a recipe that a lot of teams will use is trying to find different ways to win. It sometimes you want to do that and sometimes it’s by necessity. Right now, it's almost by necessity. I thought the first game against Shelby we had really good pitching and really good defense. A 3-0 game is always fun. Then (Thursday) night was a little bit more of an American League game. We had some extra base hits, plugged some gaps, had a ball get over the fence. It was just a fun game. So, finding different ways is a win to hopefully keep us in the race and we'll see how we can do it,” said Kline. Jayden Collins homered and drove four runs for the Fighting Scots. Shelby coach Jon Amicone says they gave Highland too many extra chances. “For the most part it was a really clean game, but the mistakes we did make Highland capitalized on and ultimately that’s why they won the game,” he said. The Whippets made four errors. Kline says it really big for them to take both of the games against the Whippets. “I think when you look at a team like us right now trying to figure out who you are. I think we're just trying to avoid any kind of sweep. So, if you could split with good teams and try to figure out who you are and try to stay in the race as the season progresses it gives you a chance,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “So, to take two from a program like Shelby is really big. They're a well coached team, they've got some really good athletes over there, and they'll figure out who they are and they've got a lot of wins and their future. For us right now, it's nice to get two wins and start to look ahead next week to a really good series with Gallon.” Published 4/10/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Seneca East Hammers Mohawk Click here to listen to an interview with coach Rick Bowerman Seneca East remains in a share of first place in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference after whipping Mohawk (10-0) in five innings on the road on Thursday evening. They share first place with Carey and Upper Sandusky. All three are undefeated in the league. Pitcher Braydon Robinson pitched all five innings, giving up only two hits, walking one and striking out seven. Coach Rick Bowerman says Robinson was efficient. “We had very good pitching (Thursday) night. Our pitcher Braydon Robinson was on his game. He pounded the strike zone, threw strikes, changed speeds and locations. Our defense played flawless. So, yeah it was a good night defensively,” he said. Bowerman says they have been working on not putting guys on base. “It's very important and last few games we have struggled a little bit in that area and walked too many guys and basically games were closer than they should have been,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “(Thursday) night we were throwing strikes. He only had one walk and that was in the last inning, the fifth inning. Forcing the other team to swing the bat, don't give free bases up and good things happen and that's what we did.” The Tigers (6-0,3-0) rapped out 11 hits on Thursday. Colton Ehresman had three hits, including a double, and drove in two. Bowerman says they were able to hit their pitch. “We were very disciplined to plate. We put the ball in play, found some holes, did it good job of moving runners or we needed too, executed when we needed too. Like I said, a great night offensively and defensively. We did the things that we need to do to win games and hopefully we keep doing that and keep improving,” said Bowerman. Published 4/10/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Calvert Wallops Woodmore Click here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Coleman Tiffin Calvert dominated Woodmore (12-2) in a game in the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Thursday evening. Coach Matt Coleman says they gave up two runs early and then got busy. “They came out and scored two on us in the first. Put the ball in play. Logan Ritzler and our defense settled in after that. We were able to punch back a little bit in the first. Or offense has been on. It’s just three games into the season, but hopefully we can continue it over the next couple of days and coming months,” he said. 12 is the fewest runs Calvert has scored in a game this year. Coleman says they have been pretty good with the bats. “We've been anxious to get going. We've had lots of cancellations to start the year just like to protect the arms with the cold and the wetness that's been going on. When we've been on the field the guys have been anxious to hit and have been swinging it well and putting it in play and have been fortunate. We know we're going to face some great pitching throughout the season, but we've been able to put the ball in play. I think we've only struck out five times in the three games. We have got to be careful to say that too loud because we know the game of baseball can change in a heartbeat. We're looking to do damage and it's been fun to see our guys work,” said Coleman. Coleman says they have a chance to be petty good, but they are still working to get better. “We’re excited, but all the coach cliches, we're taking it one game at a time and not trying to look too far ahead and again just trying to get a little bit better each day. We are trying to figure out our depth. We only graduated one, but we had a couple seniors that didn't come out or we're banged up and have another one that’s hurt right now. Charlie Palm is working his way back too, so we're trying to figure our team out and understand our depth. It's been a fun process. We have some athletes and some guys that have played the game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We're just trying to figure out the right pieces and hopefully start to put things together.” Calvert (3-0,2-0) plays Woodmore in a River Division game on Friday. Coleman says they are going to get a chance to play a lot of baseball over the next week. “Like I said we've been cancelled against Edison. We were excited to play Margaretta. Hopewell-Loudon, Arcadia, so we've had probably at least five cancellations. So, only played three games, but I think we averaged 22 the first two and then scored 12 (Thursday) night. So, it makes things a lot easier when you can score runs like that and guys are throwing strikes. We know baseball is a funny game. We need to be ready to go (Friday). We go to Danbury. We're mixing in some of our future “N10” foes. We play Carey, who's got a really nice team this year this weekend. Three big league games next week. I believe it's New Riegel, Hopewell and Old Fort. We're focused on Danbury (Friday) that being said, we're anxious to continue going on,” said Coleman. Published 4/10/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby Beats Highland in Extras Click here to listen to an interview with coach Sami Martin Shelby maintained a share of the lead in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference by edging Highland (8-6) in eight innings at Highland on Wednesday evening. They share first with River Valley, who beat Marion Harding (1-0) on Wednesday. Highland (5-3,4-1) is now a game back. Lady Whippets coach Sami Martin says they played with a lot of determination. “We knew we had to play good (Wednesday) night to win. They're actually the top seed right now in the league. It definitely felt like we left too many people on base. We actually had bases loaded twice with no outs and didn't score. So, that was a little bit like, ohh what are we doing? But we were still able to keep the lead, keep the lead. They actually ended up taking the lead there towards the end of the game. I’m really proud of my girls and their grit and determination. They never really lost their composure, so I'm really proud of them for that and being able to pull off the win even when maybe your bats aren't as hot as they have been,” she said. Martin says the Lady Whippets (11-0,5-0) had to show a lot of patience and were able to come through when they needed to most. “I think it's one of those things too where you're like are we going to do it? Are we going to do it? Are we going to push one through? I think everyone just kind of puts a lot of pressure on themselves, so we really made sure to hone in on it doesn't matter,” she told Swankonsports.com after the win, “There at the end I pulled Kendall Bowman and told her. it doesn't matter what you've done this whole game it's this moment that matters now. Then she goes and hits a solo shot to tie the game up. So, it's one of those things we really tried to preach it's done move on to the next pitch. Wednesday night, we had to live by that and I was proud to see my girls do that.” Martin says pitcher Jadyn Bowman turned in a very gutty performance in relief against Highland. “Even our senior pitcher who came in and released when the game got tied 5-5 and she finished the game out for us. She was a JV pitcher for two years and even last year she didn't get to see the varsity mound as much as she probably would have liked, but here she is in a huge league game coming in and finishing it off for us and getting the win. So, we have tons of girls who have put their time got years of experience under their belt and now it's their opportunity to to help us win a title and continue our winning streak,” said Martin. Published 4/09/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Galion Holds Off Ontario in “MOAC” Click here to listen to an interview with coach Kenny Fagan Galion scored seven times in the first three innings and held on to beat Ontario (7-6) in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference baseball on Wednesday evening at Heise Park. They meet again Thursday at Ontario. Less than took weeks into the conference schedule no one is undefeated. Galion coach Kenny Fagan says it’s going to be a war. “I think every year the “MOAC” turns into more of a blood bath than it did the year before. So, we're all really good and everybody's got a chance to beat anyone on any night,” he said. Defending champion Highland blanked Shelby (3-0) on Thursday. Fagan says they had a lot of good at bats, especially early, on Wednesday. “Just came out from the quick start. (Tuesday) at practice having the day off, moving back for the weather it was more one of those verbal practices where we're just trying to get back to our team at bats and what does that mean. We scored five in the second inning and we did a really good job of not being selfish, taking walks, and kind of giving what the game gave us,” said Fagan. Ontario scored four times in the top of the seventh inning and left them loaded. Warriors coach Bret Simmermacher says they kept battling. “We didn’t play our best baseball in the first three innings of the game and good teams will take advantage of that. Galion took advantage, but we still had a chance to tie or go ahead with the bases loaded in the last at bat. Hopefully, we will build on the last inning and come ready to play (Thursday). For a freshman to come in like Liam Holden and give up only one run in four and two thirds innings was a great job. He kept us in the game and gave us a chance,” said Simmermacher. Fagan says they were able to hang on and they know what it takes to get it done. “I think last year’s baseball season helped, and we got a lot of football guys, and they certainly figured out how to win too,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Wednesday night, “It's a culture thing, this group of kids has done a lot of winning. So, even if you're up one, down one, in a bad spot, we never feel like we're out of the game,” said Fagan. Published 4/09/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Crawford Gets Past Wynford Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jordan Oliver Colonel Crawford earned a (4-2) win at Wynford on Wednesday evening in action in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference. The Eagles (3-3,1-1) trail Seneca East, Carey and Upper Sandusky by a game in the “N10” standings. Coach Jordan Oliver says they got a big effort on the hill Wednesday from senior Van Wintersteller. “You have got to give credit to Brayden Campbell for Wynford. He's a heck of a pitcher and keeps them in about every game that he throws. Van Wintersteller for us is a senior, it's his fourth year pitching for the Colonel Crawford Eagles and he's been outstanding for us. He’s kept us in every game he's pitched and he wants the ball every game and he was a bulldog on the mound for us,” he said. Plus, Oliver says they played some pretty good defense too and that was another key. “I thought our defense was solid behind Van. I got to give a shout out to my assistant coaches, coach Rittenour and coach Riggle who coach our infield and they encouraged our guys (Wednesday) night to slow down and make sure we fielded the ball first and made accurate throws to first base, which sounds silly, but earlier in the year we felt like we were rushing things a little bit and they were nice and calm. So, credit to our kids and our assistant coaches,” There were not a lot of runs scored, but Oliver says they were able to get some hits when they needed them. “We had some clutch hits,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We have been lacking that the last couple games that we had lost. Same guy Van Wintersteller had a key two out, two RBI single. Grady Riggle came through with a with a big RBI single late in the game. So, we just needed those clutch hits at the right time. With Van on the mound four runs was enough to get us through.” Published 4/09/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Wooster Smokes Madison Click here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Young Wooster stays unbeaten in the Ohio Cardinal Conference as they drilled Madison (16-3) in five innings on Wednesday evening. Coach Steve Young says they were ready to play and came out and got after it. “We kind of got some things going there. Our goal was to put up put up runs everything and we did it for the most part. We had one inning, the second inning we didn’t put anything up. It was nice to kind of jump out. We had two triples in the first inning. Jump out early and try and trust our pitchers in our defense and just fill it up and throw strikes and make sure the ball is put in play when they’re on offense. So, overall good,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “Some things to clean up things and fix. It was nice to come out see that kind of offensive production. See a lot of the hard work the guys are putting in pay off, especially when we haven't played for about nine days. So. it was a good night, but (Wednesday) night means nothing unless we come back and do it again (Thursday).” Wooster had not played a game in more than a week and Young says they were like a caged cat. “That was a big point of emphasis with our guys every day outside working getting in what we could. We just tell them just tell we have to be ready to go when the time comes. You start off and you play three games in three days and then you sit for nine days. Our guys are ready to go. They're fired up and excited to play again. Big league match up with Madison, so make sure we’re in the right mindset and our guys came out and executed. Still, some stuff to clean up, but we'll take the victory. It's better to learn from a win than it is from a loss, so on to (Thursday),” he said. Wooster (4-0,3-0) plays at home against Madison (1-3,0-2) on Thursday in the second game in the two game series. Young says the objective is the same. “Our guys know (Wednesday) was a stretch starts for us four games in four days. We were excited and ready to go and ready to play. Again. with the league series we emphasize after the game we didn't finish what we wanted to. We weren’t really clean in the bottom of the fifth. We kind of gave up some runs that we didn't really think were earned in terms of the ball being put in play. So, we have to eliminate the free passes and make sure that we stay focused and locked in the entire game of the game. (Thursday) we have to come out. They're going to be ticked off. They're going to be fired up. They have got to have it. So, we're got to answer that. We're at home, so we got to make sure we protect our home field as well,” said Young. Published 4/09/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Freddies Blank Loudonville Click here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Hathaway Fredericktown kept itself a game back early in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference standings after shutting out Loudonville (8-0) in a league game on Wednesday evening. They trail East Knox by one. The Bulldogs beat Cardington (11-5) on Wednesday. Coach Ryan Hathaway says they did what they had too on Wednesday. “It was good. I thought we had good pitching. I'm not trying to be too critical of our guys. We made some mistakes in the field, but when they had runners on base and we got into some tight situations we made the plays when we needed to. So, it was good. It's always good when you don't give up any runs,” said Hathaway. Hathaway says they are still working on a lot of things like limiting the number of walks they are issuing. “That's what we're working through right now with our pitchers is limiting the free passes that were giving up making the other team earn it as far as hits and that goes along with the defense having to make plays behind you. So, we're starting to figure it out a little bit defensively and on the mound, so we're making strides each game,” he said. Fredericktown (3-3,2-1) plays at home against Loudonville (1-4,0-3) on Thursday. Hathaway says this year to win the “KMAC” you are going to have to win the games you are supposed to and then steal a couple. “I thought from the beginning of this year with the “KMAC” it was going to come down to the last week as far as who's going to end up winning it, so that's what I've banked on all year and the way it's starting to shake out right now with teams splitting a lot of these games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night after the win, “It's just going to be who can maybe steal two games from somebody here and there and win the games that that you feel like you're supposed to win. Anything can happen with these games, so hopefully our guys show up and they're ready to compete on those nights.” Published 4/09/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Lexington Outscores West Holmes Click here to listen to an interview with coach J.R. Davis Lexington picked up its first win of the season when they downed West Holmes (10-6) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Tuesday evening. Coach J.R. Davis says it was a big win for the team. “It’s huge for us. We played some very good competition the first week here and just struggling. It’s not like we played bad, but it’s almost like a basketball term, you want to see one go through the hoop to kind of get back on your feet and everything. So, like I said it was very frustrating those first two weeks, but now like excited and now we’re ready to go,” said Davis. Davis says they were able to get some hits to fall on Tuesday. “We weren't playing bad. It was just one of those we were hitting the ball almost right at people. So, it was good to see us just put the ball in play and make them make plays. Just putting the ball in play and finally seeing it fall. That's kind of the biggest thing to get over one of those humps of the losing streak that we started off with,” he said. Lexington (1-4,1-2) is set to play at West Holmes (1-4,0-3) on Wednesday. Davis hopes they can build some momentum. “We have four games this week. We had a tough competition against Tiffin last night, but we go over to West Holmes. If we continue staying hot with the bats, we can get it tied up the conference. Go 2-2 going into next week against Dover. Then we have got a big one against Ontario on Friday,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “It's just basically keeping up the momentum at this point whenever we can get gigs in. We kind of had to force (Tuesday). It looked a lot worse on the weather app just because of the temperature wise, but it ended up not being that bad of the temperature to play in. I know a lot of other schools cancelled and everything, but I mean with all the weather we're having right now it's just kind of making sure we get games in and making sure we stay in and rhythm.” Published 4/08/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Northmor Shuts Down Centerburg Click here to listen to an interview with coach Buck Workman Northmor pitcher Brody Beck threw a two hitter and the Golden Knights beat Centerburg (5-1) Tuesday evening in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game. Coach Buck Workman says Beck was on his game. “He was awesome. I think he only gave up two hits had 10 K's and we played error free defense behind him, so it was a great night there,” he said. Workman adds that this the best that Beck has looked this year. “He did a lot better job (Tuesday) night of hitting his spots. He had better command of his stuff. His fastball, curveball, even his change up were all better than have been early on this year,” said Workman. Northmor scored five runs in the first three innings off Centerburg starter Bradley Baker. Workman thinks that was key to get some early runs. “That was a big confidence boost, I think. Brody is still a sophomore, but he has logged a lot of big innings,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Getting him a few runs early I think set him at ease and let him pitch like he is capable of. I think we had hits from everybody in the starting lineup. So, anytime we can do that, we're going to be ecstatic.’ Bowdre, Beck, Bowlin and Hinton all had two hits for the Golden Knights. Northmor (5-1,2-1) plays host to Centerburg (3-1,2-1), the defending “KMAC” champion on Wednesday. Workman thinks he is pitching staff is going to give them a chance in any game they play. “We're pretty happy with our pitching staff in general. We've got guys that have only thrown an inning or two that we know we're capable of doing the job. We just haven't had to get to them yet. When we get those weeks where we're backed up by four, five, six games that's when you'll see those guys really getting into the flow of things too,” said Workman. Published 4/08/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Bellevue Belts Fremont Click here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Dennings Bellevue continues play outstanding baseball as the Redmen smoked Fremont Ross (9-2) in non-conference play on Tuesday evening. Coach Andy Dennings said they got good pitching and solid hitting, always a good combination. “Honestly, we've been doing both pretty well right now. Threw it well again (Tuesday) night, all of the guys. We have run about eight guys out there this year so far and all have been extremely competitive. We ran three guys out there (Tuesday) and they did the same thing. Offensively, we kind of got off to a little slower start. They had their ace on the mound. After the fourth, we kind of got going and we've been able to really string some hits together this year, which we struggled with a little bit last year. So, that's been really nice to see,” said Dennings. Bellevue (3-0) has done a lot of good things. Dennings says a big factor in their success has been they have been able to put up some crooked numbers. “We have got a good amount of kids back and really have a really nice group of kids. We've been able to have some big innings and that's something we really struggled with last year. I think our kids have been really good nice job adjusting throughout the game when we're in our second time looking at a kid. Our at bats are getting better when we continue to see the pitcher throughout the game. So, it's really good to see. I think we can throw it a little bit and field ir a little bit. If we can find a way have some big innings and plate runs, I think we have the opportunity to be good this year,” said Dennings. Bellevue starts play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Wednesday against the Clyde Flyers. Dennings thinks the division will be very competitive, but they are going to be a factor. “I really think the Lake is going to be a meat grinder. It always is, but this year you really can't overlook anybody by any means. So, I think you're going to have to earn it. We like where we're at right now, but we're going to jump in league here (Wednesday) then we've got Colombian here, that was a Friday game we moved up to Thursday,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We have got back-to-back league games here with Clyde and Columbian. So, it’ll be real nice test for us this week. We just hope to play in better weather compared to (Tuesday) night. It was pretty chilly out there with the north wind coming off the lake. Once the sixth inning hit it was getting pretty chilly, but it was great to get out there and play.” Published 4/08/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Colonel Crawford Blanks Wynford Click here to listen to an interview with coach Etham Weithman Colonel Crawford remains unbeaten in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference action after a (4-0) shutout of Wynford on Tuesday night. Coach Ethan Weithman says pitcher Aubrey Betts had a very good change up in tough, cold weather conditions. “It was a well pitched ball game by both pitchers. (Betts) was consistent and around the strike zone. Not living on the middle of the plate. Her change up for as cold as it was, was phenomenal. Usually a change up is kind of a feel pitch and when it's cold outside it's hard to throw. She did really well (Tuesday),” said Weithman. Weithman adds their defense was sound too. “Our defense played really well (Tuesday). They helped our pitcher out a lot (Tuesday),” he said. Weithman says defense has been an emphasis for the Lady Eagles this year and so far, it’s paying off. “We've preached that a lot this year. Last year, we averaged about, I think I figured it out and it was like 3.75 errors per game,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “You're not going to win many ball games doing that. So, we really preached minimizing mistakes and trying to just make the play, don't make a spectacular play, just make the play.” Colonel Crawford (8-2,2-0) is scheduled to play at Wynford (2-3,0-2) on Wednesday. Published 4/08/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	South Central Battle Back; Beats Crestview Click here to listen to an interview with coach Nick Kirk South Central scored five runs in the last two innings and edged Crestview (5-4) in the Firelands Conference opener for both teams on Monday night outside of Greenwich. The Trojans (1-1,1-0) trailed (4-2) headed to the bottom of the seventh, but came up came up with a three spot for the win. Coach Nick Kirk says they took a while to get in business, but they responded with the plays. “That's a good win, Crestview is a good ball team over there. They gave us everything that they had. We responded, it might have took about six innings, but we finally started getting our bats going. We played pretty solid defense all the way around,” he said. Crestview coach Don Kenner says they gave a solid effort, they just have to be a little better next time. “I thought our guys competed hard for seven innings. We did some things well, but unfortunately came out on the short end (Monday). We are going to have to put this one behind us, learn from it, and get after it the next time,” he said. Kirk says they had some chances to score earlier. He says they were able to stay patient. “You have got to stay the course and stay positive. We up until that point I know that we had about 10 runners on base, probably about five or so left in scoring position, so that's tough as a coach when you have an opportunity to score and we don't. With this group of kids and they're battle tested. They don't get out on themselves and they're going to fight until the end,” said Kirk. South Central, the defending Firelands Conference champion, will be at Crestview (2-2,0-1) on Tuesday. Kirk says they have a lot of experience that helps in tight games, like Monday. “We have 10 seniors. Eleven, I believe, returning letterman, 10 returning letter letterman,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “They're battle tested. They've been playing for me ever since they were freshmen and this is how they've won a lot of games over the course of the past three years. Hopefully, this year we can start playing, at least get the bats going a little bit earlier than the fifth, sixth and seventh inning.” Published 4/07/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	St. Paul Downs Western Click here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Fries Norwalk St. Paul began its Firelands Conference schedule with a (9-2) win on Monday evening at Western Reserve. Coach Aaron Fries says a win in your first conference game is always a plus. “It's a long journey here. It's always good to start it with a win and a solid performance,” he said. Starting pitcher Alex Marsh went the distance permitting only three hits and striking out 13. Plus, coach Aaron Fries says they also got outstanding defense. “It was very windy over there, tough conditions and I was just really impressed with how confident we played, especially defensively,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Alex (Marsh) did a great job on the mound, but we made some just tremendous plays in the field. I think early on in the game we took a lead and we kept adding on. They made a little comeback on us there but, we took the wind out of their sails.” They also made no errors. They also were able to manufacture some runs with nine runs on six hits, two of them by Marsh. In other Firelands Conference action on the opening night of league play, South Central edged Crestview (5-4), Monroeville blanked Plymouth (14-0) and New London beat Mapleton (9-3). St. Paul (4-1,1-0) plays host to Western (0-2,0-1) on Tuesday. Fries says they need to take the momentum forward. “I told the kids after the game that we just need to carry this momentum into the first pitch on Tuesday and really keep it going from there. You know they're going to come ready to play and try to get that second game. So, it's all about momentum and just carrying it forward to the next game and keeping that quality play going,” said Fries. Published 4/07/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Buckeye Rallies Past Mansfield Christian Click here to listen to an interview with coach Chad Jensen Buckeye Central scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to edge Mansfield Christian (5-4) in a non-conference baseball game on Monday night in New Washington. Buckeye coach Chad Jensen says it was a see saw kind of game. “It was two pretty good pitching performances. Mansfield Christian scored in the fifth and we matched it in the bottom of the fifth. They scored one in the top of the sixth and we scored a couple in the bottom of the sixth. We kind of let the lead evaporate in the seventh. We were able to get some base runners on and Blaze Metzer hit the ball really hard there in the seventh to score Hayden Hafner to win it. It wasn't easy, but our guys persevered,” said Jensen. Senior Lance Cole went six and two thirds innings striking out eight in the process for the Bucks. Mansfield Christian coach Kevin Morrow says it was their best execution of the season. “It was a tough loss, but it was the best pitching and defense we have executed so far. The team is moving in the right direction after (Monday) night. Josh Hillman pitched very well. We just need to add pitching depth,” he said. Hillman went five allowing only one run on five hits. The Flames (0-2) play host to Medina Christian in another non-conference game on Tuesday. Jensen feels the Bucks showed some patience at the plate on Monday night. “We didn't necessarily do anything wrong it was just the fact that we had base runners, but Mansfield Christian’s pitcher Josh Hillman did a really nice job of just keeping us off balance, keeping it down and kept beating it into the ground,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “It was just one of those things that we just didn't find any holes. We just couldn't get a really big hit when we needed to, but we were able to keep battling and came through in the end.” Cole, Hafner and Hunter Caudill all had two hits for Buckeye Central. Buckeye (1-3) will play their first Northern 10 Athletic Conference game at home against Upper Sandusky on Tuesday. Jensen says they hope they can take the momentum off their first win into the game Tuesday. “Our last game we lost 3-2 and this one we won 5-4. So, it was just kind of finding ways to win and be successful. I think now that we got that first “W” of the year I think that'll help us. We have got a heck of a foe in Upper Sandusky on Tuesday, but it definitely helps us out and definitely gives some random heading into that game,” said Jensen. Published 4/07/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Ashland Rips Madison Click here to listen to an interview with coach A.J. Beer Ashland dominated Madison (10-0) in the Ohio Cardinal Conference opener for both on Thursday evening in Ashland. Arrows coach A.J. Beer says they were really good in all aspects of the game on Thursday. “Evan Dahinden had his first start (Thursday) night and he pitched efficient, pitched strikes, had 10 strikeout was good to see him out on the bump and having some success. Our hitters had a good approach. I think we carved out about 14 hits or so. We had a good approach at the plate and pitched strikes and that's all I could ask for. Pitching strikes. hitting the baseball, and fielding behind them. If you do that you'll have some success,” said Beer. Ashland (2-0,1-0) will be at Madison (1-1,0-1) on Friday in the second game of the series. Madison coach Jayson Stone says Dahinden kept them off balance. He says they had to have a better approach on Friday. “Ashland played a great ballgame. The Dahinden kid pitched excellent. He kept us off balance and had a great curveball. Ashland humbled us a bit, but like I told the kids you are never as good as you think you and are, but you’re not as bad as you think you are either. Consider these growing pains and show up (Friday) with a better mindset and approach,” said Stone. 14 is a lot of hits, especially early in the season. Beer says he likes the approach the Arrows have been showing at the plate so far. “I was surprised with our offense output just because in the scrimmage season we really hadn’t carved out very many hits. It was a good, pleasant surprise and our guys have really adopted the philosophy of short is sweet. Just want to have a short, sweet swing and try to take every base that we can get,” he said. With Ohio weather you never know when you are going to play for sure. Beer says you have to ready to go. “Our guys were frustrated. We were rained out Tuesday. Coach Stone and I kind of made a judgment call with the storms coming in on Tuesday and then (Wednesday) obviously the weather was bad,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Our guys, we kept telling them this is the part of the season where you have to be ready to go because we never know what the weather's going to do. We're hopeful to get (Friday) in with Madison and hopefully finish out the week strong against Wadsworth too.” Published 4/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby Smokes Galion Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jon Amicone Shelby got an important Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference win on Thursday evening as the Whippets belted Galion (12-1) in six innings. Coach Jon Amicone says in was a big, early season win for the Whippets. “Our kids did a nice job of earning the split after losing the tough, one run. game on Monday. We kind of understood that there's no really must win games this early on, but we understood that we had to earn this split going forward to give us a chance in the league the rest away. So, our kids came in focused and did a really nice job with that,” said Amicone. Galion won (6-5) on Monday. Amicone says it was important for them to hold serve at home on Thursday evening. “It was an important win for us to win at home. We were home (Thursday) night. So, we had to hold serve at home. Our guys did a nice job of coming to the ballpark and not adding too much pressure on themselves. Just understanding that they had to put their best foot forward and I think they did that both offensively, defensively and on the mound for us,” he said. After playing their first game of the season on Monday, the Whippets were inside the last two days, and Amicone says you just have to stay focused in those situations. “We're just used to it now. That's kind of how it goes. Some days you're inside sometimes you're outside for an hour,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “That's just something you have to deal with. We have a lot of leadership. We have eight seniors. So, I think they have been doing a good job of keeping the team focused. Being inside the last couple of days for practice they did a nice job of leading our team.” Published 4/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Norwalk Downs Huron Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jason Higgins Norwalk put the game away with a four spot in the seventh inning and beat Huron (8-1) in a non-conference game on Thursday evening in a game played at Sports Force Park in Sandusky. Noah Helton threw four scoreless innings for the Truckers on Thursday. Coach Jason Higgins says they hit the ball well too. “Noah Helton started for us (Thursday) night and he was great. There's definitely some like energy that a lot of guys that are on the team this year or really feeling,” “he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Noah did great. Our defense played great. Our hitters were really exceptional. We had great at bats and we're sitting here like really happy with where we're at right now.” The Truckers had 11 hits on the night. Helton’s single in the seventh inning to plate the final run of the game. The other three runs in the inning scored on a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch. Norwalk (2-0) beat Fremont Ross (9-0) on Monday. Higgins says right now they feel good. “Huron is a great program and uh they've won a lot of games the last couple of years. I think they threw number one or number two. We have prepped and as far as where we are those guys threw strikes and we jumped on pitches quick. They left a couple pitches up and we have got guys that are aggressive at the plate and definitely took advantage of situation,” said Higgins. Published 4/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Ontario Holds off Clear Fork Click here to listen to an interview with coach Bret Simmermacher Click here to listen to an interview with coach Gabe Kennedy Ontario opened Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play by going to Clear Fork and beating the Colts (3-1) at American Legion Field on a blustery Tuesday. Warriors starter Jaren Holden went the first six and third innings for the win permitting only four hits, striking out nine Colts and walking only two. Max Ciroli got the last two outs, both strikeouts for the save. Ontario coach Bret Simmermacher says he didn’t want Holden to go that deep in the game, but he was throwing too well to take out. “I didn't really want to throw him that many pitches, but I talked to him in between innings and he's like coach you gotta let me go out. Then when we got a couple guys on base and we have got Max in centerfield that can come in and shut the door and did a great job himself,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “We haven't been in our two scrimmages and (Monday) night we just haven't been getting any key hits in key situations and we did that a couple times. We put a little pressure on Clear Fork. The guy bobbled the ball at first base and we get a guy base and that started the whole inning. We've been preaching that since day one, so just happy with the way they played.” Ontario (1-1,1-0) took a (1-0) lead in the fourth when leadoff hitter Kasen Pittman walked, stole second and advanced to third on a ground ball. He scored when Holden doubled to left off Clear Fork starter Blayne Schumacher. The sophomore only allowed one run on two hits in five innings. The Warriors added two in the seventh when Kane Cantrell reached on an error and scored on a hit by Ciroli, who then scored on a ground ball by Liam Holden making it (3-0) Warriors. There was no quit in the Colts. In the bottom of the seventh, Gracin Crunkleton walked and went to third on a double by Schumacher. He would score on a wild pitch. Clear Fork got the tying runs on base, but couldn’t score them. Overall, the Colts stranded four runners on third base. Coach Gabe Kennedy says Ontario was solid in the field and made the plays when they had to. “At the end of the day I'd like to win ugly, but our kids battled. Ontario is always a good baseball team. They have always got talent. A good coaching staff, well coached and their kids made big plays when they needed to. One of the big things that I took away from them is how solid their defense was, very, very sound. This is good baseball. I want to score runs, but this is good baseball. We're trying to bunt a guy over and they make the play. Now, we have got a runner on second with one out we just have to get him in,” said Kennedy. Simmermacher says this is really the first time they have gotten clutch hits and it paid off. “You have got to come up big. Madison did it against us (Monday) night and we were fortunate (Tuesday) night. Clear Fork is a good baseball team. If we play (Wednesday) it will be another good game because the pitching and defense. I think both teams are are pretty good in in those areas well hopefully it can continue,” he said. The running game was key. The Colts like to run and be aggressive, but Ontario catcher Dane Kearns threw two runners out. “Dane is an experienced guy behind the plate and he has been huge for us back there. He threw out I think two or three guys and second base and that's a rally killer for other teams,” said Simmermacher. Clear Fork (1-2,0-1) is scheduled to play at Ontario Wednesday, weather permitting, and Kennedy says they are going to continue to force the action. “We're going to push the issue. Win or lose we're going to be aggressive. We're going to go down swinging, I guess you can say. Again, their kids made some plays. Our kids made plays too, but with baseball it's timing especially. When it's a two run game,” he told Swankonsports.com, “That was a good ball game. I said to our kids we had every reason to just think here it is we're done. I felt like it was 10-0 when it was 1-0 and then they got two more and it's like here we go, but our kids kept fighting. You could tell in the dugout. As a coach, that's all you can ask for. Other than wins, that's what I want to see.” Published 4/01/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Highland Downs Harding Click here to listen to an interview with coach Donnie Kline Highland began defense of its title in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference with a (7-1) win over Marion Harding on Tuesday evening. The Fighting Scots (1-1,1-0) scored seven times in the first three innings. Coach Donnie Kline felt they need to be aggressive early. “We've got a kind of a new look offense and with a younger pitcher on the mound and we thought it would be in his best interest if we got him some run support and keep the pressure off him. We were able to do that with some small ball to push some runs across early and kind of held on for the win,” said Kline. Caleb Youngman went five innings and gave up only three hits, surrendered no earned runs and fanned eight. Kline says they want to put pressure on their opponent with the small ball game. “I believe it’s kind of a way of life at Highland and I think the boys kind of buy in. It can be fun, it can be exciting. We play small ball not to give ourselves up, but small ball to cause chaos. I thought the boys were able to do a pretty good job of that (Tuesday) night. We bunted in good situations and were aggressive on the bases. Got a nice little lead and then were able to hold on,” he said. Weather permitting, Highland will take on Harding again on Wednesday. Kline says he wants the players to be pumped up to play these league games. “Well, it's exciting to play at home and it’s “MOAC: baseball, so it's a fun baseball conference. There are a lot of good coaches, a lot of good players in our league,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Tuesday night, “I think when you get a chance to play a league game it just ramps things up a little bit. We try to convey that to the young guys about how a league game is different than just a random baseball game. I thought the boys responded pretty well. It was a fun game and excited to play Harding again (Wednesday)/” Published 4/01/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Centerburg Gets Past Danville Click here to listen to an interview with coach Josh Moss Centerburg edged Danville (9-7) Tuesday night to sweep the Blue Devils in their Knox Morrow Athletic Conference series this week. Coach Josh Moss says they responded late to get the win. “(Tuesday) night was a good one. I felt like every time we had a little bit of momentum on our side the Ridgeway kid from Danville just figured out a way to get out of it and his defense makes some plays behind him when they needed to. A couple balls in the gap that they ran down, a couple big plays in the infield they just made some plays when they absolutely had to. It was just one of those tooth and nail kind of performances where we just had to find a way at the end and (Tuesday) night it worked our way late, not so much early, but late the ball bounced our direction,” he said. Moss says it seemed like early they couldn’t do anything right, but they stayed patient. “(Tuesday) night was one of those, and I don't mean this to take anything away, but we balked a run home, we had three errors defensively, we couldn't get a bunt down to save our lives. We did not execute on some of those moments where guys have executed in the past and to their credit they took advantage of our miscues,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They kind of started working for us. I think our guys were great about staying confident, staying up staying in it the entire time and staying engaged. It could have very easily went the other way when we get second and third in a 4-2 game and don’t score. Those are some big moments where it could have went the other way from a mental standpoint and it didn’t. Credit our kids they stayed locked in the whole time.” A couple of other contenders who won Monday, lost Tuesday. Fredericktown lost (8-3) to Mt. Gilead and Northmor lost (4-3) to Cardington. Centerburg (3-0,2-0) is the defending league champion and Moss feels this year it is going to come down to those second series matchups, like Tuesday. “I think every team has at least one good number one pitcher that can beat anybody on any given night. It's just going to come down to that second game. How do you play defensively? How do you do the little things? (Tuesday) night was a prime example. We throw our number one (Monday) night against their number two and it went our way. (Tuesday) night they threw their one against our two and it was a tight game for six and half innings and it finally clicked and went our way. When we first talked you asked me about the league this year. I would not be surprised if we have a two loss or three loss champion. I think our league is deep and we have got a lot of good coaches a lot of good pitchers in our conference this year,” said Moss. Published 4/01/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Clear Fork Wins “The Durham” Click here to listen to an interview with coach Gabe Kennedy Click here to listen to an interview with coach Nick Kirk Clear Fork sophomore pitcher Gracin Crunkilton retired the last seven South Central hitters he faced Monday and the Colts edged South Central (8-7) in the first annual “Pat Durham Classic” at American Legion Field; The film of this game is not going to Cooperstown, but Colts coach Gabe Kennedy says they dug down and found something extra. “Are kids showed a lot of toughness. Going down 3-0 before we even come to the plate is a little discouraging. I've said this before, we have got a lot of young kids, inexperienced kids that are growing day by day, at bat by at bat,” he told Swankonsports.com on the field after the win, “It would have be really easy for them to be like dude 3-0 and we're going to mope and everything else, but we came out fighting too and we were able to get the win.” The Colts (1-1) scored four times in the second on one hit and four more in the fourth on two hits. Clear Fork only had four hits on the day, two of them by junior Gavin Domka, but they stole five bases and we caught only once. Kennedy says they are going to be aggressive. “I don't know how many home runs our team is going to have by the end of the year or even doubles and triples, but when we get on base it's something we're trying to score. We're going to be aggressive running the bases whether we’re safe or out or whatever it is. We know we have got to score runs and have to play good defense behind us,” said Kennedy. South Central (0-1) did not help starter Wes June, who went the distance. They made seven errors resulting in six unearned runs and also left six runners on base. They left them loaded when they scored three times in the fifth to cut their deficit to one. “A lot of mental mistakes out there (Monday). We haven’t been outside that much. We can’t make excuses it was just regular baseball plays that we need to make day in and day out. If we do that, we are in this game and give us a chance to win this game,” said South Central coach Nick Kirk. 82-year-old Pat Durham, who was in attendance at game Monday, is the only person to coach baseball and basketball at both Clear Fork and South Central spending more 20 years teaching and coaching at each school. He led the Trojans to the state championship game in baseball in 1995 and is a member of the Clear Fork Valley Athletic Hall of Fame. Published 3/31/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Madison Blanks Ontario Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jayson Stone Madison opened the high school baseball season with a (6-0) shutout of Ontario in non-conference action on Monday evening. They now play Ashland in back to back Ohio Cardinal Conference games on Tuesday and Wednesday, weather permitting. Coach Jayson Stone says it feels good to get that first win. “We've been plugging along all spring here and it's great to get out there and actually walk across the chalk and have a competitive game an outcome that meant something. So, definitely pleased with the result (Monday) night and I couldn't be any more happy. For our kids and our parents, it's been a long haul for all of them for the past few years. We set some goals and we're definitely “we” people not “me” people and everyone contributed significantly to get us on track for the season,” he said. Stone says they gave the ball to two kids Monday and both turned in outstanding performances on the hill. “We started a kid Chris Kaufman with no varsity experience, but he pitched JV last year. Like I said, with these kids you have just got to believe in them and trust them and develop them. He came out there and pitched five innings with a pitch count of 70 pitches, had one walk, all around the plate all night long. He's going to contribute all season and I expect big things out of him and a great quality start. We brought in a freshman Carson Cook, who pitched the sixth and the seventh and he only had a walk. So, we only gave up two freebies (Monday) night that's hug in baseball. Both those kids were dialed in and did their job as we would have hoped,” said Stone. Ontario coach Bret Simmermacher says they wasted some early chances to score. “I thought we got a good outing on the mound from Trey Remy. We had chances to open the game up early with runners in scoring position with no outs and didn’t get any runs out of the inning. That took all of the momentum out of the game for us. Madison capitalized when they got the same opportunity. That was the difference in the ballgame,” he said Stone says his kids made Ontario earn their way on and that was crucial. “You can't give people free bases, whether that be via the walk, hit by pitch and error, whatever the case maybe you're looking for some serious negative results. We controlled that very well. We have got them believing if throw strikes and trust the guys to make the plays behind and have that belief and trust in one another… and the coaches,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “I have got to give my coaching staff a lot of credit. I have a very large staff to be honest with you. You have got Marc Harris, who handles the pitchers. He came back, his son Zane obviously was an All Ohio kid at Wright State. He's been on staff before. Mike Wolfe came from Medina Buckeye and he’s handling all our hitters and stuff like that Alec Keene, who played in regional games here in Madison is handling our infielders. Of course, we got Rob Siwek is on hand. So, long story short, there is just a bunch of great guys right now. There’s a great mix of 17 people in our locker room they and they genuinely believe in one another right now.” Published 3/31/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Brubaker Silences Cardington Click here to listen to an interview with coach Buck Workman Troy Brubaker allowed only one hit and struck out 14 in going the distance in a (2-0) shutout of Cardington in play in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Monday evening. Brubaker had an injury plagued 2025 and coach Buck Workman says it was good see him on the mound throwing well on Monday. “It was nice to get him back out there. 14 K's, one bloop single. I think he walked the leadoff guy and it's only walk he had on the night, so he was on,” said Workman. Workman says he had good stuff, but honestly, he has seen him better. “He had a pretty good mix. I wouldn’t say he was as sharp as he is at times. He missed some spots here and there, but how can you complain about what he did,” he said. Other contenders had “KMAC” wins on Monday. Fredericktown hammered Mt. Gilead (12-2) and Centerburg destroyed Danville (17-2) on Monday. The league games were moved from Wednesday due to expected rain. The Golden Knights (2-0,1-0) had to wait until the sixth inning to get their runs. Workman says they finally got the leadoff man on and they were able to move him around. “Their guy Schuman did a really nice job as well. He kept us off balance,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Monday night, “We got the leadoff guy on in the sixth and were able to do some things that was hadn’t been about to do. I think we only had a few baserunners before that and usually that was with two outs. Getting that leadoff guy on is a game changer.” Published 3/31/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Seneca East Rallies Past New London Click here to listen to an interview with coach Rick Bowerman Seneca East scored three times in the bottom of the seventh innings and edged New London (12-11) in a non-league baseball game on Monday evening outside of Attica. Coach Rick Bowerman says they were able to make some plays at crunch time. “We were able to fight back and I was happy for the kids. Proud of the way they fought back. We scored eight runs early on in the first couple innings and I thought we kind of coasted there for a while. They thought they were going to win easily. Kudos to New London. They didn't quit fighting. They kept banging away and scored three in the sixth and three in the seventh to take the lead. We were able to grind some things out. Get a key base hit and a run scoring grounder to tie it up. They intentionally walked a couple batters to load the bases and we get a hard ground ball that their second baseman misplayed a little bit and able to score the winning run,” said Bowerman. Bowerman says they showed some grit when needed. “We were able to do that. The first two batters here in the seventh did a nice job of working count and drawing some walks and then we just kind of built on that. We finally got some momentum going,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “There in the middle innings, we hit the ball and they made some nice plays. It seemed like we would get runners on second or second and third and hit one hard and they made a nice play on and just weren't able to come up with a key hit to score some runs. We kept pounding away and didn't give up. So, that’s good to see you with the team.” Colton Ehresman had three hits for the Tigers (1-0). Leadoff hitter Braydon Robinson had two and Blake Bum had three RBI. Henry Thomas and Brody Sword both had three hits for the Wildcats. Bowerman hopes that brings them some momentum going to Northern 10 Athletic Conference play this week against Colonel Crawford. “We need that. We have a big week coming up. We have two games with league foe Colonel Crawford, so you need that momentum and get that confidence going,” he said. Published 3/31/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	St. Paul Wants to be Good at Basics Click here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Fries Norwalk St. Paul will feature a petty good pitching staff as they prepare to open the high school baseball season on Monday. Coach Aaron Fries says they looked really pretty good in the preseason. “I feel pretty good about how our preseason went and our scrimmage schedule and we feel pretty confident going into our opener on Monday,” he said. Fries says they have a lot of guys that can throw strikes and he has confidence in putting them on the mound. “I really like our pitching depth. We bring back most of our innings. Pretty much probably over 90% of our innings. So, had some guys put some real strong work in. We really feel good about our number one and then from there the number two and three I think are really solid. It's just a matter of the defense that we're going to put behind them and getting that mix kind of right. So, we have got three new infielders to get in the mix. So, just trying to get down the reps and get them comfortable and we feel pretty good,” said Fries. The Flyers open the season on Monday when they host Hopewell-Loudon in a non-conference game. Their first Firelands Conference games aren’t until April 6 and 7 against Western Reserve. When it comes to expectations, Fries says he just wants his players to do the basic things really well. “It’s one of the things we talk about. There are three things: pitchers throw strikes and challenge hitters, in the field we want to make routine plays look routine and then hitting wise we just want to be opportunistic,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We want to be able to play small ball, we want to be able to hit and drive runs in. We want to be able to do a lot of different things and be able to score runs in a lot of different ways and really just be opportunistic. So, when we talk about the different phases of the game. When you're talking about that defensive phase of the game you want to make the routine plays look routine. If you do that, you're probably going to have a pretty good chance of being successful.” Published 3/27/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Seneca East to be Competitive Click here to listen to an interview with coach Rick Bowerman Seneca East finished in the bottom half of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference last season, but with a lot more experience the Tigers should be more competitive this spring. Coach Rick Bowerman says it’s a veteran group that is fun to work with. “I like the group we have. We have eight seniors. We had no seniors last year, so basically, I return everybody. Added one senior who hadn't played since his freshman year, but is fitting in really well. So, we have an experienced group, they work hard, they all get together and they are fun group to coach,” he said. Seneca East has been sort of known for its pitching and Bowerman says this season they have a staff with some depth. “We should have good dept. We have six, seven guys that can pitch and throw strikes for us. Of course, not all will see a lot of innings, but it gives us depth in case you need it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Thus first week we have a lot of games. We're playing Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and then a doubleheader on Saturday. So, we need that depth, which I think we should have, so that’s always a good thing.” They are set to open the season with New Riegel on Saturday in non-conference play. They have Colonel Crawford in their “N10” series next week. Bowerman says this really isn’t a power team. He says they are going to have to find other ways to score runs. “We're going to be more of a small ball team. We don't have guys that are going to hit home runs, so we're going to have to produce runs. Do the little things right. We should have good team speed and so we'll take extra base. We've been working a lot on hitting middle-away because we're not going to pull the ball a long way. So, we should be fun to watch,” said Bowerman. Published 3/27/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Centerburg With New Faces Click here to listen to an interview with coach Josh Moss Centerburg, the defending Know Morrow Athletic Conference champion, will have a somewhat inexperienced team this spring. Coach Josh Moss says they understand well that this is a new season. “We try not to focus or talk a lot about last year and I think our seniors, we have two seniors this year, I think something they're consistently doing is reminding our guys that this team hasn't earned anything yet. This team hasn't done anything yet. So, they're doing a good job of pushing the guys every day. Showing up and getting some work done. A lot of new faces, a lot of young guys. So, I think for us it's going to depend on how quick we can get everybody up to speed and how quick some of those young guys and new faces can get into their new roles if you will,” said Moss. Moss says this year it has been important to get a lot of innings in during the preseason. “We scheduled four scrimmages. Typically, I try to do three and hold one back. You never know if you need one in the tournament. This year I said I want to get four in. We lost one to Mother Nature,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We're hoping we get all these early games in, our non league games, before league season starts. It's so unpredictable early in the year if we're going to get consistent play or not and you're forced inside to the gym if you're not outside on the field.” The Trojans are scheduled to plat River Valley Friday and Marion Elgin Saturday before beginning league play with Danville next week, but we will see what the weather says about that. Centerburg in the near future is going to have a new baseball field and that puts a smile on the coach’s face. “We got approval for a new baseball field. It'll be over on campus. Right now, we're at the elementary school over on Preston Street. Being over on campus right by the softball field is really exciting. I'm really happy for the boys. It's been a few years in the making and our administration, our leadership, has been great with all of that. Our booster club, our parent group, has been great with all that. So, really excited to break ground and get started,” said Moss. Published 3/27/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Clear Fork With Young Players Click here to listen to an interview with coach Gabe Kennedy Clear Fork has been a very consistent baseball team over the last 20 years and this year’s group has experience, but a lot of new faces to varsity baseball. Coach Gabe Kennedy says they are ready and excited to get going this weekend. “Well first and foremost, we've got great kids, coachable kids, they're excited to show up to practice every day. We got our fourth scrimmage in (Wednesday) night. We're getting better and we're learning the game of baseball as each scrimmage goes by, each practice that goes by,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “At this point we're still young. We have got a lot of new faces with the varsity, a lot of freshmen on the JV squad. So, we're ready to go. We're excited, a lot of kids have been getting reps in spots that maybe they're not used to yet, but they have got to be ready to go and hopefully we can play on Friday.” Kennedy says their number dictate they are going to have to use some kids to fill out the lineup card. “It’s kind of like when go to college. You graduate and you're looking for a job and everybody wants somebody with experience. We don't have that option. We have got to plug guys in with no experience and be ready to go. They can run the bases, help us out with the bat, whatever it might be. We're going to have to put them somewhere in the field and it's kind of been interesting so far and some guys have really stepped up,” said Kennedy. The Colts welcome Danville to start the season in non-conference play on Friday. Their first Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference series will be with Ontario next week. Kennedy says right now they are getting really good leadership from their seniors. “We have seven seniors and all of them and in their own way are kind of leading by example whether it's drills and practice or just how they carry themselves during an at bat or maybe they make a mistake, whatever it might be. I really want our young guys to kind of see how they play the game and learn from them,” he said. Published 3/26/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Wooster is Building Click here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Young Wooster has been the dominate baseball team in the Ohio Cardinal Conference in recent years, but this year they are a little more inexperienced. Coach Steve Young says they have some younger players that are going to have to fill roles for them. “The last couple years been obviously very successful. We've lost a lot from those teams this year and we're a little bit younger, a little bit more experienced, but we’ve got a couple pieces back that have been there and done it and we're kind of relying on them to show the younger guys how things are done in our program. So, we're excited to kind of see some guys step up, get their opportunity, and see what they do with it. We'll just see what happens as the year plays out,” he said. Young says when kids are moving to the varsity level, the game just comes a lot faster. “The overall game is a lot faster. The pitching is quite a bit better up from JV to varsity, but the speed of the game being able to recognize situations understanding how teams are trying to attack us and how to kind of counter that. Baseball changes with every single pitch, so just being able to understand the ins and outs of the game. To be honest with you, kids are going to graduate and still be learning the game. As a coach, I'm 40 years old and I'm still learning the game,” he tod Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “It's one of those where you're always learning more and more as you go and trying to find new ways to accomplish certain things. It's just a lot faster for varsity than JV. If you’re a young kid playing varsity you're against 17, 18 year olds and you might be 15 maybe even 14 in some cases. So, it's just a matter of the speed of the game, bigger, faster, stronger and the competition level is obviously raptured up as well, so a little more pressure in terms of varsity versus JV.” When it comes to pitching, Young says they want their pitchers to throw strikes and get in good counts. “We talk about that every single day with our pitchers. Our program goal for all of our guys is 65% strikes every outing and 85% first pitch strikes. We track all of that. So, it's definitely something we talk about. We count free bases for every game. We have a goal that we cannot give away five free bases and have a chance to win the game that day. So, with a little more youth on our team this year some guys will be learning on the fly. That’s what have been talking about all fall, all winter, and now in the early part of the spring as you navigate the scrimmages. So, it's a focus. I'm sure every single team in America is focusing on not giving away free bases because once you do that you put yourself in such a tough spot. It kind of plays in the offense’s hands. So, very, very crucial to not give away free bases and we’re going to try not to do that,” said Young. Published 3/26/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Fredericktown With Talent Back Click here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Hathaway Fredericktown has the kids to get back in the race in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference this spring. Coach Ryan Hathaway says they have a lot of guys back and he thinks there is potential for a good season, despite what others may think. “We have got nine guys back this year, so that's good for us. I think we're flying under the radar a little bit as far as what some teams may think of us, but I think we've got a solid team that's going to look to win some games this spring,” he said. Hathaway says they have pretty good pitching depth this season, but they are kind of looking for starters, especially for “KMAC” games. “Our depth is good. Right now, our thing is we're trying to see who our number one, two, three guys are that are going to be our starters. We have good depth. Guys that can throw an inning or two, but we're looking to find a couple guys that can go a little bit deeper in games and be our go to guys,” said Hathaway, The Freddies are scheduled to play at home against North Union in a non-conference game on Saturday. They will play Mt. Gilead in conference games next week. Hathaway says they might have to deal with the weather this month, but the kids are ready to get started. “Every year we battle weather. I mean we are in Ohio. So, they get to the point where we're in the gym and you can't simulate what you do outside inside a gym,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “As much as we try to get out here we're going to have to probably bundle up a little bit here this weekend and then maybe next week, but it'll break and it'll be warm here before we know it.” Published 3/26/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Norwalk With Different Attitude Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jason Higgins Norwalk is a baseball team ready for success this spring. Coach Jason Higgins says they are going to be playing a lot of baseball early in the season in Mother Nature allows. “Weather as usual is a tough thing. We’ve gotten out a little bit. (Wednesday) we practiced at about 60° and we got a lot of good things done. We've gotten two scrimmages in against Sandusky St. Mary's and St. Paul. We're going into Fremont Ross on Monday and we're going to play 12 games in 14 days. So, whether pending we're going get a lot of baseball in,” he said. Higgins says this year they have a different attitude when it comes to success on the diamond. “We had a really hot start and things kind of fizzled last year. We lost some close games. We lost some tough games. My first year I played five or six freshmen and those guys are now seniors. Those guys have had varsity experience the last three years of their career. We experienced a lot of ups and downs and they’ve matured. Their bodies have changed. They have bought into things,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I cannot be happier with our performance in the last two scrimmages. We are making strides. I’m really excited, our coaching staff is really excited about it. Honestly, the kids just feel a little bit different. They look a little bit different. They know that this is their last shot to prove what they have got and we're really happy with where we are. When we say that we're ahead of the game right now, or I think we're right where we need to be at the beginning of the season. I’m really excited for people to come and see the Truckers play this year.” Norwalk is to open the season in the non-conference play against Fremont Ross on Monday. Higgins says the kids are ready to go. “We put them in situations where we compete in practice right quite a bit, but they want to show that kind of hard work that they've been putting in. They want to count in the scorebook, they want to be in the papers again, they want to see it on and watch the game on Game Changer, watch the game on Huddle. They’re excited for the season and they definitely want to show the hard work they have been putting in,” said Higgins. Published 3/26/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Lexington Really Excited Click here to listen to an interview with coach J.R. Davis Lexington has a new coach and a lot of excitement entering this baseball season, which starts this weekend. They are slated to open the season on Friday at home against Bellevue. Their first Ohio Cardinal Conference games are next week against New Philadelphia. First year coach J.R. Davis, formally at Mansfield Senior, says he is briming with excitement. “I'm just a kid in a candy store right now. I'm enjoying this like crazy. I love what we're doing over here at Lexington. It’s pretty fun baseball wise. The kids are excited. I have a good group of kids, very talented as well. A good senior class, I think that's the biggest thing my first year coming in. They accepted me in, which is great. So, I'm just excited for everything right now,” said Davis. Davis says they have a lot of seniors with a lot of experience. “We have got eight or nine seniors, that’s going to be filling up my whole team with a lot of at least two or three-year starters for sure. We scrimmaged Mt. Vernon (Tuesday) night and I was not worried about the game. I was excited to come in and we were able to compete. It was a very good game,” he said. As far as pitching goes, Davis says they are still trying to figure out who goes where. “We have got a lot of arms and that's the nice part. Me and the assistant coaches spent probably about 10-15 minutes after the scrimmage (Tuesday) night just talking about who we're going to throw. Basically, trying to figure out what we can do just to see everybody. There's so many guys. We have to have this guy, this guy has to throw, he has to throw,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “There's a lot of guys trying to fit in all at once with large scrimmages and everything, just trying to be creative that way, So, with me being new, I know from what I've seen in the last couple of months of them throwing and stuff, but I don't know how they are in games and everything. So, I'm just kind of trial and error where we can piece people together. Hopefully by the end of May when we're playing tournament games, we know what we need to do to win ball games with certain rotations. Published 3/25/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Highland Having a Good Time Click here to listen to an interview with coach Donnie Kline Highland is the four time defending champion in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference and they hope this season can be pretty good too. Coach Donnie Kline says they have looked good in spring training and now it’s about making that happen during games. “I hope so, the planning and the white boarding, we are hoping it can be a good season. Every year is in a different chapter so speak and so we just hope that the boys are ready to roll. We are excited. We have put a lot of time in the weight room and a lot of time in training and so we're hoping it translates to a fun season,” he said. Kline says they have a good baseball culture at Highland and the kids are willing to work hard. “It really starts with people. Woody Hayes said you win with people. I think we have people that value the program and put the time and effort into it. It's not just players of course, families are there. It does make it an easier path for us. It really comes down to boys putting in the time. They're very close and have great comradery. The guys work hard and love this stuff and a lot of times it pays off for us,” said Kline. Highland starts the season this weekend in Georgia and Kline says that is pretty cool. “We are pretty excited about it. It's a chance to break camp and head down south and try to keep the boys together for a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “There will be a lot of baseball with three scrimmages and a varsity game scheduled. It's not just the boys working their baseball game. Hopefully, they can hang out, hopefully wear some short sleeves and have a good time kind of hanging out.” Published 3/25/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Northmor Has the Right Stuff Click here to listen to an interview with coach Buck Morton Anchored by strong pitching, the Northmor Golden Knights are in position to have a solid baseball season this spring. Coach Buck Workman says they have shown in spring training that they can be pretty solid. “Yeah, we're excited. I think we have the nucleus to be successful. We just seem to be a little more consistent and throw strikes more regularly and make the plays behind our pitchers and I think we'll be alright,” said Workman. There have been good things in March, but Workman says the real key is that consistency that everybody is looking for. “We've kind of had a mixed bag in these first four scrimmages. Sometimes we look like we're pretty darn good and sometimes we look like, oh boy, we don't have a clue. I think we're going to be fine,” he said. Workman says their pitching is pretty deep and certainly has great potential. “We're pretty blessed there, we've got all our pitchers back from last year. We didn't lose anything there. We're getting our number one back, who was injured,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We're pretty strong the pitching department. We need to stay healthy and like I said be consistent on the mound throwing strikes, hitting our spots, and we like our chances.” Published 3/25/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Crestview Has Decisions Click here to listen to an interview with coach Don Keener Crestview looks like they have the players to be competitive in the Firelands Conference again this spring. Coach Don Keener says they have some solid returners this year. He says they are still looking for pitchers to lead there staff though. “I'd say we have some good kids returning. We have got some good core position players. Our biggest thing that we're going to need to really figure out is who our one and two will be. We did lose two pretty good pictures from last year’s team in Tyson Ringler and Gavin Barker. They were one and two and now we got to find guys to replace them,” said Keener. Crestview is set to begin its season on Friday night at Shelby in non-conference play. Keener says so far their pitchers have looked pretty good in the scrimmages. “We got all four scrimmages in, so that was kind of nice for us. We were able to take a look at some guys,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “i think what we've seen so far in the scrimmages is our pitchers are doing well. They are throwing strikes. They're doing little things they need to do. We still have to shore some things up defensively and like usual you're hitting is kind of a little bit behind at the beginning.” Kenner, a veteran baseball coach, says getting ready for the baseball season can be chaotic and times with players coming in at different times and limited practices. “You're just jumping in. Guys are coming back from wrestling. Coming back from basketball. I mean it takes some time to get that timing. The first two weeks of the season unfortunately is where they have got to figure it out instead of getting a little bit more practice,” he said. Published 3/25/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby Counting on Experience Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jon Amicone Shelby is going to be an experienced baseball team this spring, especially on the mound, and that’s a big plus. Veteran coach Jon Amicone says they bring a lot back led by their pitching staff. “I think we bring back a nice nucleus of starters from last year. We have eight seniors that have come back and have played a lot of baseball for us. We are really going to rely on our pitching staff this year with three senior pitchers, who have pitched a lot of innings for us. They are going to take us as far as we want to go and we understand that as a staff and as a team. They are going to have to carry us. We have a younger lineup, a younger defense. We are going to rely on those three seniors to take us places,” said Amicone. Amicone says when you have veterans that work hard you have better culture and then a better team. “They’re great kids and they have been in the program this will be the fourth year now. They all work extremely hard and they want to be good. They were all football players on that football team, so they know what it takes to win and what it takes to work. I think that encompasses our whole team. They enjoy the grind. They enjoy being around each other and that’s part of it too. We have a great culture. When you have that type of seniors and that type of leadership I think it’s just good for the culture. It’s good for the people and the coaches and everyone around it,” he said. Shelby opens the season on Friday at home against Crestview. Their opening series in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference will be against Galion next Tuesday and Wednesday. There have been some outside days and inside day during high school spring training and Amicone says you can get better no matter where you are practicing. “I think you can get a lot of work done inside. I think you can breakdown mechanically a lot of different things when you are inside, whether it be groundball technique, outfield technique, throwing progression, baserunning, all of those sorts of things. You can accomplish a lot inside into the micro and the little details of how to do things properly,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We don’t mind being inside because you can work on those things. Then when you get a chance to go outside, you go into the macro. The big process plays. Cuts, relays, those sorts of things when you get outside. There are ways to get\ better inside. Obviously, we want to be outside. If you want to be a complete baseball team, I think you can do it inside as well as outside.” Published 3/24/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Edison Working to being Good Again Click here to listen to an interview with coach Sean Hoover Edison has been one of the very best baseball team in North Central Ohio in recent years and they have the building blocks to do it again. Coach Sean Hoover says they have good kids back, but they haven’t proven anything yet. “Every year is a new year, so we are coming into things with quite a few good returning lettermen and some young talent behind them. It might be a little rough at the beginning. I think everybody kind of has a feeling out process for the most part when the season starts. Trying to figure out lineups and who's going to go where and those kinds of things. They're pitching depth and can they do the same things outdoors that you might see indoors. Yeah, we have got a lot of talent coming back. If we can put things together, we have got a chance to have another solid season,” he said. Edison will start the season on Saturday with division VII state final four participant Tiffin Calvert. Hoover says they will have some really good arms, but they are still working on their depth. “We have got Bryson (Whittmer) back. Cole Leimeister is back again. Eli Hermes is coming back from the injury. Eli is a kid we thought would throw a lot of big innings for a us last year and ended up throwing a little over four innings because of injury. I guess that's still something that we've had the last couple of years. Two years ago Bryson couldn't pitch. We've had good pitching, but we've also battled through some injuries for those pitchers. I think maybe one thing we don't have as much as you're as pitching depth. We know we're going to have to be able to find maybe that guy that finishes the week, pitches on a Saturday. Those couple guys that can just throw strikes and keep us in games. Just not go out and put a lot of guys on base. Put them all over the plate and let the other team put it in play and let our defense do the work,” said Hoover. Edison really has been dominating in the “SBC” Bay, but Hoover says they can just really on what they have done in the past. “I guess I don't pay attention to the pressure. I just take the kids we have and try to put them together in the best combination and do the right thing by the kids to make sure we have the best season possible. I guess when you've been good maybe expect to be good every year, but I guess you're not going to be good because you're good in the past,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “I tell the kids this every year. This is your team. You're putting your mark on the program now. Last year's over and we're not going to be good because we were good last year. We're going to be good because we do the right things this year. So, I don't look at this pressure. I just look at it as you go and do the right things with the right kind of kids and coaches and you get them to buy in and a lot of times then good things will happen.” Published 3/24/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Wynford Looking For Improvement Click here to listen to an interview with coach Tom Smith Wynford finished fourth in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference baseball standing last year, five games back, and they hope to be more competitive this spring. Coach Tom Smith says with more experience they have a good chance to have more wins. “We had three freshman starting last year and our offense was down,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We had a lot of injuries, so hopefully with that year of experience we can get some offense rolling this year and be competitive in the league.” Smith says when kids get a year under their belts they just understand the varsity game more. “I think especially those first year varsity guys are just a little timid and don’t have the same confidence and after realizing they can do it after being there a year they seem to step up that second year,” said Smith. Brayden Campbell had the best ERA in the “N10” last season and Drew Pope as under 2.00 as well. They were both juniors. Smith says they are looking for pitching depth. “The top two are pretty solid and right now we are trying to figure our who four, five and six are and it what order. The top two should be pretty solid all year,” he said. Published 3/24/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Clear Fork Wants to be Aggressive Click here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Brokaw Clear Fork finished a game back in the tough Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference last year and they look like they will field a contender again this year, Coach Adam Brokaw says they lost a couple of very good players from last year, but they have some quality players back too. “We lost Mel Blubaugh and Katrina Rogers to graduation. This year we don't have any seniors, but we do have five juniors starting their third year of varsity softball. So, with their leadership hopefully some of them can play as seniors,” said Brokaw. Clear Fork is slated to open the season on Saturday at home against Northwestern in a non-conference game. Brokaw believes they will be able to field the ball and run the bases hard. He hopes they can have more big innings. “We should be able to put out a good defense and pretty good speed on the bases,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Hopefully, Miley Schafer has another good year being our main pitcher on the mound. Hopefully, our bats just produce more runs than they did last year and we can put some bigger innings together.” Brokaw says they are going to force teams to make good plays to get them out. “We will try and bunt when we need to and runs bases. If they make a good throw and tag our runner out we might make a couple of outs a game on the bases, but we are going to put pressure on the defense and make them hurry throwing the ball and trying to get us out,” he said. Published 3/19/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Mohawk Striving for Third Straight “N10” Click here to listen to an interview with coach Mindy Walton Mohawk has won the softball title the last two years in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference and that is their goal again this spring. Coach Mindy Walton says they have a mix of veterans and first year varsity players on the team this year. “Our main goal right now is to win the “N10” outright that would be our third year in a row doing so. We have five returners back from our final four team from last spring. We're pretty excited to get started. We have some new young faces that will also be joining those five starters from last year. We have some high expectations going into the spring. We have four juniors and no seniors, so we are really looking to our junior class to provide that leadership for us this spring,” said Walton. At the core of the Lady Warriors this year is junior pitcher Aubrey Gottfried. She had an ERA of 1.88 last year and Walton says all indications say she will be better this spring. “We have Aubrey Gottfried, she’s a junior. She's a three-year starter. She was first team All-Ohio last year. So, we'll be counting on her a lot for that pitching. She's gotten even better than last year, so we're looking forward to seeing her there,” she said. Gottfried struck out 326 hitters last season. Mohawk won 25 games last year. They begin this season next Thursday at Edison in non-league play. Their first “N10” games are March 30 and 31 against Wynford. Junior Katie Woodland launched 11 home runs last season, tops in the “N10”. Walton says they are going to feature power again this season. “We have some power on our team. A few in the top of our lineup. We had a scrimmage last week and our first hit was a home run over the fence, so we got the scrimmage started well that way. We had three home runs in the first inning,” she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “A little bit of power there at the beginning and looking towards the bottom of our lineup we’ll be kind of more of some bunting here and there. I like to play small game when I can, when I have too. We have some freshmen there that will be rounding out the lineup, so we will looking to see what they can do as well.” Published 3/19/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	South Central Ready to do it Again Click here to listen to an interview with coach Nick Kirk South Central is the defending Firelands Conference baseball champ and they return a lot of players to their squad this season. However, coach Nick Kirk cautions they have proven nothing yet. “I'd say we still have got to prove ourselves. We have about 10 returning letterman coming back, so I think we're seasoned. We have got a lot of seniors, but nothing's given in this sport. They still have to earn everything that they get. I think it just starts with taking it game by game and staying positive having each other's backs, but I think the sky is the limit for this group,” said Kirk. Kirk says they have got their team together now and he is happy with how they have approached practice. “This week's first week that we have everyone. Wrestlers getting done with state we finally got everyone at practice. The first week is kind of rough, especially when you have to be inside. We’ve really only been able to get outside about once or twice this year so far. Inside practices are never fun, but I think that overall they've had a great attitude wanting to come in every day and get better,” he said. Pitching is the bedrock of any team at any level and Kirk says they have some depth on the mound. “I think that we have a pretty deep rotation still. Losing Aaron Hauler from last year was a big hit, but there's a lot of guys that have been pitching for a little while,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I think that they're ready to step up and fill those shoes and take us a little bit further. We still have Wes June. Troy Ayers pitched a district semifinal game almost flawless last year. We also have Michael Sanders, Gavin Olney and a couple other guys that can step in and throw strikes for us as well.” Published 3/19/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Columbian Excited for Season Click here to listen to an interview with coach Nick Weber Tiffin Columbian hopes to take some momentum off a long tournament run last spring into this baseball season. Coach Nick Weber says they bring some talent back and really have a deeper pitching staff this year. “We are returning eight guys from last year, so we're pretty excited about the experience that we have back. Halfway through last year you can see the guys started to learn how to be a varsity baseball player, varsity athlete and they kind of took off from there and that allowed us to have that kind of deep tournament run that we did last year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We're excited that we have got those guys back. We’ve lost a really good pitcher in Isaiah Tilse, who was probably one of the best ones to do it for Colombian. Honestly, I feel like we're deeper on the mound this year with guys they're grown up and more experienced, so we're excited.” Weber says they have been working hard with the bats and hopefully they can score more runs this season. “These guys have really taken the offseason to really work on the offensive side of the ball. In years past we haven't really lit up the scoreboard and they kind of took that personnel. So, we're going to be more of a team that's going to manufacture runs. We’re going to put the ball in play and then kind of grind out at bats and let the ball fall. We have got a couple of guys that can go gap to gap, but for most of it we're just going to grind at bats and put the ball in play and see what happens and create chaos,” said Weber. Weber says they want to put other teams in position where they have to make plays. “You try to put guys in uncomfortable positions. Kind of make them think about different scenarios that are happening. That's what we want. I know it affects us when other teams do that to us. So, that's kind of the mindset those guys have taken,” he said. Published 3/19/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Hillsdale Wants to Run Click here to listen to an interview with coach Ben Ferguson Hillsdale meets Kalida in a division VII state semifinal on Friday afternoon at Wright State University. It’s the first time the Falcons have been in a state basketball tournament. However, coach Ben Ferguson says playing in big games is not new to the players he has on his roster. “It's definitely a factor. Going back to many of them have been to the football state championship final game two years in a row. Last year in basketball, we made it to the regional semifinals. The year before, we made it to the district semifinals. This year we played in some tough tournaments throughout the season. We took the team down to Florida. It was a holiday tournament down there where we played some really tough competition. Then we played in “The Battle of the Berkey” over at Smithville and we played against a really tough Johnstown-Monroe team. So, all of that together, the boys were battle tested. They've done these big games before, so I do think that's a big factor,” said Ferguson. Hillsdale (20-7) beat Heartland Christian (58-57) to win its regional title last Friday night. Kalida (16-11) downed Montpelier (66-53) to win their regional. Ferguson says they are going to be very patient with the ball. “I saw them in person up at the Bowling Green Saturday. I've watched several games on film. They're a really good team. It’s going to be a tough challenge. It seems they’re very well coached. I don't know what's more impressive, their offense or their defense. They're very patient on offense. At times taken 45 seconds to a minute off the clock on one offensive possession, so they're incredibly patient. Their defense is incredibly good. They play really nice help side defense. They seem to be just very disciplined basketball players overall. It seems almost everybody on the team can shoot the three,” said Ferguson. Ferguson says they have kind of seen teams like this before. Like Johnstown-Monroe who beat them (64-50) earlier in the year. “I think that they're closer to Johnstown Monroe that we played, which also is out of our area a little bit. We did play them in “The Battle of the Berkey”. That's probably the closest they compare to who we've played this year. They’re a good team, but certainly not unbeatable. We’re a good team and I think if we play well, we'll have a shot to win the game,” he said. Ferguson says they have to be able to play their game at their tempo if they are going to win. “We're going have to stay true to our game and who we are. It seems they try to slow teams down. The reason I say that is just in the games I've watched. They put what I would call a 1-2-2 three quarter court press and it seems like it's really not meant to trap as much as it is to slow teams down and force you to make bad decisions,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Our team is probably a polar opposite of that as we like to push the tempo and get out and run. So. trying to stay true to who we are and how we got here. So, we're gonna look to run and I'm sure that they'll try to slow us down. I don't think there's been a time yet this year we've taken 45 seconds off the clock on an offensive possession.” Published 3/18/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Madison is Loaded Click here to listen to an interview with coach Tim Niswander Madison advanced all of the way to the regional final last season the Lady Rams have a lot back including one of the best pitchers in the area. Veteran coach Tim Niswander feels they can be really, really good. “Well, we’re pretty excited. We lost our catcher Emma Stankovich last year and then we lost a couple of kids out of the bottom of our order that played outfield. We've got two really good freshmen that are coming into our program. Plus, kids that played JV and split some varsity time last year that are ready to step up and take bigger roles and fill in those holes. I think offensively we will be much more solid than we were a year ago. A little bit more power and definitely make better contact. Our team speed is much better than it was. So, all of those things coming in coupled with the fact that our entire infield is intact from a year ago. Lexi Lewis at third, Izzy Wamsley at short, Campbell Kiser at second, Sophie Lowe at first. We return our right fielder Libby Bekeleski one of our two seniors and a three year starter,” said Niswander. Plus, Niswander says they have Caliyah Clapper back healthy again. “The kid that makes it go Caliyah Clapper on the mound, who was second team All-Ohio last year as a freshman. She had surgery the first of December and actually just got cleared for all activities (Tuesday). So, pretty excited that we've got everybody back. We had besides Caliyah, we had four other kids that had surgery in the offseason. So, it's nice to finally have everybody back together at once and looking forward to (Tuesday) evening that we're going to have our first practice with everybody there. So, that'll be cool. We're excited and we're getting ready to roll,” he said. They begin the season next Wednesday against small school power Hillsdale. Niswander says this is a team that can score in a lot of ways. “That's kind of the way we like to be and I'm sure everybody likes to be that way. We want to be able to play little ball and we want to be able to drive the ball in the gaps with power. We want to hit it over the fence. When things aren't necessarily clicking the way you think that they should you want to have other options and ways that you can score runs,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I remember as a kid being told and then hearing it on the radio, and on TV, that speed never slumps and that's true. So, at Madison we've always had the ability to play little ball. We teach every single one of our kids to bunt even if they never get asked to do so they have the ability to. We want to always take the extra base. So, some team speed is not necessarily just stealing bases it's getting home to second and first to third and sometimes first to home. I think we have the ability to do those things to help ourselves score some runs if the power's not popping that day.” Published 3/18/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Ontario Baseball With Some Depth Click here to listen to an interview with coach Bret Simmermacher The Ontario Warriors are loaded with potential this year that could add up to an excellent season, but only time will tell. New coach Bret Simmermacher says they certainly have the building blocks. “I think our season might turn out pretty well. It just depends on how well we except some of the coaching that we're getting. We've got a great nucleus of young men back. We've got some great leadership from some guys that have some good experience over the last couple of years playing at the varsity level. I think the sky is the limit for this team, it’s just a matter of can we get off to a quick start. Not allow some adversity to hurt us, if it happens, and just move on with a positive attitude,” he said. Simmermacher believes they have a number of kids they can put on the mound that can get batters out. “I think we have some good arms. We've got Jaren Holden. He's a junior this year with a couple of years of varsity pitching experience under his belt. We've got Guy Trader, who transferred over from Mansfield Senior. Has played three years in Senior High’s program and now he’s a senior at Ontario. Trey Remy decided to come out for baseball this year. He was the starting quarterback for the football team and has a good arm and has got size and the ability. Hopefully, he can prosper into a pretty good player. We've got some other guys like Brody Cheek and Nolan Grider and Liam Holden and Kasen Pittman. Some young players that might possibly get some time on the mound. Kane and Dom Cantrell. We’ve got a lot of arms it's just who's going to step up and pitch it like we need it to be pitched and get people out,” said Simmermacher. When it comes to the offense, he thinks they have a pretty good core to build from. “I think we've got some guys with some power. Jaren Holden probably hitting in the three hole. He's a guy that could be an RBI guy for us. Max Ciroli probably hitting the four hole. He's another RBI guy for us. Then we have got Dane Kearns, which will probably catch for us. Dane is probably going to do a lot of things. He may even pitch a little bit. He may have to play some shortstop in times when guys are pitching,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We've got a lot of guys that can play different positions and I think that's going to be a feather in our cap. I think those three guys in the middle of the lineup mixed in with maybe a Nolan Grider that doesn't have a lot of experience at the varsity level swings it from the left side. We've got Guy Trader leading off. He's not going to be much of an RBI guy maybe depending on if the lower part of the lineup gets on base or not. I think we've got a nucleus of a good team. The Cantrell brothers will probably hit a little bit down in the lineup, but maybe they could get some RBI's for us as well.” Published 3/18/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby Counting on Speed Click here to listen to an interview coach Sami Martin The high school girls’ softball season opens this weekend and this year Shelby is going to be blessed with experience and speed through the lineup. The Lady Whippets actually open the season next Monday against Upper Sandusky. They start Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play next Tuesday and Wednesday versus Marion Harding. Coach Sami Martin says they are going to be more experienced this year and they are going to feature a lot of speed. “This year, what’s kind of nice is that we have a lot of experience. Last year, we were super inexperienced. We had a lot of girls we pulled up from JV or freshman and we're playing varsity for us. We only lost two seniors. So, one key thing is I think we got the jitters out last year for those big moments. I'm really expecting some younger girls to step up and now that they have a year under their belt,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We also have a lot of speed and we played good defense in our first two scrimmages. I think we only committed one error in both of those, so we have a really solid defense to back up our pitching. I also think that we're going to be able to run the bases very fast and effectively. So, I think those are definitely our key strengths. We just have more experience under our belts for sure.” Martin says they want to force the action. “That's our big goal. Our lead off is a really fast slapper and then our second hole is also a slapper. So, that's one thing that we're looking forward to hopefully get her on base, being able to steal and then move her. Our whole lineup, even our power hitters, are pretty quick. So, that's something we're really looking forward to being able to push and make them make a good throw to get us out and see how far we can push that,” she said. When it comes to the “MOAC” Martin believes again it will be balanced. “That's kind of what's special about our league is that I think in the six years that I've coached they haven't had the same team dominating the league. We won it with Clear Fork two years ago. Last year it was River Valley and Ontario. Back before then I even think Highland might have got one. It's just like all those teams are so strong. Galion every year they're a team that if you're not on your “A” game they can get you. Highland has nice pitching, young talent and same thing with Ontario. They have solid pitching and good hitting. It's just like one of those things where you can't even point out one team. I think that's the beauty of it. Last year I think the teams that won our league had three losses because everyone was splitting. It was just so close. Every game was just so important,” said Martin. Published 3/17/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Madison Looking for Good Season Click here to listen to an interview with coach Jayson Stone The Madison Rams have a new head baseball coach, but they have some returning experience that has the potential to make up a very good team this year. Coach Jayson Stone says the kids are working hard to be ready for the start of the season. “I'm expecting big things too honest. I have got a great group of kids led by five seniors who have certainly been committed throughout the process practicing hard every night. Actually, we just had a scrimmage Saturday over at Crestview. We were supposed to have Hillsdale, but with their basketball success we were able to get that changed over to Crestview. Had an intersquad last week and Friday we head down to Cincinnati for three scrimmages,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We'll get a good look at our kids. They're all going to have an opportunity to compete play and we'll go from there, but right now I couldn't be more happy with their commitment and effort that they've shown me thus far.” If you are going to have success in baseball at the varsity level, you better have some pitching depth. Stone says they have it. “Last year Liam Stone and Ayston Taylor were our one and two and they're both back. We have Julian Washington that is going to contribute. Chris Kaufman had some JV last year and he's looked really good so far this spring. Freshman coming in Carson Cook giving him some looks as well. Then Adien Proctor, who competed in state wrestling tournament this past weekend should be joining us this week too. So, I feel good about our death of arms. At the end of the day, they're working hard and competing every day as well,” he said. In a league like the Ohio Cardinal Conference that schedules back to back league games every week, Stone says having some pitching depth is vital. “There's no way you can go into a season depending on two or three kids in baseball. If that's how you're going into it, it's going to be a long year for you. You have got to trust kids. You have got to develop, especially in those non league games you have just got to go with them, trust them, let them grow and let them learn and hopefully that pays dividends throughout the year. Kids get more comfortable and more confident as we go along just to continue to add to that pitching depth. Every coach would tell you the more arms you have got the better your season is going to go,” said Stone. Published 3/17/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Buckeye Central a Mix Click here to listen to an interview with coach Chad Jensen Buckeye Central will have some veterans on its roster this spring, but the key to their success just might be the development of their younger players. Hall of fame coach Chad Jensen says this year they have a mix of experience. “We return seven letter winners. We have four seniors who played a lot of baseball. So, we do have some veterans back, but we also have some youngsters with very limited experience that we need to throw in there as well. So, it'll be interesting to see how our veterans mesh with our younger guys and how our younger guys adapt to varsity baseball and that's going to be the biggest thing,” said Jensen. With those younger kids especially, Jensen says they have been working on the little things that make baseball the game that it is. “We’re really working on attention to detail here practice. Just working on little things. We've told them that we have to improve on the little things if we want to be successful because sometimes things that we were able to get away with at younger levels now we can't get away with at the varsity level. So, we've been really focusing on attention and details in our practices,” he said. It may be inside or outside depending on the weather, but Jensen says its important to get everything they can out of each practice that they have. “Our practices are very valuable. I feel that there isn't enough time in the day. Our kids only have attention spans for two hours or less and you really can’t keep them any longer than that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “You have to get everything into that practice. You have got to have it planned out to have everything that you feel like you need to have in for that first scrimmage. So, there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day. We'll gradually get everything we need and put our best foot forward when we have our first scrimmage this Friday against Shelby.” Published 3/17/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Crawford Falls in Regional Final Another outstanding season is over for the Colonel Crawford Eagles as they fell in Saturday night’s division VI regional final (58-45) to Lincolnview in game played at the Stroth Center at Bowling Green State University. The Eagles (23-3) led only once in the game. A John DeGray free throw gave them a (3-2) lead with 4:53 to play in the first quarter. However, the Lancers close the quarter on a (12-5) run an it was an uphill battle the rest of the way. Coach David Sheldon says the Lancers just had too much quickness. “First of all, I thought quickness out did strength (Saturday). Defensively it's been our thing and they're quickness hurt us. They beat us off the bounce. We weren't trying to deny. We got beat on some back doors out of the Princeton. We weren't gap sound. I thought they're quickness out did out strength. With that Princeton offense they run it we tried to go over it and that's what it was,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “Defensively, they're quickness really hurt us. The Evans kid was just a bear at the high post. Max Hammons was outstanding as well. It’s a good basketball team. They ran that Princeton offense for three years. Coach Hammons had went to it and they ran it smooth and quickness out did strength.” Gavin Evans has 19 and Max Hammons 15 for Lincolnview. The Lancer made 48% of their field goals and were (15-18) on free throws. Crawford is normally a very good shooting team from both the inside and outside, but not Saturday night, especially the first half. “We here 8-25 first half and you're down nine, so do the math. If four of those go here that's one point game. When I look at the first half stats, I brought those specifically, its guys who want to shooting. They just didn’t drop. it's a tough thing about this game, you don’t shoot well, you go home,” said Sheldon. The third quarter we critical for Eagles, down double figures, Brayden Holt, the NW District player of the year, got his fourth foul, two of them charging fouls in the that quarter and was forced to sit. Sheldon says that was a big factor in the outcome of the game. “It definitely hurts us. He's player of the year. Brayden would be the first. He didn't play his best. If you look at it what he did he carried us for the last two years and we wouldn't be here. Those fouls are key. He got two charge calls in the third quarter. He’s our point guard and he never comes off the floor, so those were big. Especially in the third to try and stay in it because I knew when we had to press there in the fourth it was over,” he said. Holt finished was 15 points and Payne DeGray 14 for the Eagles. Published 3/14/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Crawford Hammers Seneca East Colonel Crawford will play for a regional championship in division VI for the second year in a row as they pulled away in the second half to blast “N10” rival Seneca East (56-33) in Thursday night's semifinal at the Stroh Center and Bowling Green State University. Two three pointers in the first 1:41 of the first quarter by Luke Mason and Logan Price gave Seneca East (6-2) lead, but Colonel Crawford ended the quarter on a (14-0) run to take a (16-6) lead after one. Colonel Crawford coach David Sheldon says they played really solid defense for the most part. “I thought we were very good in the first, third and fourth defensively. That's been the foundation of our program. The second quarter we had some bad communication defensively, but our defense in the first, third and fourth was outstanding. Parker Weithman did an unbelievable job on Mason. I think he ends up with 10. We had Payne as a helper. It was just a great job. That team can score and I was proud of our defense,” he said. The Tigers actually outscored Crawford (14-13) in the second quarter making (29-20) Eagles at halftime. Seneca East coach Anthony Langhurst says he felt they were in pretty good shape. “I thought you know the only being down nine and for us maybe not taking advantage with some baskets that were makable and some defensive assignments that were blown I thought we were in a pretty good spot. We had some good talk at halftime,” he told Swankonsports.com, “I thought we kind of came out really with the nice push, but we just went stagnant on offense, which is something that we can do. Obviously, Crawford's defense has a lot to do with that. Defensively we've had too many breakdowns and like I said their efficiency ir really good if they're getting to the basket. So, it kind of unraveled pretty quickly there.” Brady Bloom connected on a three with 5:45 left in the third quarter to cut the Crawford lead to (31-25), but Peyton Baker responded with a three of his own from the left corner, which started a 12 point run to end the quarter. Tyler Lash, the only Eagle off the bench to play significant minutes, scored all six of his points during that stretch. Langhurst says eventually Crawford is going to get to you. “They probably weren’t going to shoot was bad as Van Buren, we kind of knew that. It’s just so hard to get runs against Crawford because you can make a couple baskets, but they're offensive efficiency so great. Even if you're fortunate enough for those guys to miss an open three, then Payne (DeGray) cleans it up. Holt is great at getting into the middle. So, it's kind of a pick your poison type deal and at some point the poison gets you,” said Langhurst. Sheldon says he wasn’t very happy at halftime and he let the players know about it. “At halftime I was not real happy. We had some breakdowns communicating wise with some ball screen coverage and leaving people in transition. So, it was just we have got to talk louder. So, that was a major emphasis and I thought we did a better job of switching ball screens and the different books that we wanted to give Seneca East. We held them to one shot. It goes back to rebounding. You contest and then you have got to finish your possession and the big fella is a big reason. That's back-to-back double figure rebounding in the district championship last week and the regional semifinal and that's the key to complete the possession,” said Sheldon. The Eagles (23-2) made 45% of their first goal attempts. Payne DeGray led a balance attack with 15 points. Brayden Holt has 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Rebounding was a huge stat in this one. Crawford outrebounded the Tigers 39-23 with Payne DeGray grabbing 13, seven offensive, and brother John another eight. Sheldon says Payne has reached another milestone. “(Thursday) night Payne became the all time leading career rebounder at Crawford. That record 682 had stood since 1972 with Jim Schuck, only Dan Messersmidt (with Crawford County Now) would know that name. He graduated in 1972 and went to Indiana and played four years of college football and then was the last cut of the Dallas Cowboys. This kid next year is going to play at the next level in college football. He's just a man. Just like he is at defensive end. He goes and gets it and that's because of his dedication in the weight room. He was a big reason for that rebounding that you saw (Thursday) night because it's tough to get away from the big fella,” said Sheldon. Payne says he feels honored to have the record and he wants to get that ball off the glass so they can get more shots. “That means a lot of the biggest names ever come out of Crawford. It's a selfless position to go out and get the rebounds from my teams. Getting them second shots for our big three-point shooters Parker (Weithman), Peyton (Baker) and Brayden (Holt). Those second shots can be huge in the runs we want to make,” he said. Defense is the bedrock of the success at Crawford and Thursday night they held Seneca East to 12-43 field goal attempts, that’s 28 percent. Sheldon says they don’t want to give up open looks. “We take pride in that. Defensively we talk about the 20 years I've been at Crawford and we want to win every possession. We talk about one possession at time. We want to make tough looks. You look at last week there was an unbelievable district final. Patrick Henry scored some points, but if you look at the volume that they shot and the contested shots,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “That's what we want to do no open looks. When you see open looks this old guy every once in a while gets a little fired up on the sideline, so they know that and our guys have taken that to heart. It's our physicality, every one of my basketball players played in the final four in football. That’s a great thing about Colonel Crawford is it’s true small school sports where our kids are playing multiple sports. We're old school from the 80s and 90s and not what we see with specialization now and our kids just love to compete, which showed (Thursday) night.” Seneca East (19-7) had a tremendous year. “At the start of the season we really didn’t have a lot of expectations. We had Luke, but we had a lot of JV guys. It was a just a matter of guys buying in. You see us out there and we are playing as hard we can,” said Langhurst. Mason had 10 points and so did Bloom for the Tigers. Sheldon says he has nothing but respect for the Seneca East and the job Langhurst did this year. Colonel Crawford will play Lincolnview, who beat Convoy Crestview, (53-46) in the nightcap Thursday, on Saturday night for the regional championship. It will be their fifth game in just over a year at the Stroh Center and Sheldon feels that’s a big plus the Eagles. “It's huge. We played three times because fortunately we got the final four back to what it should be this year and our state semi game here versus Marion Local was here last year. So, we're not shell shocked by being in this environment because it's a totally different environment than a high school gyms we played in the last four months. Our guys understand that and we have got a very humble group. It's about playing the game. During pregame you don't see hand slaps and dances and all that. They just want to compete it's an old school basketball team and we get to survive in advance and going for a regional championship,” said Sheldon. Published 3/13/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Seneca East Wants to Use its Speed Seneca East challenges Russia in a division VII state semifinal on Friday afternoon at the Nutter Center at Wright State University. A win means they will play for a state title om Saturday morning at the University of Dayton Arena against either Strasburg-Franklin or Ottoville. The Lady Tigers (18-7) beat Cortland Maplewood (31-25) on Saturday night to secure the school’s first ever regional title in girls’ basketball. With all the excitement, coach George Parks says it has been a wild week. “It's very it's a good problem to have. It's been a challenge with so much paperwork. Someone told me that everybody's got a piece of this. It's amazing the support that we've had,” he told Swankonsports.com, “I've had so many people step up, my assistant coaches. You're talking hotels, logistics, food, feeding 20 kids. I'm saying that my parents and coaches have done a great job. Fortunately, I've been able to start watching film and preparing and practices.” Russia (24-3), who won the always tough Shelby County League, beat Cederville (40-32) to win their regional title. Parks says this team features a lot of height. “They’re tall, they're athletic. They knocked Fort Loramire off twice this year, a perennial powerhouse. They have four girls that are six-foot tall and a couple others there 5’10”. They remind me a lot of Willard size wise. We have got our work cut out for us, but I like our chances. I think we're faster and a little more aggressive to the ball. So, if we can realize that and take advantage of that,” said Parks. They lost a double overtime game to Willard in the regular season. Parks says they want to use the floor to their advantage and get after Russia on Friday. “It’s a little bit bigger, it's going to be a little longer than most high school courts. We've done a really good job in the two regional games of pressuring the other team’s guards and making it a full court game and we wear on our teams. We've been fortunate to stay close to halftime and we won the second half. If we can do that and give us a chance in the second half I like the chances,” he said. Published 3/13/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Mansfield Senior Wins a Wild One Mansfield Senior made four free throws in the final two minutes and held off Alliance (65-61) in a division III regional final on Wednesday night at Savage Hall at the University of Toledo. They will return Saturday afternoon to play Toledo Central Catholic for a chance to reach the state final four for the first time since 2005. The Tygers held as much as seven point (57-50) in rhe final quarter after two Rashad Reed free throws with 4:21 to play, but that was reduced to just one when JR Jackson hit threes on consecutive possessions to cut the Tyger lead to (57-56) with 3:26 left. Alliance took their only lead of the second half at (60-59) with 2:18 remaining, but sophomore Kaylen Brooks responded right away on a drive to hole and basket with 2:05 on the clock to make it (61-60) and Tygers would never again give up the lead. Mansfield Senior (19-7) outrebounded Alliance 32-26 and seemed to get to a lot of loose balls, especially in key situations. Coach Marquis Sykes thought that was big. “That's what this game is all about because they play the exact same way as we do. Physical, athletic, they try to get after it, they pressure and speed you up and do all of those kinds of things. So, we knew that it would come down to who handled the ball the best, who valued the basketball the best, who rebounded the basketball the best, who got to the 50/50 balls the best,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “I would say overall, we probably won those battles. Now, whether it was 60/40 or 55/45. I don't know, but I think we won those battles at the end of the day and made enough plays to win the game.” Davion Mack and D.J. Corbin both had nine board for the Tygers. It was also a balanced attack on offense with four Tygers in double figures led by Kaylen Brooks with 19. Andrew Brooks Jr. added 15, Reed 11 and Mack 10. Kaylen Brooks had four steals and Corbin had three. Sykes says it takes everybody. “This is a team sport and it has to be collective. It has to be more than one guy getting after it. It has to be every single player that's on the roster. We talk about having energy on the bench and we talk about our guys when they come in off the bench they must come in with energy. All the guys have to play with energy and effort. We have to make sure they’re getting after it. I think overall during this tournament run the guys have done that,” said Sykes. There were some tense moments late for both teams. Alliance missed their last three free throws with a chance to tie and Tygers were able to secure enough rebounds. Corbin grabbed the last one and made a free throw with :07 left to make it a two possession game. After a deep breath and with a smile of his face, Sykes says they made just enough plays. “We handled it just enough. I saw a little nervousness, a little jitters, but overall, the guys locked in and they made enough plays and made enough free throws at the end of the game. We didn't turn it over in those crucial moments. Our coaches were yelling and screaming about when we should get our timeouts and those kinds of things. All in all, we made the plays that allowed us to come out with the victory,” he said. Jackson led all scorers in the game with 24 and Parker Woods added 20 for the Aviators. Mansfield Senior also did an impressive job converting open shots. They were (24-43) on the night for 56% from the field. Kaylen Brooks made (8-17) tries. The second quarter was key for the Tygers. After one it was (17-13) Alliance, but Mansfield Senior held them to four points in the quarter to take a (29-21) halftime lead. When it comes to Toledo Central Catholic, a (70-44) winner of CVCA in the first game Thursday night, Sykes says he will get to the starting Thursday. “We'll sit down have a good discussion about it (Thursday). We're playing one of the best teams in the state, so I don't want to think about any of that (Wednesday) night. I want to get on the bus and talk to my coaches. I want to go home and hug and kiss my wife. Thursday we'll start thinking about how we can make the game with Toledo Central Catholic and how we can make the game competitive. How we can handle being in the elite eight and in the regional final,” said Sykes. Published 3/12/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Colonel Crawford Must Attack Colonel Crawford meets Seneca East for the third time this year this time in a division VI regional semifinal on Thursday evening at the Stroh Center at Bowling Green State University. Veteran Crawford coach David Sheldon says having two teams from the same league in the regional is pretty cool. “It's pretty impressive for our league when you look at the big picture with both us and Seneca East in the regional. The big reason this happened was because of the new Northwest District board pod system. In the past, us and Seneca East would have been in the same district. We went opposite ways and that's how this opportunity for both of us to get into the regional tournament happened in the same division for this year,” said Sheldon. Colonel Crawford (22-2) beat Seneca East (19-6) twice in “N10” play. They destroyed them (67-34) on January 9 in North Robinson and rallied to down the Tigers (61-48) on February 20 outside Attica. Tigers point guard Luke Mason was fourth in the conference scoring this year (17.0 PPG) and he led the conference in assists (6.9) per game. Sheldon says the 5’9” senior guard, the school’s all time leading scorer, makes everyone around him better and his teammates have become increasing good at taking advantage. “He's been a special player for four years at the offense and defensive end, but I think the big thing with this team is the way Depinet, Hicks, Bloom, Price and Perkins have grown up this year,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Those guys are playing very well and Luke is finding them as well. So, it's a balanced team and it's not just Luke Mason, but Luke just is the glue of that basketball team. The others are what has impressed me with the success that they've had throughout this entire year and especially on their tournament run.” Seneca East is athletic and they get down the floor and make opponents teak tough shots. Sheldon says they are both quick and physical. “They put five athletes on the floor at all times. They've got good quickness, athleticism, and then Hicks is a physical kid inside. So, they've got a very good team all the way around of athletes when you talk about their athleticism,” he said. Seneca East is either famous or infamous for their variety of zone defenses. They hurt Crestview with an aggressive zone in last week’s district semifinal. Sheldon says they must guard the Tigers very well and attack that zone. “We have got to make sure we guard and make them work every possession at the defensive end and that's been the foundation. Offensively, we have to attack. You know they're going to play zone. They play zone, they have since Anthony's (Langhurst) been there and he is an artist with his zones. He's doing different books throughout his time there and so we've got to be able to attack their zone in different ways throughout the entire game,” said Sheldon/ Published 3/12/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Seneca East Needs Good Start Seneca East meets Northern 10 Athletic Conference rival Colonel Crawford Thursday night in a division VI regional semifinal at the Stroh Center at Bowling Green State University. The winner will play either Lincolnview or Convoy Crestview for a state tournament berth on Saturday night at BGSU. After being fouled on a three point attempt, Luke Mason made two of three free throws with one second left and the Tigers beat Van Buren (39-37) to win a district title last Friday night. Coach Anthony Langhurst says Mason just made a play. “I think the kids kind of knew that ahead of time watching them on film. The physicality was apparent. You don’t win 20 games if you're not good at running your system. I thought we did a pretty decent job of kind of preparing the guys to be in that battle. Obviously when you have got Luke Mason out there and he tends to make a few plays here and there and made a big play at the end,” he said. Colonel Crawford (22-2) won both regular season meetings with the Tigers (19-6) this year. They smoked them (67-34) on January 9 in North Robinson and downed them (61-48) on February 20 at Seneca East. Langhurst says they look forward to a chance to compete. “Again, it starts with Luke, he’s fearless. We have some other guys who are fearless too. They're not just great basketball players, they’re great athletes. So, whether they're competing and it’s baseball, football whatever, they like to step up to the challenge. So, this will be a great challenge for us and it's a cool thing to play a team three times,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Their student body is going to be jacked up. We’ll bring some fans that are going to be jacked up. They're built on you know physicality and shutting guys down, so they get fired up for that type of thing. Our guys are going to want to step up to the challenge too. So, it's going to be a fun atmosphere and hopefully you can prepare our boys to be ready for it.” There have been a number of games this season what Crawford has built a double digit lead after the first quarter and the game was over early. Langhurst says they must stay in the game early. “There's games where, you go back to the Crestview game, and we had a terrible first half and we're like, hey there's a lot of basketball to played. If I'm saying that I'm thinking we're probably going to be done and finished in a couple quarters. You have got to be ready right from the tip. It's not a team that makes a lot of mistakes and allows you to get back into the game. Their offensive efficiency is really good. If you do have a chance to turn them over, you have to take advantage of it. If you're playing catch up they're tough team to come back on,” he said. The offensive efficiency that Langhurst spoke of is lead by senior point guard Brayden Holt, who seemingly can do whatever the Eagles need him to do. Plus, Langhurst says he has taken his game up a couple of notches in the postseason. “The most impressive thing is you're watched him all year and he is a special player and then come tournament time he's turning it up. He's playing at a whole entirely other level you knew that he could play at and he’s sustaining it for four quarters in the tournament. So, he's a special player and when you have got a guy like that or you have a guy like Luke as a coach probably feel at ease on the sideline. I'm sure Dave (Sheldon) is just a little bit more stressed out than I am, or it looks like it, but deep down we both know we have got special guys running the show for us,” said Langhurst. Published 3/12/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Tygers Have to Make Hustle Plays Mansfield Senior will lock horns with Alliance on Wednesday night in a division III regional semifinal to be played at the University of Toledo. The winner gets either Toledo Central Catholic or CVCA on Saturday afternoon in the regional title game. Alliance (23-2) won their district title with a (71-62) win over Bedford on Saturday. Their losses this year come to Beloit West Branch (56-51) and Massillon (81-77) in overtime. Tygers coach Marquis Sykes says the Aviators are athletic and they’re skilled too. “Alliance is a very good team, super athletic and they play really, really hard. They have some really good shooters. They have got a really, really slick guard who handles basketball really well and can score on three levels It’s going to require our best game to make this competitive. We would expect nothing less this is the sweet 16, this is the regional, so the competition is going to be top tier, the coaching is going to be top tier. So, we’re just locked in on being the best version of the Tygers and doing everything we can to put ourselves in position to remain competitive,” he said. Sykes says Alliance kind of reminds him of Massillon in the way they play. “I would say similar to a Massillon team that we saw on around mid-season. A lot of size and strength and a lot of athleticism playing a fast paced game, a lot of pressure on basketball in the full court and in the half court. So, it’s kind of looking at yourself in the mirror except a bigger, stronger version. Like I said, they are a little bigger than us and more athletic. We have to go out there and lace them up and the team that competes the most. I feel like this is a game where the team that gets the 50/50 balls and the team that rebounds the basketball the best and the team that contains dribble penetration best is this team that wins the game,” said Sykes. Massillon outscored the Tygers (96-80) on January 13 during a low point in the Senior High season. This is the first time the Tygers have made the regional field since 2014. Sykes says they can’t be satisfied. “We celebrated Saturday night and even into Sunday, but we hit the court Sunday night and that was the message that our seniors laid and that was the message from our coaching staff that we didn't want to be complacent or satisfied with winning a district championship. That was great, that was fun and it's memorable, but the next test we have is Alliance. I think our guys are really, really locked in and they're focused in on them. I think we'll play our best game. I think our guys are really focused in on trying to win the next game and I'm just leaving it all out there. We have talked a lot about not leaving this up to chance and seizing the moment. So, I expect our guys to fully take advantage of that opportunity and play our best ball.” Published 3/11/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Hillsdale Runs Away From Calvert Hillsdale outscored Tiffin Calvert (18-6) in the fourth quarter and hammered the Senecas (67-45) in a division VII regional semifinal on Tuesday night at Barberton High School. They return Friday night to meet Heartland Christian in the regional championship game. The Lions beat Fairport Harbour Harding (63-59) in Tuesday’s first semifinal. The Falcons (19-7) were able to build a 10-point lead after three quarters (49-39) and forced the Senecas to pressure them and that resulted in a number of fast break points. “Right from the start we wanted to run. I figured if we could rebound and play defense and then our defense and our rebounds turn into offense that's our game. We have a really good transition team. We have great athletes and great ball players and I figured if we could set the tempo that we'd be in pretty good shape,” said Hillsdale coach Ben Ferguson. Calvert (17-8) cut it to eight (47-39) with :53 left in the third quarter after a Grady Otterbacher three, but that would bas close as they would get in the second half. The Falcons would start the final quarter on an (8-3) run, led by five points from senior guard Troy Bennett. Calvert coach Jon Otterbacher says they didn’t make very good decisions on Tuesday night. “I don't think we did a very good job of controlling our side of the pace and tempo. I think the running aspect is not what hurt us it was our decision making,” he told Swankonsports.com, “The first three, four possessions that second quarter I think where we have that small lead and then they came out and scored the first eight points or whatever it was. We weren't able to recover. Tried to get them in different things offensively and defensively to get us in a better grove and we just couldn't get out of our own way.” Calvert led (13-12) after the first quarter, but Hillsdale took the lead right away on a Kael Lewis hoop (14-13) with 7:43 left in the half. They never trailed again. They went on to score 12 of the first 14 points of the quarter and build a (24-15) lead with 5:09 to play in the half. Ferguson says defense was the key to their success. “We really worked several different rotations of who's going to guard who. They have got a really good player in Ritzler and we started with Kael Lewis on him then we moved Lowen to him and we ended up disrupting him,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “He's averaging 19 a game he had zero at the half and I'm not sure what he ended up with five or seven or so, but I thought that our defense really was the key.” Ritzler ended up with seven points on the night. Vinny Lyons with 12 was the only Seneca in double figures. Seven times in the second half Calvert cut the deficit to less than 10, but each time the Falcons responded with a goal. Otterbacher says they just couldn't develop any consistency. “We would get it back to that single digit and then they get a big stop and they would get an offensive rebound or they would tip it away from us get an easy score. We couldn’t get anything consistently going. Our shot selection late when we were trying to get back in it he shot three wild trees on the fast break where we haven't been hitting all day instead of getting to the basket. We were supposed to try to get to the basket and pump fake and get them up in the air we didn't do that. One time maybe? So, just the consistency of paying smart. high IQ basketball just and couldn't get over that hump,” said Otterbacher. Many of those hoops came off offensive rebounds and Ferguson says that is something they have done well all year. “We rebounded really well and we have been rebounding well all season and when we are able to rebound well and get in transition we typically do very well,” he said. Hillsdale had a balanced attack with four players in double figures led by Knox Lewis and Lowen Ferguson, both with 17, Kael Lewis with 15 and Hayden McFadden with 11. This is Hillsdale’s second straight appearance in the regional tournament and Ferguson felt that helped them on Tuesday night. “We're still dealing high school boys and big environment, big court, big crowd, big gymnasium, it’s a difference. We are a little school. When you take the boys out of the country and bring them to a bigger school like this and there's times where that would shake them up and being here last year I do think that played a big role in our comfort and confidence,” said Ferguson. Published 3/11/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	River Valley Must be Outstanding River Valley tangles with Dayton Northridge in a division IV regional semifinal on Thursday night at Xavier University in Cincinnati. If they win that one, they will play either Cincinnati Wyoming or Kettering Alter for the regional championship on Saturday. Last Friday, they railed in the second half to beat Johnstown-Monroe (54-48) in a district final at Mt. Vernon Nazerene. Coach Rodney Brown says they grinded it out in the fourth quarter. “They're very well coached, play very hard, strong, physical kids. We didn't have much offense in the first half. The second half we got going. The fourth quarter we were able to make a lot of free throws down the stretch as they were fouling us to be able to pull away and secure it,” he said. Chase Smith made 10 of 11 free throws in the win. River Valley (20-5) faces Northridge (24-1) on Thursday. The Polar Bears only loss comes to Westerville North, a regional qualifier in division II, (72-48) way back on December 6. They beat a very talented Margaretta (58-55) this year. Brown says they are just very athletic. “They are good. They're big, they're strong, they're athletic, and they have got a lot of seniors. Their best player is actually a sophomore. I believe he's a four star recruit. When you see this kid, he looks like what you think a division one basketball player would look like. They're down 19 at the half (Sunday) night to a very good Taft team and came back and won. They're really, really good and we're going to have to play really well,” said Brown. Brown says Northridge is kind of like a couple of teams they played earlier in the season. “Maybe a combination of the two teams. They're strong like Watterson and athletic like St. Francis. They're not as big as St. Francis, not as big as Watterson. They're not real tall other than their sophomore that's really good. They’re just strong, physical kids, thick kids that just happen to be really good basketball players too,” he said. Brown says they don’t have to be perfect Thursday, but they do have to be a very good version of themselves. “Stats wise they don't shoot the ball from the outside particularly well, but they get to the basket very well. They share the ball very well, they finish around the rim and they rebound hard. We're going to have to stop their penetration and their drives and be able to rotate down and try to keep the ball outside and hope they're not hitting them and that we can box out well enough to get rebounds,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Offensively we're going to have to take care of the basketball because they're going to pressure us. We're going to have to knock down shots. We're going to have to finish because we may not get many second chance opportunities. So, we're really going to have to be solid in everything we do. I don't want to say play a perfect game, but we're going to play very, very, very solid.” Published 3/11/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Bellevue Looking to do it Again Bellevue has a chance to repeat as division IV state girls’ basketball champions. They are just two steps away. The Lady Red (28-0) meet Circleville (23-4) in a state semifinal on Thursday afternoon at the University of Dayton Arena. If they win, they will play either Cincinnati Purcell Marion (22-6) or Shaker Heights Laurel (20-4) on Friday at 12:30 PM at Dayton. Coach Kory Santoro says having won it last year, they know what the routine is supposed to be. “It feels kind of like the season last year has never ended. It's been an ongoing two year season without any break. That's what it really feels like. We kind of feel like we know the routine, what comes with it, and all the above,” said Santoro. Last Saturday, Bellevue beat Genoa (59-31) in a regional final. Due to condensation of the floor, the start of the game was delayed, Santoro says it really didn’t bother them at all. They were able to keep their focus. “I think we got the kind of kids we don't let the little distractions bother us. We’re there to play a game whether it starts at 3:00 or four o’clock or 4:30 you know our kids are ready to play and that's what they did,” he said. Circleville stuffed Indian Creek (40-26) in their regional final last Friday night. Santoro says their team is built around junior center Addison Edgington. “Obviously they're a good team. Anybody that makes it this far is good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “They have a 6’2’ center they run a lot of stuff through offensively and defensively around her. So, we're looking for a good game. They're a good team.” Bellevue has an excellent post as well. Santoro believes they might have an advantage at the guards spots. “Our center Kaitlyn Turinsky is a very nice player herself, so yeah that'll be a good battle. I think our guard play maybe a little better, but we'll see. They're a good team so we'll see what happens,” he said. Published 3/10/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Tempo a Key for Calvert Tiffin Calvert takes on Hillsdale in a division VII regional semifinal on Tuesday night at Barberton High School. The winner plays either Heartland Christian or Fairport Harbor Harding for a regional title and state tournament berth on Friday night. The Senecas (17-7) got past archrival Old Fort (49-33) at Galion High School on Saturday night. Coach Jon Otterbacher says they got off to a good start and that was important. “It was definitely a hard fought battle that was going to come down to the last couple possessions. We were able to get a decent lead early on and take them out of their game plan and are to come out with the victory,” said Otterbacher. Hillsdale (18-7) ended up in third place in the Wayne County Athletic League. Otterbacher says the Falcons have more athletes than anyone they have seen all year. “Probably the most athletic and dynamic team we've seen all year. We played Margaretta, who's realistically got two if not three college athletes that are going big time and these guys are probably more athletic than they are, not going to lie,” he said. Otterbacher says against a team like the Falcons you can’t get caught up in think about what just happened, you have to move on to the next play. “That's going to be our game plan going into (Tuesday) night. They are five deep and they are very athletic and physical football players,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “They've done not only football players, but they're excellent basketball players. So, when they make shots, we have got to go down and make sure that they defend well and do everything we can to prolong the game as much as we can.” Hillsdale has been the state runner-up in football in the small school division the last two years. Hillsdale beat McDonald (80-70) in their district final last week and the Falcons have scored more than 70 points six times in games they have won. Calvert has done that three times. Otterbacher says they have to slow Hillsdale down. “We'd like to grind it out. We love to run up and up and down and get the tempo going, but if there's a team that runs more than we do then we're going to slow them down a little bit and make them play a lot of defense,” he said. Published 3/10/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Hillsdale Wants to Force Tempo Hillsdale meets Tiffin Calvert in regional semifinal in division VII on Tuesday night at Barberton High School. The Falcons (18-7) finished in third place in the Wayne County Athletic League. They outscored McDonald (80-70) in a district final last Saturday. Coach Ben Ferguson says they have really hit their stride over the last several weeks. “We played really well. We have everybody back. We have been playing really well for a couple of weeks now,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We shot the ball well. We really played how I really thought we could all season, but with injuries and illnesses and things like that we really weren't able to find our rhythm until these last few weeks. Right now, we’re hitting on all cylinders.” This group of kids has had enormous success in a variety of sports. They have made it to the state finals in football the last two seasons. Ferguson says they know how to win. “Number one, we have winners across the board. These guys know how to win, but McDonald does as well. Hillsdale beat McDonald in the state semifinals in (football). It was a very physical game for sure. It was a lot of fun. We matched their physicality and we shot the ball well. Now, overall I thought we executed pretty well as a team and we're fortunate enough to come out with a win,” he said. Calvert (17-7) was in a share of fourth in the 11 team Sandusky Bay Conference River Division. They beat archrival Old Fort (49-33) in a district final at Galion High School last Saturday night. Ferguson says he respects the Calvert tradition. “We've been watching a lot of film and they have a nice team for sure. I know coach (Jon) Otterbacher has pretty strong program over there. They have a very deep rich tradition in basketball. So, we have a lot of respect for them. They certainly have some good players and some great shooters and we'll be ready to go,” he said. Tempo is likely a big factor in this game. Ferguson says they want to play faster than Calvert. “I think their style is far more what I'll call conservative, slow it down, a way slower tempo than what like to play. So, it's going to be who's going to be able to dictate that tempo. If we're able to get out and run we should be fairly successful. If they slow us down it could be a long night,” said Ferguson. Published 3/10/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Margaretta Committed Margaretta tangles with Genoa on Wednesday night in a division V regional semifinal the Elida Fieldhouse. The winner will play either Columbus Academy or Columbus Aficentric for a regional title on Saturday afternoon at Ohio Dominican University. Margaretta is making its third straight appearance in the regional tournament and coach Steve Keller thinks they have learned a few things. “Well, I think we're in a situation where all three regionals the last three years have been in different locations. The Stroh Center at BGSU two years ago, last year at Mansfield Senior High School and this year's now at the Elida Fieldhouse. So, it's different venues, but I do think just being in that environment, understanding a trip was coming and you try to get your mindset right on the way and then when you get there you really hit the ground and really want to focus in and dial in. So, hopefully our guys will be able to do that,” he said. They lost in a regional semifinal last year to Columbus Academy and two years ago lost in a regional final to Ottawa-Glandorf. Margaretta (22-3) will meet Genoa (25-0) on Wednesday. The Comets edged Paulding (56-51) in their district final. Keller says they have a very good big kid and then some athletes around him. “Well first of all, they got 6’8” Walter Plantz, who's headed to Ashland, a heck of a player. Just good size and good length and I think more so than anything else this year he's just starting to develop a really nice frame and body. He’s strong and learning to play more and more physical,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They have got other kids. The (Logan) Routson kid at point guard is quick and twitchy and looks to stay aggressive and really play downhill. I think something where they've improved a lot is on the wings. (Ty) Asman and (Myles) Mollenhauer are our guys that can make plays and have made plays all year. They are undefeated for a reason. So, it is a great opportunity for us to come out and really just see where we're at here. Loser goes home, winner gets to move on.” Yes, Genoa is good, but so is Margaretta, in fact, they are really good. Keller says they have been willing to put in the work to put themselves in this position. “We have earned that right to be good. We started at the beginning of the year with hey fellows we have got to earn the right to be good. No one anoints you good until you're working hard every single day. Our guys have enjoyed the process. They work hard every day in practice. I think that more so than anything else I think our guys understand the value of hard work. For instance, (Monday) our guys are off the floor. They have got 15 minutes until the girls are on. They want to get more shots in. They want to get more ready for Wednesday and that's not always the case for teams. Sometimes as soon as you're done as a coach they're out of there, but this group is just a nice, special group of young men,” said Keller. Published 3/10/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”

	Tygers Hold off Shawnee; Win District Mansfield Senior will advance to its first regional tournament in more than a decade as they edged Lima Shawnee (64-61) in a division III district final on Saturday night and Balogh Court at Ontario High School. They will play Alliance in a regional semifinal next Wednesday night at the University of Toledo. The last time they won a district title was in 2014. The Tygers (18-7) built a 10-point fourth quarter lead (58-48) after a Andrew Brooks, Jr. free throw with 3:43 to play in the contest. They were able to hold on despite missing four of six free throws in the final two minutes of the game. Coach Marquis Sykes says they kids worked very hard in the last half of the season to get to this point. “It feels really good. The guys worked their tails off to get to this point. There was a point in the season that I didn’t know if we would be here. Our guys they came together… we came together. We went down to Lima Senior about mid-season and we lost the game by 40 points. From that point on I think that was our wake up. We came together. We started playing together more as a team. Started defending like Tygers and now we are district champions,” said Sykes. The Indians are normally very good shooters, but they made just 20% of their three point attempts (4-20) and overall made (25-57) fielders (44%) on the night. Mansfield Senior also forced 12 turnovers. Sykes believes now they know they must focus on defense. “Most of these guys these guys are scorers, so it's been a tough time trying to get them to become more defensive minded, but I think they understand now. I think they understand we have to be a defensive mined team. We kind of took that on throughout the playoffs so far. I think for us to win any more games we are going to be us being defensive minded,” he said. Shawnee’s shooting percentages are low, but not staggeringly low, but they seemed rushed in a lot of their attempts. Sykes feels their pressure was affective. “They're bigger than us and they’re stronger than us. The advantage we have is in the front court. We have to defend, we have to put pressure in the full court, pressure in the half court,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “I think we wore them down a little bit towards the end of the game. I think they're bigs we got to their legs a little bit and forced them to miss some of those perimeter shots they would normally make,” said Sykes/ That Shawnee size and strength advantage led them dominating the boards to the tune of 40-24, 19 of those were offensive rebounds. Mansfield Senior was (14-26) from the foul line (54%) and Sykes says that was barely enough as it turns out. “We made just trust enough to come out with the win. We have been working out tails off from the free throw line here lately. We were 15-19 the other night and I expected us to come out (Saturday) night and shoot well from the line. We didn’t, but like I said we made just enough to hold on to the lead and come out with the win,” he said. There were 10 ties and eight lead changes over the first 21 minutes of the game before the Tygers took the lead for good (42-40) on a basket by DeVontae Johnson, his only one of the game with 2:43 left in the third quarter, Mansfield Senior did make 22-46 field goal attempts, that’s (47%) and many of them were putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket. Sykes says they were able to make an adjustment that got them some better opportunities to score. “We didn't really have much of an answer for their boxing and one initially, but coach Lance Hood drew up some stuff for us and we got a little more movement. We got a little more action and we started attacking the paint more and got inside and got up some shots and got out in transition some were able to open the floor up and bring their bigs out and have to guard on the perimeter and that's where we were able to open the game up a little bit,” said Sykes. Sophomore Kaylen Brooks had 21 to lead the Tygers. Andrew Brooks, Jr. added 16 and Davion Mack 10. Beckett Bertke led everyone with 26 for the Indians. His brother Trevick Bertke added 17, f Published 3/07/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

	Perkins Pulls Away; Beats Shelby Sandusky Perkins outscored Shelby (38-26) in the second half and beat the Whippets (61-40) to a division IV district final at Pete Henry Gym at Mansfield Senior High School on Saturday afternoon. Perkins (25-2) led (23-14) at the half, but began the second half with a (9-6) run to take a (32-20) lead with 2:57 left in the third quarter after a basket by Grant Kuhnle. Perkins coach Andy Hoying said both teams really played hard in the first half, but he felt his kids started to get locked in more in that third quarter. “Both teams are going to come out and play super hard. I just think we kind of wore them down there in that second half,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We switched some things up defensively to try slow down DeVito a little bit, obviously he still got his points. Overall, I thought a really good defensive effort. Then offensively, just took care of business making the big shots. Sam made a big one, Grant made a couple big ones, Bryce (Davie) had a couple really nice takes there, So, it was really good effort across the board offensively.” Perkins was 15-22 from the field in the second half. Shelby would get as close (45-35) with 5:47 left in the game on a field goal in the lane by Brayden DeVito, but could get no closer. Whippets coach Greg Gallaway says it was difficult for them to get anything going on offense all day. “I thought overall just what they do defensively it really put some pressure on our offense. They have length, they have size at every position and they're physical. It just seemed like even if we were able to beat our one defender and they got 6’6” at the at the glass,” he told Swankonsports.com, “He does a really good job of making shots difficult. Overall, it wasn't our night offensively. I'm just really proud of our effort, proud of the season having a late start that we did with football. Just being able to persevere not really preseason practice with less than two weeks for our first game and then just expected to go out there and compete. Our guys were resilient through it all.” DeVito finished with a game high 25 points in his final game in a Shelby uniform and Landon Foltz added 11, but only two other Whippets would score in the game. Gallaway says those are guys they are going to missed “They meant so much to our program. Leo is a guy that came here last year from Ontario and just bought into everything that we asked. Brayden’s been a four year player for us. A starter on a final four team and then just continue to be our guy. Gives effort in everything he does. You saw him out there. He leaves everything out there. He grew defensively. I just so proud of those guys,” said Gallway. Hoying says their length gave the Whippets (16-8) some problems. “We have got a couple guys Kaden, Levi, Sam you know those guys are really tough to shoot over, especially when they're guarding guys right on the catch. I do think our length provides some problems for some teams,” he said. Perkins had four players in double figures led by Kuhnle with 14. Sam Schweinfurth added 12, Kellen Glass 11, Levi Groot had 10. Shelby played in its third straight district final, a school record. They won district and regional titles in 2024. Perkins will advance to the regional semifinal to Lima Bath on Wednesday night at Bowling Green State University. Published 3/07/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

	Crawford With a Tremendous Challenge There is going to be some big boy basketball played on Friday night as two outstanding teams battle in a division VI district final as Colonel Crawford plays Patrick Henry. There aren’t going to be many open shots available and kids will have to make shots with contact. Colonel Crawford sliced and diced Wynford (77-40) on Wednesday night and Patrick Henry demolished Toledo Christian (69-26) in semifinals. Coach David Sheldon says the Patriots are an outstanding team that is sed to success. “It's a very good team that's been successful over the years. Last year, they were on the other side of the regional at Bowling Green with us and they played Lima Central Catholic. With the new pod system they just to make choose to come down to Willard for the opportunity to play us in the district final,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday morning, “It starts with Reid Creager and Mack Hieber. They are unbelievable good basketball players. Two very special, two of the best basketball players that we've seen all year. Then they have really good surrounding parts around them as well. It's a tradition of a successful program with Patrick Henry all the back to the Dave Krauss era. This is a community that loves high school athletics and they've had huge success in multiple athletics.” Colonel Crawford (21-2) and Patrick Henry (20-4) won district titles last year and are used to these high pressure games. Sheldon says really they haven’t played a team like this yet this season. “It's a different animal. The Hieber kid reminds me of Toombs, but taller from Fredericktown. The Creager kid is a really good guard that reminds you of Washington a little bit from Margaretta. So, it's a little bit of both, so when you look at the talent that they have on this basketball team,” he said. Colonel Crawford has played eight tournament games in the last two years with Brayden Holt, Payne and John DeGray and Parker Weithman. Plus, many of the kids on the basketball roster played on a football team that went to the final four. Sheldon says they are ready to play in games like this. “It’s definitely plus. Four of these guys that start played for us the whole time last year during the tournament run. We've played against exceptional teams this year with our non league schedule. So, we want to worry about Colonel Crawford, but also respect that we kind of a good basketball team coming down to Willard Friday night in Patrick Henry,” he said. Published 3/06/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	South Central Rallies Past Crestline After tailing most of the first three quarters, South Central rallied in the final minutes and beat Crestline (62-58) in a district semifinal in division VII on Thursday night at Galion High School. They will meet Arlington in a district final at Lima Senior on Saturday night. Coach Dallas Yost says they were the best team in the late going on Thursday night. “It goes back to the old moto to survive in advance. I think Crestline led most of the game and a lot more time than we did. It's about making more runs and making the last one. I'm not even sure we made more runs than them, but we certainly made the last one and that was very important. The kids just were resilient. They kept responding to their runs and made some big shots late,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Thursday night, “Dominic Paynter hit a three to tie the ball game up there I think 52-52 and then Wes (June) hit a big three for us to take the lead there. I think we went up maybe four points and we started spreading them out. Make them come out and guard us. We were able to take care of the ball in the second half. I think we had 12 or 13 turnovers in the first half and only two in the second and that was the difference for us. Defensively, they got some tough guards. They just as much deserved to win the game as we did. We made the plays at the end, which were crucial. Tanner Back got a couple big steals there at the end to ice the game and a big free throw to put us up four.” The Trojans (12-12) have played well in both their tournament wins and Yost says they are just enjoying the success they are having. “We are just enjoying this tournament run enjoying these moments together as a group. We hope to keep winning tight tournament games going in Saturday night against Arlington,” he said. Arlington (21-3) smothered McComb (49-27) in their district final on Thursday. They made it to the state final last year and are led by 6’10” Calvin Willow. Yost says they are going to have to do some different things on defense. “They have a big 6’10” kid that plays in the middle of their 2-3 zone. They let it inside to the high post and low post and they expecting him to guard there. They extend those wings out and really go to the three-point line pretty well and those four other guards have really active hands in their zone. They will play some 1-2-2 three quarter court trap. They have good shooters around him. So, that's going to make it difficult stopping him inside. We don't have anyone 6’10” to match up with him down there, so we are going to have to do some different things to stop him and also get out to their shooters. Hopefully, they don't get hot on us,” said Yost. Yost says nobody is talking about them winning Saturday, so they can be loose. “They're the number four team in the state for a reason and they're the team that is anticipated to win. I felt like we played a little tight (Thursday) night against Crestline in the first half. That shouldn't be the case on Saturday,” he said. Published 3/06/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Defense Does it For Old Fort Old Fort held Sandusky St. Mary’s to only five points in the fourth quarter and they beat the Panthers (40-29) in a division VII district semifinal at Oregon Clay High School on Thursday night. They face longtime rival Tiffin Calvert in the district final. The Stockaders (16-8) trailed (24-23) entering the final quarter, but they were able to get the upper hand in that final stanza. Coach Eric Hoover they have been working hard on the defensive end and it showed Thursday night. “We did a good job of you know making everything pretty tough on them. Even in the first when we were struggling to score too, we held them to 17 in the first half. You got to be pretty happy about that. So, we've been working pretty hard at it defensively. We know that we have got to be able to get that done come tournament time. You can't count on being able to score a lot and even if you have a bad shooting night and you just have got to be ready to win it with defense,” said Hoover. Henry Beisner led Old Fort with 13 points on Thursday night, but Hoover says in games like this you have to have a lot of kids step up their game. “It’s a lot of times there's people that maybe you don't even expect to make plays. They're focused on taking away your main guys and other people have to be able to step up and a lot of times that’s the difference in a tournament game,” he told Swankonsports.com after the in Thursday night, “ We had our six man come in and have a really good fourth quarter and make some plays defensively got himself to the to the free throw line and really made some big plays and stepped up for us. So, somebody probably that wasn't heavy on their scouting report stepping up at the end and making a big difference.” Issac Gallagher added eight for Old Fort and Dimitri Carter had six. Calvert (16-7) beat Plymouth (48-42) in a district semi play at Galion High School on Thursday night. Logan Ritzler had 18 for the Senecas in that win. Now, the district final will be Saturday night at Galion. Old Fort won both of the meetings in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division this year winning (65-58) at Calvert on December 20 and then (54-46) at Old Fort on February 3. Hoover says playing their archrivals in the tournament is kind of a tradition if you will. “I think we know each other pretty well. We've played two or three times a year for a decade now. Last year was the first time we haven't played in the tournament for a long time. So, here we are again getting a third match up with them. I think both teams will be ready to go and pretty familiar with each other and whichever team can go out execute the best will come out on top,” he said. Published 3/06/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports

	Crawford Cruises Again Just like Chuck Berry with a guitar or a cold drink in your hand on a warm summer night, the Colonel Crawford Eagles are where they are supposed to be, in the district final. They cut up Wynford like you would a good steak (77-40) on Wednesday night at Willard High School in a semifinal game. There have only been two times since 2011 they have not been playing for a regional berth. That’s unreal consistency. Something that only a few programs in Ohio can claim. However, things are going to get much, much tougher on Friday night when talented Patrick Henry (20-4) will be at Willard Friday to provide a big challenge to the Eagles (21-2). The Patriots burned Toledo Christian (69-26) on Wednesday at Millbury Lake High School/ Wynford (7-17) actually scored first and the game was tied (5-5) with 5:25 to play in the first quarter, but Brayden Holt stroked a three, which ignited a (16-2) run an the onslaught was on. Coach David Sheldon says they played some pretty good defense and then left Holt take control of the game. “We really talked about getting off to a good start. With the previous two games we thought they might try to come out and hold the ball. We had some defensive pressure that we wanted to do. We didn’t want to start trapping or anything crazy, but I thought we did a good job with that. Then that defense turns into offense,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “The first time they were box and one and (Wednesday) night they went zone and it allowed Brayden to go to work and that’s pretty good. The biggest thing was he had seven, eight assists. He’s a good player. We were able to pull away be halftime. That’s what you want to do because we have a big one on Friday.” When watching the scoreboard on Wednesday night the most interesting thing was if Holt was going to outscore the entire Wynford team and it was a horserace. Holt had 37 points and handed out eight assists. When he sat down with 6;22 left and a running clock Wynford has one more point. Sheldon says Holt not only is a super scorer, but he is a facilitator. “He deserves all the accolades he gets. He’s over 1700 points for his career and he’s just special. This thing people don’t understands is he creates for everybody else. We only had four turnovers and that's because of the quarterback, the facilitator on the floor and that makes a big difference when he's making decisions because he has such a high basketball IQ,” said Sheldon. Wynford only made 14 field goals on the night. Sheldon says players know they have to play defense or they won’t get off the bench. “That’s the foundation the last 20 years I've been at Crawford. We talk pride in guarding every night. If we let them score the bald guy gets upset at times with guys. So, we take a lot of pride in that and our kids really do with the preparation and then going out and running it on game night,” he said. If there was anything that set off an alarm when it comes to the Eagles it was the free throw line where they connected on just 7-18 attempts. “It's a mental thing. We’ve shoot enough and I don't talk about it. Our guys know about it. Payne goes 3-3 and Braden Holt, 85 percent, goes 2-5. If he makes some free throws he would have had 40. So, I gave him a hard time a little bit about that,” said Sheldon. Yes, the Eagles tournament success is almost expected, but Sheldon you never take tournament wins for granted. “Last week we won our 15^th straight sectional and of those 15, 13 of them we have been in the district finals. Guys this is how it used to be back in the day when my father was coaching. The is the way I grew up. Don’t take it for granted and there's a bullseye on your back, so they know that. This is the game you want to get to. We’re going to have a heck of an opponent on Friday night, but you expect that in a district final,” said Sheldon. Published 3/05/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Seneca East Sprints Past Crestview If the first half was an ugly duckling, the second half was clearly a beautiful swan for Seneca East on Wednesday night as they rallied to beat Crestview (65-48) in a division VI district semifinal. The will play Van Buren for a district title on Friday night at Liberty-Benton High School. They used an (18-2) run in the final 6:57 seconds of the third quarter to make a 13-point deficit (37-24) into a (46-39) lead after three. They continued that surge in the final quarter as they began the final stanza with a (10-2) run to establish control of the game at (56-42) with 3:32 left after a Landon Hicks basket. Coach Anthony Langhurst says they came out the second half and were more aggressive in their zone. “We made some defensive adjustments. They were comfortable in the first half. Their role players play really well. You have got to worry about Goon and Wells and Spoerr. Then we turned the page in the second half and then our role players played really well. We made some adjustments defensively because they were a little too comfortable for my liking the first half,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We had some defensive adjustments that the kids implemented that really helped out. Again, I just told our seniors you guys have got two more quarters and this could be the end your season. Brady Bloom if your open pull it. Don’t go out and be hesitant. Him and Landon Hicks stepping up and then obviously Luke (Mason), you never tell him to bring it. So, I'm just happy for the guys, it’s been a special group.” Crestview coach Ben McClay says they were not able to respond to the Tigers run. “I give Seneca East a lot of credit. We were up like 12 in the third and looking pretty good and they went on a big run and made some adjustments. I give those kids a lot of credit they played really hard for 32 minutes. Unfortunately, we just couldn't withstand that run. I thought our kids had a nice season. We gave a really good effort out there,” he said. McClay says they were handling the Tigers half court trap and that led to turnovers and many layups for the Tigers. “I saw a lot of us just struggling against their traps in that zone. The other thing I saw was we were missing a lot of shots that maybe we were making that first quarter and they were knocking in shots. The name of the game is basketball and unfortunately we missed the shot that would have put us up 15 and they just came out swinging,” said McClay. Feasting on those turnovers, the Tigers (18-6) were able to convert a lot of those turnovers into layups. “Crestview was taking advantage of our mistakes. If we get a couple stops, let's get out and run. So, I think they took that to heart. We were a little careless with the basketball that led to some easy baskets. I said that's not what we've been talking about, so the guys took pride in what they were doing in the second half and kind of flipped the script,” he said. Seneca East’s all-time leading scorer Luke Mason finished with 15 points, but six of them came on a 6-6 performance from the free throw line as the Tigers were putting the game on ice in the final two minutes. Langhurst says his is a leader that always does what is good for the team. “The same thing against Mansfield Christian. He scores 15 points in the first half and they go box and one and he doesn't score the second half. That's been the beautiful thing about this group is whether we're telling a guy this is your role they've been doing that. They're buying in, but then also they're expanding their role over the season and getting better. That's what’s the beautiful thing about coaching and seeing these young men kind of blossoming in their roles,” said Langhurst. Hicks had 17 to lead the Tigers. Freshman Jaron Depinet added 16. Andrew Spoerr led the Cougars (13-11) with 16. Crestview’s leading scorer Karter Goon was called for two charging violations with 60 seconds in the late third and early fourth quarter with the game still in question. Langhurst says that was big for them. “That was a big key was Goon getting that foul. We just know when he gets downhill. We've been a team that takes charges. We chart it. We make sure guys are recognized for that. That was a big play and making sure he had four fouls. Then you have got to go to your bench, so that was obviously a turning point for us. With the defensive adjustments we made it was just enough for us to keep strangling them,” he said. Published 3/05/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Tygers Must Execute Mansfield Senior meets Oregon Clay in a division III district semifinal at Ontario High School on Thursday night. They advanced to the district level with a (65-30) whipping of Norwalk at home last Friday. Coach Marquis Sykes says it was a good way to get the postseason started and they did play pretty well. “It was a great opportunity for us to play at home for one last time for our guys coming off for two week break to kind of knock off some of the dust and knock out any issues that we may have. I thought our guys after the first quarter put together three good quarters of basketball, Played well of the defensive end and played hard, defended well, rebounded well and eventually shot it pretty well the second half. So we were sectional champions and now it's time to move on to the districts,” said Sykes. The Tygers (16-7) will play Clay (17-6) on Thursday night at Balogh Court in Ontario. Clay edged Sandusky (50-46) last Friday in a sectional final. Sykes says they are balanced and tough to guard. “They’re long, they defend really well, they're really physical and they shoot it really well. So, it's just going to be a tough task for us. We're going to have to defend at a high level, we're going to have to guard the post, which is one of our weaknesses and we're going to have to defend inside in the pain and also guard the three-point line,” he told Swankonsports.com, “The team that imposes their style on the game is the team that will win. They do want to play a more deliberate style of basketball. A little slower. They will walk the ball up the floor if you allow them to. They have got some really nice sets that they run. If we allow them to run them it'll be a long night for us. So, we're going to have to make sure we try to push the tempo. We'll have to pressure the basketball and try to do everything we can to get them out of the flow of their offense.” Yes, Mansfield Senior would like a quick tempo, but Sykes says when it’s not there they must be able to execute in the half court too. “Want to want to play our style of basketball certainly, but on the flip side, we do recognize the tournament basketball is going to slow down and we're going to have to execute in the half court as well. So, it's going to have to be a good mix of both, which is transition basketball and then when the game does slow down, and we're in the half court, we’re going to have to execute our half court offenses,” he said. Published 3/05/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby Must be Physical Shelby locks horns with Sandusky Perkins in a division IV district final on Saturday afternoon at Pete Henry Gym at Mansfield Senior High School. The Whippets (16-7) edged Ontario (43-41) in a semifinal on Tuesday night. Back on February 17, Perkins beat Shelby (60-47) in a regular season game. Coach Greg Gallaway says they kind of know what to expect, but there are also going to be tweaks by both teams. “It wasn't too long ago when we played them at our place. I think it was our senior night. It was a good game. Kind of a physical game, a game where there weren’t many fouls called. I think at half it was 20-20 and they were able to kind of able to extend their lead in the second half. So, we have a good idea who they are. We can't expect the same thing and they can't expect the same thing from us. So, just really looking forward to a great game Saturday for a district championship,” he said, Shelby, of course had a huge football season, and Perkins was really strong too. Some of those same kids are on the basketball floor. Gallaway says they have to be ready to be physical. “I think it's been something that’s kind of it's been a key to every game, especially when you're playing later in the tournament a lot of times those teams that can handle the ball and be physical defensively are going to give themselves and opportunity to win and that's definitely going to be one of our keys going into Saturday is we have got to be a physical defensive team,” he said. Perkins (22-2) destroyed Vermilion (78-39) on Tuesday night in their district semifinal at Fremont Ross. Gallaway says they must play great perimeter defense and have to work hard to get good shots. “They so much balance on their team. They have got five or six guys that have a chance to leave them in scoring any given night. I think their game the other night against Vermilion in the district semi one of their guys off the bench he had six threes. We have got to do a really good job guarding on the perimeter and doing our best to stay physical with some of the bigs down low and not give them a second chance opportunities. I think that's a huge deal for us, so we have got to keep them off the glass,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “The first time that we played them they threw a couple different things defensively at us. We have to do a much better job just recognizing what defense they are in and trying our best to get shots. We took good shots the last time we played them, but unfortunately some of those shots didn’t fall in the second half. So, we have got to keep looking to seek those great shots for us on the offensive end.” Published 3/05/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Plymouth Healthy Again Plymouth takes on Tiffin Calvert Thursday night in a division VII district semifinal to be played at Galion High School. Last Thursday, they beat Mansfield St. Peter’s (63-45) to win a sectional championship. Coach Tim Brafford says the best news is they are healthy for the first time in about six weeks. “Everyone came energized. The locker room had a lot of energy in it. The big thing I think is Jarrett Burrer is about back to 100% and he's a huge part of what we do. He's very difficult to stop, whether he's out shooting a three or driving to the hoop and shooting the mid range jumper. He just opens up a lot of things for us and for the other players. So, having him back was huge. St. Pete’s played wonderful. #1 their 6’5” kid is one heck of a player, but we just made some big runs and once we made them it just started piling on,” he said. Plymouth (15-8) meets Tiffin Calvert (15-7) on Thursday. The Senecas demolished Lucas (59-12) to their sectional final. Brafford says they have a solid, balanced lineup. “Calvert is a very good team. They're the number one seed in the pool that we're in. We're number two. They passed us the last day of the season when we lost the Western Reserve, so they got that honor and we're going in against them. They're a tough team. They have Grady Otterbacher, 6’4” at the point, who's running the show. The (Logan) Ritzler kid is just unbelievable. Averaging 18 points a game. They're big and strong. Vincenzo Lyons is a great rebounder, big post player. Across the board they're loaded. Otterbacher is the coach's son, so whenever you have a coach's son playing you know that he's well schooled and he understands the game and has a high basketball I.Q. So, it's definitely going to be a challenge. but we're looking forward to it,” said Brafford. To be successful on Thursday night, Brafford says they have to be able to defend Calvert’s sets. “Well, they run sets and they have quite a few of plays, so we're going to have to come out ready to go and defend the plays. They love screens, they love to do some elbow screens off the high post and off the point and they love to shoot the three,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We've got to be ready to move and talk that is our biggest thing that we've been working on. We'll probably run some zone, in fact I'm sure we're going to start in some zone, and see where we go from there. We might end up having to face guard one of the kids and if we did it would be Logan Ritzler that we face guard. We just have got to see what they going to bring and how we hold up against it, but I like our chances.” Published 3/05/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Crestline Wants to Slow it Down Crestline takes on South Central in a division VII district semifinal on Thursday night at Galion High School. Last Thursday, they stuffed Buckeye Central (43-27) in a sectional final game at their place. Coach Paul Webb says they did the job on defense. “I was very happy with our defensive effort. I was very happy to see our kids play through some adversity and find a way to win that game,” said Webb. Crestline (13-10) meets South Central (11-12) on Thursday night. The Trojans outscored New Riegel (67-43) in their sectional final. Webb says the Trojans want to get the ball down the floor. “South Central like to get up and down. They like to run the court,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They have two excellent players and Chaffee and June. You have to figure out a way to contain those two. They're big, they're strong, athletic kids.” South Central won a regular season game (70-57) way back on December 2, three months ago. Webb says this time they have to control the tempo this time. “I think we have to stop them from getting so much downhill. We have got to take care of the basketball and stop them from getting downhill and try to play more than half court game

	Shelby Takes Down Ontario Shelby outlasted Ontario (43-41) on Tuesday night at Pete Henry Gym in a division IV district semifinal. Brayden DeVito scored seven of his team high 13 points in the fourth quarter. Fellow senior guard Landon Foltz broke a (38-38) tie with a 10 foot bank shot in the lane with 2:46 to play and the Whippets (16-7) advanced their third straight district final. They will play Sandusky Perkins (22-2) in a district final back at Mansfield Senior on Saturday afternoon. Perkins destroyed Vermilion (78-39) on Tuesday at Fremont Ross. Shelby coach Greg Gallaway says they did a great job containing the explosive Warriors for most of the game. “We knew they were going to go on their runs. It’s more along the lines of we can't let those runs go from 4-0 and 6-0 to 12-0. I thought our guys did a really good job just handling that pressure, controlling the chaos. What a game, what an environment, proud of our guys,” said Gallaway. Ontario (15-8) only had one run in the game larger than 6-0 and that was late in the second quarter when they turned a five point deficit (17-12) into a four point lead (21-17) with 1:13 to play in the half. DeVito extended the Shelby lead to (42-38) with a driving basket with 2:25 to play in the game, Trindon Flenoury trimmed it to (42-41) with a three from the top of the key with :18 seconds left. DeVito converted the Whippets only free throw of the night with 15 ticks left to provide the final margin. Shelby was only (1-10) from the line. Cardae Brown missed a turnaround jumper from the lane at the final buzzer that would have tied the game for Ontario. Warriors coach Jerry Moton says they got a good look. “We got the shot we wanted, we just didn’t make it,” he said. DeVito gave Shelby the momentum early in the fourth quarter with back to back midrange jumpers to put Shelby up (34-31) with 7:14 remaining. Gallaway says DeVito can make those tough shots under pressure in the 10 to 15 foot area around the lane. “We just tried give him some actions to free him up and get to his mid range. That’s just a shot that a lot of kids in high school don't have,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “He feels really comfortable taking that shot off the dribble and after he sees one go through, he's confident that keep shooting more of them. We have got to do a better job as a team when we have the lead getting more meaningful possessions. When we're up six, but learning that we can take into this weekend.” Over the last 12 games, Shelby has averaged more than 60 points per game, but Gallaway says against Ontario and their style of pushing the tempo, they wanted a slower pace. “We were okay with playing that style. We were trying to force them to be more of a half court team because they're really good in transition. One of our biggest keys was when a shot goes up Shepherd are only guy rebounding. The rest of us got back trying to force them to be a half court team. We did a good job playing at our pace,” said Gallaway. Michael Shepherd did a lot of the dirty work for the Whippets as he had 13 rebounds and picked up some baskets around the rim and finished with 10 on the night. Gallaway says he tuned in a great performance in the painted area often being a lone warrior. “I thought he was a man all night. We knew if we're face guarding on the perimeter we're taking some guys out of rebounding phase. We knew “Shep” was going to have to be big on the glass and he did that. He made some big shots for us there in a second half. I know he wants to have some of those back, but we're fine with that. His confidence is going to continue to shoot up and we're going to keep going to him this weekend,” said Gallaway. Shelby made 19 of 37 field goals (51%) on the night. Ontario was 16 of 40 (40 %) for the game. Moton says Shelby made it difficult to get good shots. “Every possession mattered. I just felt like we couldn't get the usual looks. The defense pressure was pretty high, it was intense. It was just a great game to be a part of,” he said. Both teams were (4-12) on three point field goals. However, Gallaway says the Whippets made some at key times. “A lot of guys stepped up. (Kayden) Paz had two huge threes in the first half. Those were those were awesome for us. We were going through a little bit of dry spell on offense that he had two big threes. Then you talk about guys like Avery Lambert stepping up hitting a big three. Gavin Miller stepped up and hit big three in the second half. Everyone contributed and I'm really proud,” he said. Brown had 13 and Flenoury 11 for Ontario. Gallaway says he thought they made them take tough shots. “They're led by two guys that are only sophomores. It's kind of crazy they're that young and that talented. I’m not looking forward to having to play them in two more years. Paz and Avery Lambert they did a really good job just making those two guys take tough shots all night. They’re our defensive guys and they did a great job. They love that challenge taking on 20 points per game guys like Cardae (Brown) and Trindon (Flenoury),” he said. Published 3/04/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Galion Downs Clear Fork in Districts Galion outscored Clear Fork (19-12) in the fourth quarter and beat the Colts (54-44) in a division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night at Pete Henry Gym at Mansfield Senior High School. With cross bracketing, the Tigers (8-15) will head for Paulding High School on Saturday for a district final matchup with Van Wert, out of the Western Buckeye League. Dominic Capretta scored seven of his game high 20 points in a (10-2) Galion run to open the fourth quarter and give the Tigers a (45-36) advantage with 4;18 to play. The Colts never got closer than seven the rest of the way. Galion coach Tyler Sanders says they did a really good job Tuesday taking the ball to the hole. “Well, me and Brandon have been joking for all three games it was the first person to 40, so (Tuesday) night we got to 50. I think we really executed late. We finally decided where to put our head down and go to the rim and not worry about contact and stuff,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “I mean we haven't shot the ball from outside the way that we'd like to this year, but I know we're good shooters. (Tuesday) night we just decided alright three point shots not falling for us lets get to the rim. Dom (Capretta) was massive inside finishing, Jay (Glew) had a couple big drives, Christian (Bare) got some good putbacks. Parker (Tinch) didn't shoot it the way it hoped, but he had a couple nice rebounds. Everybody just pitched in. It was a fun team win.” Clear Fork coach Brandon Bramgardner says they didn’t have an answer for Capretta. “They really focused on getting the ball down low. They haven’t done in the games past using more outside screaming and trying to get shooters open. We don't have that big that can handle that size and his strength and the talent that he has. So, he took over the game,” said Baumgardner. The game started slowly with Clear Fork leading (4-1) more halfway through the first quarter. Galion scored 10 of the final 14 points of the opening quarter and Sanders says they started to feel better. “I was a little worried when the game started just turning the ball over and not really ready for the moment, but I thought our guys responded quickly. There's just no words. I'm just proud of these guys for gutting it out. It was a tough season. Everybody knows we went 1-12 down the stretch, but it doesn't seem to bother our guys. So, they've just continued to grind and come to practice every day and get better,” said Sanders. Four times un the third quarter Clear Fork held the lead by two points or less, but it was their shooting that killed the Colts. They shot only 39% from the floor. Baumgardner says that has been a consistent issue this year for the Colts. “It's been a struggle most of the year. There's been a lot of games that we’re under 35% from the field. So, that was really nothing new. That's when we really focused on defense. We knew we weren't the best offensive team. That’s the game of basketball, you can run everything perfectly, but if you can’t knock down shots it’s a recipe for disaster,” he said. Jacob Brokaw and Trey Sellers both had 15 for the Colts. Published 3/04/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Crestview Enters Districts With Confidence Crestview meets Seneca East on Wednesday night in a division VI district semifinal at Willard High School. The Cougars (13-10) downed New London (53-41) to earn a sectional title last Friday. Coach Ben McClay says they put it away with defense in the second half. “I didn't think we really played a very good first half, but we went on a big run in the third quarter. Played really good basketball. You definitely need to play a lot better than we did in that game if we're going to beat Seneca East. I'm proud that we came out with the win. I thought our kids executed pretty well with defensive end for most part. We held then to 41 points and we held the (Henry) Thomas kid to eight, but we need to just click on all cylinders against the Tigers,” he said. Seneca East (17-6) dominated Mansfield Christian (67-32) in their sectional final. They are paced by the school’s all time leading scorer in Luke Mason. McClay says that Mason makes everyone around him better. “Luke Mason is really good. He got first team district six. He got first team all league. What makes him special is he's not only just averaging 17, but he averages seven assists. I think that's what makes him really potent is he is not only a really good scorer, but he’s also a really getting passer. He's an outstanding player. We know that everything they do goes through him. So, we have to be prepared that way. I think coach (Anthony) Langhurst has done a really good job with this group in general. (Mason) is really good. he's just really smooth, he has a really smooth dribble, he's got a really nice shot and he's pretty fearless,” said McClay. McClay says they have a lot of confidence in themselves going into this game. “We're just working hard every day. You know what else we're working on as we're working on? We’re working ourselves getting better because we do a lot of game planning. This game is our Super Bowl and we worked really hard on the scout, but at the end of the day we have good players too,” he told Swankonsports.com, “We have two first team all league kids, and that is released today, so I can say that, and we had an honorable mention all league kid. We have a kid averaging 17.5 points and 10 rebounds. So, they have to stop us and I think we've had a really good season. I think we've played it extremely tough out of conference schedule and we played it to get us ready for Wednesday night.” Published 3/04/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Seneca East Must Make Clutch Plays Seneca East takes on Crestview in a division VI district semifinal at Willard High School on Wednesday night. The Tigers lost to Crestview in a district semifinal last year. Last Friday, the Tigers (17-6) crushed Mansfield Christian (67-32) in a sectional final. Coach Anthony Langhurst says they played with a lot of energy in that game. “It was a total team effort. Luke (Mason) got us off to a good start there and then our role players seem to be throwing everything in. So, it's nice to get off to a good start and our guys brought a lot of energy and playing at home probably played a factor, but yeah just overall our performance was a was a positive one,” he said. Crestview (13-10) downed New London (53-41) to advance to the district. Langhurst says they have good length and athleticism. “It's going to be a tough out for sure, they're pretty dynamic. They have got a three headed monster with Goon, Wells and Spore,” he told Swankonsports.com, “They're athletic, high skill level, so we'll have our hands full. Ben (McClay) has done a nice job of leading into those guys. They do a good job mixing up things defensively and like I said they're pretty dynamic offensively. So, we'll have our hands full see if we can do and make things harder for them.” It’s tournament basketball and Langhurst says they must handle the ball and make the plays down the stretch to get the win. “We're just going to have to value the basketball they are long defensively. Defensively, we have to make them earn it. If we can kind of control it offensively and get good shots and then get back defensively set up our defense up and make them earn it in the half court. I kind of like us keeping it close in the fourth quarter,” he said. Published 3/04/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Fredericktown Gonna Play Fast Unbeaten Fredericktown, the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference champion, plays host to Fairbanks in a division V district semifinal on Wednesday night. On Saturday, they worked hard and downed a solid Marion Pleasant team (68-60) in their opening tournament game. Pleasant had won nine of 10 coming into that one. Coach Derek Dibling says they got a big boost from their bench. “It was one of those games that didn't exactly go how we scripted it, but it seldom does. I thought our guys did a good job of stepping up, especially our bench, our bench was huge. We had guys in foul trouble for most of the game,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Guys came off the bench did a great job of kind of holding down the fort till the end when we were able to pull away a little bit. A lot of credit goes to the Pleasant guards. They played really well and shot the ball extremely well.” The Freddies (23-0) play in a very tough district and Dibling knows they must continue to get better. “You have got to tighten things up as you go. You're room for error every step of the way it gets a little bit smaller because at this point everyone's playing for their lives. I think it shows. Teams show up, teams don't want to go home. So, you definitely have to tighten things up. You have got to be just that much better every game,” he said. Fairbanks (21-2) smoked Mt. Gilead, also of the “KMAC”, (78-44) in their tournament game last Saturday. Dibling says the Panthers have very athletic guards. “They're athletic, they got a lot of guards that are just fast, they're athletic, they're disciplined, they play high paced game. We're going to have to be ready. The same things that hold true against Pleasant hold true. We have got to be ready. We have got to be composed. We have got to be disciplined and just take care of what we can control,” said Dibling. The tournament seems to be more possession by possession, but Dibling says they want to continue to run. “It's hard to go away from what's worked so well for the first 23 games. I think at this point it's who we are, it's what we're about and that'll definitely be something we try to get in our favor and hopefully play fast,” he said. Published 3/04/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	New Philadelphia Has to Limit Turnovers New Philadelphia, the co-champion of the Ohio Cardinal Conference, faces Marrietta in a division III district final on Wednesday night at Ohio University. The winner punches a ticket to the regional tournament next week. They smothered Zanesville (42-28) in a district semifinal last Saturday night at home. Coach Zach Ross says they took advantage of their strengths and executed pretty well in that game. “They were playing really good basketball. In their sectional final game versus Tri-Valley is the best I've seen them play. I thought they were really connected and put a lot of pressure on the rim. Our guys, to their credit, really executed the game plan. Defensively, I thought we were really good. Battled some early foul trouble. Had some guys step up for us, but all in all, I thought it really came down to our ability to execute a game plan and then actually put it into action. The way we rebounded the ball, 28-13 we had the advantage right there, so did a great job that way,” said Ross. Marrietta (20-4) advanced with a (55-52) win over Washington Court House Miami Trace on Saturday. New Philadelphia (17-6) beat Marrietta (52-46) in a game played on February 3. However, Ross says there will be some different looks from a personnel standpoint in the game on Wednesday. “There is a little bit of familiarity. We played them in early February. Now, they were missing probably their best player and then their sixth man during that game. So, they're a little bit different with those two guys on the floor. With us missing one of our starters, TR Harriman, it's just going to be a battle. We have just got to get tighter knit, represent our culture the best we can, and everybody's just got to be the best version of themselves. It's tournament basketball, that's why everybody loves it so much anything could happen,” said Ross/ Ross says tempo is going to be big here. He says they have to be able to slow down the Tigers. “I think we got to make it a half court game. That's who we are. We don't want to run with them. We have got to keep them in the half court. They're very good in transition. They put a lot of different pressures at you, a lot of different defenses that vary against you,” he told Swankonsports.com, “We have got to be able to handle that and make sure we're eliminating our live all turnovers, which helps it stay in the half court game. Then once we're in the half court, we have got to trust who we are. Find paint touches, find the inside out shots for us and make sure we're finishing at the rim and win the free throw battle as well.” Published 3/04/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Defense the Key for Norwayne Norwayne, the runner up in the Wayne County Athletic League, plays at LaGrange Keystone in a division V district semifinal on Wednesday night. They started the tournament with a (95-35) destruction of Warren Champion last Saturday. Coach Brian West says that was a good start, but things are going to get tougher quickly for the Bobcats. “I was proud of the kids after the tough end of the regular season. Sometimes you wonder how the boys are going to respond going into the tournament. We were preaching to them all week that everybody's 0-0 going into the tournament. We’re hoping to prove some people wrong. During the regular season, they thought we could not win the league. Those same people saying we can't make a tournament run. Our focus now turns to prove them wrong in our tournament run. So, we did have a good start. With Keystone this Wednesday we've got how much tougher task ahead of us. They have got two really, really good guards. Coach (Jeff) Holzhauer’s boy shoots it really well. So, they're a tough matchup for us, but I think our kids are excited about the opportunity and being able to play at Keystone in a nice facility. It will be good test for us,” said West. Norwayne (14-9) is at Keystone (18-5) on Wednesday night. West says the Wildcats remind him of “PAC” co-champion Akron Manchester. “I think they have some similarities to Manchester, who we played earlier in the year. The depth that they shoot the basketball and as well as they shoot it consistently. I think that would probably be, as far as the opponents on our schedule, would be Manchester. We did play them, but it wasn't since Christmas. We did play really well in that game, but obviously that was a long time. We've had some key injuries since then. So, we're kind of a different team again. We've had multiple injuries here the last couple of weeks. So, still trying to figure out different ways to score, different ways to defend and hopefully we can get that figured out for Wednesday,” he said. West says they can’t have a bunch of turnovers and they must at least contain the Keystone guards. “I think it's a lot of things we have to do. Number one, is take care of the basketball. They like to run 1-2-2 half court trap and they got some length up top. Coach Holzhauer puts the longer players at the top and then shorter guys in the back. So, we have to be able to get past the front line,” he told Swankonsports.com, “We have to be able to take good shots. I don't think we want to get the track meet with these guys. We have to execute offensively and maybe make two or three, four extra passes for a better shot and be able to knock that shot down. We said that the two kids they have, the two guards, they're going to score. They're very good and we're not going to hold scoreless, so let’s not be unrealistic, but let's try to pick a number to keep them under combined. We have that number in mind and hopefully just keep them off the offensive glass when shots do go up.” Published 3/04/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Shelby Has to limit Ontario Runs It’s the rubber match for the Shelby Whippets and the Ontario Warriors as they meet for the third time this season this time in a division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night at Pete Henry Gym at Mansfield Senior High School. Shelby (15-7) buried Kenton (70-43) in a sectional final last Thursday at Shelby. Coach Greg Gallaway says they were able to make some adjustments and pull away the second half. “Just extremely happy and proud of our guys being able to handle business on our home court. Proud that we were able to send four seniors off with a with a victory on their last game ever at Shelby. I thought we were able to make some adjustments and get settled in and we were able to extend that lead the way we wanted to in the second half. We're proud to play another game in the tournament right now,” he said. The two teams spilt their meetings in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference this year, but they were dramatically different games. Ontario whipped Shelby (70-50) on December 23, but the Whippets played without two starters, including leader scorer and senior leader Brayden DeVito. In the second meeting, Shelby dominated the last 11 minutes in winning (55-46) on January 31. Gallaway says those previous games are meaningless now. He says they must play tremendous defense and handle the Ontario pressure. “Our guys are really familiar with them and they're extremely familiar with us. We split in the regular season. Quite frankly, anything that happened with our regular season schedule really doesn't mean anything right now. We're expecting a great environment. We both have a short trip over the Mansfield for a district game and I think it's going to be a great atmosphere,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They're led by two their sophomore guards and Trindon Flenoury and Carde Brown. Two guys that can get you 20 plus any given night. Two guys that you really have got to make sure you got a good defensive plan for. They also have some nice role pieces that go with them. They got some athletic bigs and some guards that are able to shoot. So, we have got to do a really good job guarding them in the half court and taking care of the basketball on the offensive end.” The Whippets and Warriors are archrivals, but Gallway says they can let the emotions get the best of them. Plus, he says they have to limit the Warriors explosiveness. “I think the phrase that we're going to use is just to try to be able to control the chaos. There's going to be runs that that go on both teams. There's going to be something that negatively affects us throughout the game. Adversities are going to strike and how are our guys going to handle that? We want to make sure that we handle it positively. They’re a good team, they're going to go and runs. We have to do our best to make those 6-0 runs not extended to 12-0 and 15-0 runs. We're going to make sure that we stop those. Again, we don’t have to try to get our guys amped and ready for this game it's a game they're excited for. Just looking forward to a great night (Tuesday) night,” said Gallaway. Published 3/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Ontario Must Play 32 Minutes Ontario takes on “MOAC” rival Shelby Tuesday night in a division IV district semifinal at Mansfield Senior High School. With the new tournament structure, Ontario (15-7) is one of the area teams that did not play last week. Coach Jerry Moton says they took that time to become a better basketball team. “I think it was definitely a plus. I think having the luxury of having time it's all about how you prepare and what doing with that time. I think we put it to great use,” he said. The Warriors and Whippets split their regular season games with both winning at home. Ontario smoked Shelby (70-50) December 23 in a game that Whippet guards Brayden DeVito and Kayden Paz did not play. Shelby erased a nine-point deficit with 11 minutes left to beat the Warriors (55-46) on January 31. Shelby (15-7) finished second in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference and they blew out Kenton (70-43) in a sectional final last Thursday. Moton says they have to disrupt what the Whippets are trying to do in order to have success. “They have got a good, solid team. They have a veteran team and they're going to come ready to play. Our job is to disrupt everything that they do. Control the tempo, control the boards, limit their driving lanes and contest all threes that they take,” said Moton. Making reference to the loss at Shelby, Moton says they must play four quarters of basketball if they are going to have a chance to win. “We have to play two halves of basketball. If you look at that game in the first half, we did exactly what we wanted to do. We ended the half up nine points. We started the third quarter of up nine then things changed,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They ramped up the defensive pressure. We didn't handle it too well. We weren’t organized on offense and it showed. So, that's one of the emphasis we've been trying to instill into our kids during the break is that at tournament time every possession counts.” Published 3/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	It’s Clear Fork and Galion Again Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference foes Clear Fork and Galion square off in a division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night at Mansfield Senior High School/ The Colts (9-14) outlasted Fostoria (57-54) in double overtime to advance in the tournament. Coach Brandom Baumgardner says they had to give it every ounce they had to win that game. “I think we kind of start off flat with those 12 days off not playing games. I felt like it kind of showed. I think guys kind of came out and the pressure of the opportunity of cutting down a net in your own home court might had us playing a little more tense than we would have liked to have been playing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We keep grinding. We got behind early just kept fighting away. That has been the mode of this team all year long. They don't quit, they keep going to the final whistle. We had to have three final whistles though. It was one of those games. The fourth quarter, the first overtime and the second overtime there's moments in all three phases. Oh man, it looks like we're going to possibly lose this one and oh now we got this thing wrapped up and now it's tied back up again. It was a crazy experience, but great atmosphere in the valley and I'm glad we came on top.” The Tigers (7-16) edged Upper Sandusky (60-57) in their sectional final game last Thursday. In close games, Clear Fork beat Galion twice in “MOAC” games (45-36) on January 9 and (47-40) on February 13. Baumgardner says the coaching staffs and the teams know each other pretty well, but there could be a few surprises too. “It's a little bit different preparing for them than it was Fostoria. Fostoria was a totally different opponent. Had to complete a game plan for everything. Where with Galion it was more just tweaking things here and there from the previous games. We always say, expect the unexpected and they might throw a couple of new things at us, but at this point coaches don't want to over coach it. They want to do what they're good at. We sort of know each other pretty well going into (Tuesday) night,” said Baumgardner. Like a lot of games, Baumgardner says it’s going to come down to turnovers and who can make shots. “We kind of joked about the last game of the season. It kind of going to be a race to 40 with the way both of these squads play defense. They're both pretty good defensive squads. I like my thing it's going to come down to turnovers and whoever shoots the ball the best, the highest percentage, I feel like,” he said. Published 3/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Galion Feeling Loose Galion tangles with Clear Fork on Tuesday night in a division IV district semifinal at Mansfield Senior High School. The Tigers (7-16) downed Upper Sandusky (60-57) to win a sectional title last Thursday night. Coach Tyler Sanders says the key was playing well early. “I was just proud of our guys for getting a hot start. Anytime you're able to get a good start like that and go up big early it always helps. I wish we would have ended as strong as we started, but you know just happy and proud of our guys for there was a win,” he said. Clear Fork (9-14) survived and edged Fostoria (57-54) in double overtime to win their sectional title last Wednesday/ Now, the Colts won both of the regular season meetings between the two teams. Both were close and came down to the end. Clear Fork won (45-36) on January 9 and (47-40) on February 13. Sanders calls rebounding and making some shots the keys for them. “Both games came down to the last two and half minutes. It was a tie ball game. Clear Fork was the better team in those last two and half minutes of those games. So, I think the guys were excited about the opportunity to play them a third time. Obviously a “MOAC” rival, we know everything about them and they know everything about us. It's going to come down to rebounding and hitting shots (Tuesday) night,” said Sanders. With Colts winning those two regular season games, Sanders says the pressure to win on Tuesday night is on them. I think there's something to that. I think the pressure is off a little bit for us. They're the ones that beat us twice this year and stuff, so they're expected to win this that third time,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We're able to go out there and play freely. I think when we are able to play free we're a much better team. So, I don't think if you're just a basketball fan, and you've seen the scores from the first two games, you probably think Clear Fork has got the nod in this one. So, that allows our guys to kind of loosen up a little bit and just go out and have fun.” Published 3/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Focus Again Key for Crawford Colonel Crawford meets old rival Wynford in a division VI district semifinal on Wednesday night at Willard High School. The Eagles (20-2) are the defending district champions. Coach David Sheldon says they have great tournament experience. “When you look at the four of the guys that our starters for us playing major minutes last year in our tournament run and just the success we've had at the sectional level over the years. I think it definitely helps because we're used to being in district tournaments and know the preparation and the attention to detail it takes this time of year,” said Sheldon. Now, Crawford destroyed Wynford (6-16) twice during “N10” play this season, (77-27) on December 30 and (76-29) on January 17. However, Sheldon believes his team will have the maturity to not look past the opponent. “I think they understand the importance of this is the next step in the district semi. This is the most important game come Wednesday night right now. That’s the way you've got to look at this. I thought we did that last week when playing Bucyrus. We've got to come out and get off to a good start and be prepared for whatever we can see come Wednesday night,” said Sheldon. They smoked Bucyrus (76-33) in a sectional final last Friday. Also, Crawford has enjoyed great success at Willard in tournament play in recent years and Sheldon says that helps too. “It's a great atmosphere in the “Haas Gym”. It's an old school gym. not these new gyms that we see. It's a great atmosphere with so much history and the environment is always good for kids to compete on at the district level,” he said. Wynford comes in off a (65-56) overtime win over Mohawk in their sectional final. Sheldon says this is a team that shoots the ball well and has become more competitive over the last month. “First of all, I think it's a team that's gotten better. It's a young team and they've won three of their last four. Throughout the year they were in a lot of close games and now they've been finishing those,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They really shoot it well. You have to guard the three-point line. They have got five guys shoot over 30 percent. They're a very guard oriented and can really shoot the basketball. They’re shown different things, Zone, junk, man, they show man they show a lot of different defenses that you have got to prepare for. You can't take anybody easy this time of year when you get to a district tournament because they've already won a championship in the sectional level.” Published 3/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Ashland Must be Very Good Ashland faces Toledo St. John’s in a division II district semifinal at Toledo Central Catholic High School on Wednesday night. The Arrows (14-8) shared the Ohio Cardinal Conference title with Mansfield Senior, New Philadelphia and Dover. Coach Jason Hess says making the two hour trip, while St. John’s is going a few streets over, isn’t ideal, but they have to deal with it. “There's a lot of things out of our control in this situation. The location that the Northwest District, or state, chooses is one of them. So, we have to go play the game. We've talked to our guys a lot all year about being able to control the controllables. This is one of things that we can't control. So, now it's just a matter of as coaches practice what we preach a little bit and get our guys ready the best that we can and ready to go play this game,” he said. St. John’s (17-5) plays a very aggressive schedule. They play in a league with Detroit area catholic schools. In fact, their two losses to rival Toledo Central Catholic are the only ones against teams from Ohio. Hess says they are big and skilled. “They are probably the best team, or second best team, we've seen all year. Top one or two for sure. We have not seen anything really comparable as far as just the size and length that they have. They start 6’8”, 6’6”, 6’6” with long arms and skilled. They're very disciplined team. They won't beat themselves and there's not a lot of weaknesses when you watch them on film and with the way they play the game. So, they're really good defensively. Offensively they execute and they can make shots. So, it's definitely going to be our biggest challenge of the year,” said Hess. Ashland has made more than 200 three point shots this season with Reed Edmonds, Gabe Baith and leading scorer Paxon Ediger all making more than 40 this year. Ediger averages 23 ppg and had a school record 44 this year. Hess the three pointer is the great equalizer. “We've talked to our kids this week and about when you look at “March Madness” and the upsets that happened in the NCAA tournament. The 15^th beating the twos and the 16^th beating the ones and all those things. The mid major teams beat the major conference teams the one great equalizer that's allowed all this to happen I think in the last 30 plus years, these upsets in these tournaments. is the three-point line,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I think for our team with our ability to shoot the three and be able to space the space the floor a little bit. We've got multiple guys that can get hot and make shots. I think it could be a fun game for us, but we're going to have to go up there and really stick to our game plan and play our best game of the year.” Published 3/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	River Valley to Play New Look Eastmoor River Valley hosts Columbus Eastmoor in a division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night. They are defending district champs in the Central District. Last Friday, they destroyed Columbus International (85-44) to open the tournament. Coach Rodney Brown says they went out and executed the game plan. “I thought we came out ready to play. We executed what we wanted to do well and what practiced all week. Just just really proud of the boys for staying the course and like I said executing what we what we worked on,” he said. Eastmoor (11-10) beat Buckeye Valley (50-42) in their opener. Now, River Valley beat Warriors last year in the tournament and Bown says they do have some guys back from that team. “They have got a 6’10” kid in the middle. We played them last year he was one of the guys that started for them. They have another kid back that started for them too. They have a couple of young kids playing. Their athletic, they're long and a lot of ball screen sets. So, we’re trying to work on our ball screen coverage and make sure we're ready for them. We have just got to hopefully shoot it well and defend them,” said Brown. Brown says this is really a different team from the one they played last season. “I'd say last year's last year and this year is this year. They have got a new coach. Coach Miranda was there for a long, long time, I don't even know how many years it was,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “They have got a new guy and a little bit different system. So, right now we're trying to get familiar with the new regime. Hopefully, we can rebound and defend what they do and make some shots. It’s the last home game for these seniors ever, so hopefully we're ready to go.” Published 3/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Defense a Priority for Margaretta Margaretta locks horns with “SBC” Bay rival Huron on Tuesday night in a division V district semifinal at Kansas Lakota High School. They overwhelmed Edison (88-42) in a sectional final last week on their home floor. Coach Steve Keller says they had the right approach. “We were able to kind of have a mindset to start the game that was really good. We just came out really executed and made shots and got up early and kind of rode that momentum through,” he said. Margaretta (20-3) had beaten Edison twice during the regular season and that is the case with Huron too. They beat them (78-55) on December 19 at home and (69-36) at Huron on January 23. Huron beat Pemberville Eastwood (68-67) in a sectional final last week. Keller says the Tigers have some kids that can play. “First foremost, they a nice player Quinn Conway, a 6’1” guard. Also, have got a nice player in 6’5” Parker Schafer. They have some pieces around that. A young man by the name of (Nixon) Dike, who is a sophomore. They have got some nice pieces,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They have overcome some adversity this year, fought through some adversity, which I think always makes you stronger in the long run. Finally, coach (Toby) Miller does a great job over there. Gets kids to play hard, plus he also does a nice job of having them defend in multiple different defenses and he likes to play through his best players on the offensive end.: Keller says Huron is their biggest rival, but he cautions that you can’t live on emotion alone. “We talk about it being an equilibrium. You can't get too high and you can't get too low. You have got to go out and just compete and play hard. Really just the one constant that has to be there always is guarding. If you can guard, regardless of what else goes on in a game you can potentially have success,” he said/ Published 3/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

	Willard Wants to Get in Transition Willard welcomes Liberty-Benton on Friday night for a sectional final game in division V. The Flashes (18-4), #4 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, have played a tough schedule this year, especially out of conference. Coach Joe Bedingfield feels that prepares them well for the tournament. “We played Margaretta twice in our league and towards the end of the year that was one of our one of our last three games. They've been one of the better teams in the state. Ontario with the kind of team that they have this year. Aggressive with good guards that get after you and that was a good challenge for us. Overall good game for both teams this time of year. Bellevue is playing really well. They played a really tough schedule and that was kind of a back and forth game that got away, but credit to them and their defense. We didn't particularly shoot it that well that night, but they also were able to defend and take some things away from us that we can usually get. Those are the types of teams that you want to see at this time of year. Well coached teams that play hard and have a lot of wins. It does challenge your kids and it gets them in that mindset that we play tough before and we've overcome it in some regards and we also know how we got beat by it. So, it's all a learning experience and this the time that it really matters,” said Bedingfield. Liberty-Benton (15-7), the Eagles finished third in the Blanchard Valley Conference, have a solid basketball tradition. Bedingfield says they have height and shooting ability. “Well, a 15 win team playing in the “BVC”. They have good length and they have good experience. Older kids that have played varsity basketball for a while. Their 6’6” forward Holler really can play inside out. We'll have to do an excellent job on him and limit his touches. They have a nice shooting guard in Thomas, who does really good job going strong to the basket, but also can shoot the three at a high percentage, over 43% on the year. They have another (Luke) Gerken, who is a coach’s kid, who has kind of been battling a little bit of injury back and forth. He’s 6’6” and can go a little bit outside and in too. They have good length. They mix up their defenses. They're well coached, they execute their sets really well. It's going to be a battle,” he said. Bedingfield says they need to rebound and handle the ball, but most of all have fun and lose. “It's going to be a challenge for our young guys to come out there and try to take some of their sets and things away. We have to come out and push the pace a little bit more in my opinion. They're a very good defensive team only giving up 40 a game. So, we want to make it a high aggressive game and play lose. This time of year I think you got to play lose. You have got to have fun,” he told Swankonsports.com om Thursday evening, “When you have a young team in a test like this. We want them to understand that we have played a good schedule. We've beaten some fairly good teams and we should be tournament ready with how we played throughout the year. So, we're going to have a difficult time keeping them off the boards, but this time of year rebounding is imperative and taking care of the ball, handling their press is really important. So, valuing the basketball and rebounding basketball as well as shooting with confidence is how we would be successful.” Published 2/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	Fredericktown Wants Quick Tempo Fredericktown plays at home against Marion Pleasant in a division V tournament game on Saturday afternoon. After smoking Mt. Gilead (72-35) in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Tuesday, the Freddies finish the regular season at (22-0). Coach Derek Dibling says it has been a special year for the Freddies. “It’s been a lot of fun. A lot of credit goes to our guys for coming in and working hard and buying into what we're trying to get across. Obviously, it doesn't hurt having seasoned guys who have been there and done that,” he said. Pleasant (14-8) has won nine of it’s last 10, their only loss in that period came to Shelby (59-48) last Saturday in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game. Dibling says they must at least contain Evan Sickmiller, the Spartans leading scorer. “They've been really good down the stretch. They have got a big in Sickmiller, who is a tough matchup. He's a three dimensional guy that can score from the outside, inside and has got a little bit of a mid-range game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Probably number one for us in terms of slowing him down. They've got a trio of guards that can do some things pretty well. So, for us we've got to be fundamentally sound. We've got to do the little things well and really continue to just play well together and share the ball and try to work the game in our favor in terms of pace.” Tempo will likely be an issue in this game. Dibling says they want to get the game moving if they can. “We definitely want to get up and down. Thay suits our guys and the style we have played all year. I think we have the most success when we make it a 90 foot game. So, that's again one of the priorities trying to get that pace in our favor,” said Dibling. Published 2/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	Pleasant Likes Underdog Role Marion Pleasant will be on the road Saturday afternoon to take on unbeaten Fredericktown in a division V tournament game in the Central District. The Spartans (14-8) have won nine of their last 10. However, coach Ben Snively stresses this is a very, very tough district. “We went to the draw and we had won eight games in a row. We were just behind Mt. Gilead for the seventh seed. We ended up with the eighth seed. The top six seeds in our district were all ranked in the top 25 in the State of Ohio according to MaxPreps. So, it didn't matter once you got beyond the seventh pill. You're going to be playing somebody very good right from the get go. So, you nowhere to hide in this with only 14 teams in there,” he said. Fredericktown (22-0), #1 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, is the outright champion of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference. They hammered Mt. Gilead (72-35) in a “KMAC” game on Tuesday night. Snively says they have outstanding players at all of the positions. “Anybody that can run the table and go 22-0 there doing something right. They have got nice size. They have got a big kid in Toombs you can play inside and out. The guards are all quick and can shoot the basketball. They beat the Harvest Prep and Colonel Crawford this year, which are two really good wins for them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They play physical, they play good on defense. They're just a tough matchup for anybody because they have got four guys in double figures, so you have got to guard everybody. You have to be really solid against them. I think it'll be a game where we need to, not necessarily slow the tempo, but we have got to make it a quarter court basketball game for sure.” In those last 10 games, Pleasant has only scored over 60 points twice, one of those was an overtime (66-56) over North Union, and the other was (70-64) over Ontario, a team that really likes to push the pace. Snively says the pressure is on Fredericktown here. “We have discussed that in our huddles at the end of practice every time. Sure everybody's 0-0, but you can't hide the fact that you're 22-0. So, we have actually talked about the closer we can keep it for a longer amount of time. Again, coming into the game all of pressure is on them. They're the team that's 22-0 and regardless we know that at the end of the day, we're going to have to play our “A” game against them but, if we can keep it close into the fourth quarter then things can tense up for everybody,” said Snively. Published 2/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	Tygers have to Play Four Quarters Mansfield Senior plays at home against Norwalk on Friday night in a sectional final in division III. The Tygers have not played in two weeks. Their last game was February 13, a (69-61) win over Madison to earn a piece of the Ohio Cardinal Conference title. Coach Marquis Sykes says he hopes they come out ready to play. “We'll know (Friday) early on in the game whether us coaches knew what we were doing over this break or not. We really started to I think after Wednesday's practice. I really felt like okay it's time to get back to playing because I felt like we were all kind of getting on each other’s nerves a little bit. Almost a preseason vibe where we've been beating up on each other for the last couple of weeks. I think our guys are locked in and ready to get a new opponent on the floor. Certainly, excited about the opportunity to win sectional championship on our home court,” said Sykes. Mansfield Senior (15-7), #3 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, has Norwalk (1-21) on Friday night. It has not been a good season for the Truckers, but Sykes says they are not a team that’s just going to mail it in. “I know those guys are going to play hard and they're certainly not going to come out just lay down and let us do what we want to do. I know they're probably going to throw them kitchen sink out as defensively. Probably mix it up between some different zone defenses and different man-to-man type defenses. So, we've got to be ready to go. It’s tournament time, we know that we're going to get Norwalk’s best shot, their best game. So, we have got to make sure we're locked in and focused and ready to give our best game in return,” he said. In tournament games, the start of the game is important, but Sykes says if they get a good start, they must sustain that momentum. “I think we've had a good couple of weeks of practice, so I really feel like we’re going to be focused and going to be ready and in turn I'll feel like whenever we've had good weeks of practice and whenever we've been locked in and engaged and ready to play the game we've gotten off to solid starts,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “(Friday) that's not really my concern. I feel like our guys are starting to get anxious and they're really ready to play. So, I think we'll get off to a good start. I think we have to maintain and sustain that good start. So, if we can get off to a good start let's not take our foot off the gas pedal. Let's play a full 32 minutes of good quality Tyger basketball.” Published 2/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	Colonel Crawford Has Focus Colonel Crawford, the Northern 10 Athletic Conference champion, hosts Bucyrus in a sectional final in division VI on Friday night. Last year, the Eagles advanced all of the way to the state semifinal and have all but one player from that team back. Coach David Sheldon says his kids understand tournament basketball. “The good thing with this is tournaments are always special, but our guys have been through it. So, this isn't the first time for this group. They understand how important every possession is and the attention to detail when you get the tournament basketball. So, it's an exciting time for the kids, the community, but ultimately it's the next opponent who you're playing and right now it's Bucyrus for a sectional championship,” said Sheldon. Crawford (19-2), #2 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, beat Bucyrus (62-34) on December 27 in North Robinson and (69-18) on February 6 in Bucyrus. Sheldon cautions this is a new season. “It's the old coaches cliché, everybody's 0-0 now. You look back to last Friday and Bucyrus goes to Upper Sandusky and plays a four point game. So, this is a team that's gotten better, they're healthy, and you have got to take everybody serious and first is Bucyrus Friday night,” he said. Bucyrus (2-20) is seeking to do something they have never done before and Sheldon knows they will be fired up to play them. “They've got a senior that's very good all league player in Dlyan Coppler, who was out a few games and he played really well last weekend. So, you have got guys playing you know their senior year. We've got to make sure we come ready to go,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “You can't look back at the first two games. We're trying to win our 15^th sectional championship in a row and Bucyrus is trying to win number one. So, this is a huge game for these kids to make a statement for their school.” Playing at home in the tournament is a reward and Sheldon says they look forward to it. “When the Northwest District went to this a few years ago and you get the high seed you get to play at home. It's always nice to play on your home floor and one last time the last time we'll get to play at Colonel Crawford for these seniors in front of your community. So, it's special when you have the body of work and have a good season you get rewarded is playing the home tournament game,” said Sheldon. Published 2/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	Crestview Ready for Tournament Crestview will be up at New London, a Firelands Conference rival, for a division VI sectional final on Friday night. Coach Ben McClay says they are peaking at the right time of the year. “We're definitely playing our best this time of year. We started 4-7 and we finished 8-3. We started 0-3 and finished 3-0. So, we made a lot of progress this season. We are definitely played our best basketball and we're really excited for (Friday),” he said. Crestview (12-10) and New London (13-8) spilt during the regular season with New London winning at home (63-53) on December 12 and the Cougars returning the favor (72-55) on January 17. McClay says they have to contain Henry Thomas and run the Wildcats off the three point line. “I think coach Tom Howell has done an excellent job. They're very fundamentally sound basketball team. They have one player, Henry Thomas, who is really good. He's just a really athletic kid and he has a high motor,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “I think he's going to be just a really special player. He's only a freshman. He's definitely their best player. I think one of the keys is just containing the three-point line. Not letting them get hot, especially on their home floor and just playing our game.” McClay is relying on sound advice and wants to do the things they have good at executing. “I think a lot of guys in basketball, and sports in general, try to really overcomplicate things x’s and o’s wise and everything that way. We just want to stick to what we've been good at this year. I was talking to Joe Balogh, one of my mentors, and he was just kind of saying just stick with what you guys have had success with and go from there. So, I think that's just going to be a key for us,” said McClay. Tournament games between conference rivals usually end up being close games and McClay says they have played a lot of those. “We've definitely been in a lot of close battles this year. If you look at our games we've only gotten blown out once and then I think we've had three or four or five blowouts on the season on our end. So, we've been in a lot of games where we have to make decisions in the fourth quarter, so we're kind of used to being in those games. With our out of conference schedule, it's really tough, and that's definitely battle tested us for moments like (Friday),” said McClay. Published 2/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	Seneca East Stressing Defense Seneca East hosts Mansfield Christian in a sectional final in division VI on Friday night. The Tigers (16-6) fell to Northern 10 Athletic Conference champion Colonel Crawford (61-48) in their final regular season game last Friday. Anthony Langhurst, the “N10” coach of the year, says he was exited by how well they played in that game. “I was really happy with our effort. Colonel Crawford kind of brought the best out of our guys. A lot of factors went into it, I think Crawford was on the tail end of a long stretch of games, so we kind of caught them on a night where their legs probably weren't there. Our guys played really tough. We had mini cheer, plus with Crawford, the crowd they bring, there's really great atmosphere. The guys fed off that yeah. We were just there. Crawford is a great team. They make some plays there again and that's kind of the difference in the game, but I was happy with our overall performance,” said Langhurst. It is the second time in three years Langhurst has been so honored by his fellow coaches. Mansfield Christian (12-10) comes out of the Mid-Buckeye Conference, where they finished second in the league behind Kidron Central Christian. Langhurst says Mansfield Christian can do a lot of things on offense. “You just look at everybody in our district. Everybody underneath Crawford I think they think they have an opportunity to beat that team they're up against. This is no different. They're to me a scary team. Josiah (Schleusener) is just a good athlete, tough box out he's really good finishing around the basket,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “With our zone, we have got to worry about guys like Cyphers and Morrow. Those guys can really get hot and fill it up. So, it's one of the things where we’re just going to have to communicate defensively, locate their guys. When they throw different looks at us, I'm sure they'll try to do their best to take Luke (Mason) away. So, one of the things where role players have to step up and our stars are going to have to do their thing. It should be a good match up.” Luke Mason is the all-time leading scorer at Seneca East and Langhurst says they need to find ways to get him shots. “We knew that going in that was a game plan. He probably gets sick of it and just getting dogged the whole time. He's used to it. Our guys kind of recognize we have got to get it to him. If he’s not open, we have got to find ways to get him open. It's not going to be any different than every other game we played this year. We're not worried about him stepping his game up. He's been a rock for us this whole year. He's going to bring his game, so hopefully like he's been doing the whole year just elevate everybody else around him,” said Langhurst. Published 2/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	New Philadelphia to Play Athletic Zanesville New Philadelphia will entertain Zanesville in a division III tournament game in the East District on Saturday night. The Quakers (16-6) shared the Ohio Cardinal Conference title with Dover, Mansfield Senior and Ashland. Cach Zach Ross says their schedule this year has prepared them well for the postseason. “I think our league and our non-league really sets us up to play a lot of different styles and teams. I think Zanesville is definitely a team you would face in our league night in and night out. Dynamic guard play, a lot of good foot speed that they have on the offensive and defensive end. There is a reason you schedule those non-league games. We're in this league and you have got to make the most of it. Hopefully, your non-league can kind of help prep you for the tournament,” said Ross. Zanesville (13-10) beat Dresden Tri-Valley (55-47) in their tournament opener on Tuesday night. Ross says the Blue Devils are going to bring a lot of athletic talent to the floor on Saturday night. “Tuesday night probably played their best game this season, which is any coach’s dream that you’re at your best at tournament time. I thought they played really well. They have got two guards averaging 18 plus. They have got a lot of different guys that can shoot it around them. They have size and their bigs can shoot it as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They really challenge you with their space. Very good offensive rebounding team. Defensively, they really like to get into you and create as much chaos as possible in trapping you in full court and half court. Whatever that may be and just using their quickness to their advantage. They really jumped on Tri-Valley and took a good lead. So, we're going to really have to handle pressure. I maintain it's a game of runs. They have built some confidence already with a tournament win. New Philadelphia beat Zanesville (59-46) in a regular season game on December 30. With the way the tournament is set up in their part of the state, Ross says you have to hit the ground running. “It's unique with this new seven divisions. You win 16 games regular season you usually you get to play a lower seed, but the way it's set up in Division III only five teams right off the get go you have got to be ready to play because you’re playing somebody good,” he said. Published 2/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	River Valley Has to Keep it Going River Valley, the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference champion, puts out the welcome mat for Columbus International on Friday night in a division IV tournament game. The Vikings (17-5), #2 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, has only lost once in the last seven weeks. Coach Rodney Brow says they wanted to take as much momentum as possible into the postseason. “We tried to finish strong. Wanted to be heading in the right direction moving into the tournament. We’ve really been able to do that beating some pretty good teams down the stretch. I'm just proud of them for keeping the course and working hard,” said Brown. Columbus International (2-18) finished last in the Columbus City League. Brown says they have some athletic guys. “They're athletic, they play in the Columbus City League and they don't have a lot of wins to show for what they've done,” he told Swankonsprts.com on Thursday night, “They have good looking, athletic players. It'll be one of those games where we just have got to take care of business and make sure that we're ready to play and not take anybody for granted.” Brown says they don’t want this game to be in doubt in the second half Friday night. “We talked about that (Thursday). It feels like it's been a month since we played. We haven’t played for over 10 days. Just trying to keep that mental toughness and that focus on every day and trying to get ready and having a good start (Friday) and just kind of set the tone early in our own gym leaving no doubt for us,” he said. Published 2/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	Plymouth Expects Battle From St. Peter’s Plymouth plays host to Mansfield St. Peter’s on Thursday night in a sectional final in division VII. With an chance to share the Firelands Conference title, the Big Red was bullied last week by Western Reserve (71-35) on Friday night. Coach Tim Brafford says they didn’t have any intensity in the game. “It was very, very, very disappointing from a coaching standpoint. We were not ready to play. Our intensity was at zero and as far as I'm concerned we just gave up before the game ever started. We got down and never fought to come back. They pushed us around on the floor and we allowed it to happen. Probably my fault, I didn't have them ready to go, so we're working on our intensity and hopefully we come out ready to play. Ever since Jarrett (Burrer) sprained his ankle we've been down and we need to turn this around in a hurry,” said Brafford. At one time, Plymouth (14-8) led the Firelands Conference standings, by three games, but they have lost six of their last eight. Brafford says they have turn the car around right now. “They've got to come out ready to play. St. Pete's is no joke. Roy’s got them playing well. They've got some nice players, they run the floor, they get back in transition, and they play good defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “One thing I noticed is they're going to stay until the end of the game regardless of the score. They've only won eight games this year, which is still a good number of games, but once the tournament starts it's a brand new season. Everyone's 0-0, you lose and you go home, so we better come out ready to go.” Brafford says the Spartans have some size and athleticism. He says they get all over offensive glass. “I think it'll be huge. Number #1 is a 6’4”, 6’5” kid is just a great player, runs the floor well can, shoots it, they've got a 6’3” kid that comes in and also is a great rebounder. They've got some speed, they've got some ball handlers, play good defense, it's going to be a battle,” he said. Published 2/25/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

	St. Peter’s Must be Really Good Mansfield St. Peter’s is up at Plymouth for a division VII sectional final on Thursday night. Coach Roy Shoulders, in coaching since the 1980’s, says the tournament is about handling nerves. “The whole theory and thought of surviving advance. There's a big different feel for a tournament game than a regular season game just from the standpoint you know regular season game, unless it’s the last game of the year, a regular season game good, bad, or ugly, no matter how you play you always have this knowledge that we're going to be able to get back in the gym and correct some things and make some changes and get ready for the next game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “With the tournament game there really is no tomorrow. I think the teams that get past that and that's not a focal point. You have got to go out and play basketball. There's going to be nerves on both sides. I really do believe the first team to let the nerves wash away and just relax and play basketball and really handling that pressure down the stretch. That fourth quarter the reality is someone moves on and someone goes home. How you really handle the stress and the pressure of the fourth quarter I think that says a lot. So, you really do have to be calm and composed and self assured and sometimes just have to sit back and figure breath and relax.” St. Peter’s (8-12) is at Plymouth (14-8) on Thursday night. Plymouth, once (12-2), has lost six of it’s last eight. Still, Shoulders says they are loaded with talent. “They have had some injuries along the way. They are a very good basketball team. Jarett Burrer is as good as anyone will see all year. .Reynolds is really, really good, he's improved so much the sophomore. You look at their perimeter play with Bates, Winfield and Beverly and Kilgore. You can't forget Grose. I mean they have got guys who are athletes. Who can play the basketball game. They're very good off the dribble and they really force you to sit down and play the drive and also really force you to make sure your heads on a swivel away from the ball so you can be there in position off the ball. So, offensively they're just such a very aggressive offensive team, but I don't think they get enough credit for things they do on defense. They really get after it defensively with quick hands getting in passing lanes. So, they're a very good basketball team and we know that,” said Shoulders. Shoulders says they will give it all they have, but they are dealing with some adversity. “We have to be at our best. The sad reality for us is we're going through a really bad bout of sickness on our team. Wednesday is the first day that we've had everybody in the gym. This is our first day of practice all week and so really we have to, in a sense, cram three days of prep into one. The guys really came locked in to do our job. The one thing I love about the group that we have in this that we're a very resilient group. Regardless of the situation we're going to buckle the chin strap and go in and get our knuckles dirty and get our knees dirty. We know we're going to have to be at our best playing against Plymouth,” he said. Published 2/26/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM “Your First Source for All Things Sports”

	Western Should be Relaxed Western Reserve is looking to be the giant killer on Friday night as they play at undefeated Genoa in a division V sectional final. The Riders (11-9) are coming off maybe their best performance of the season in rocking Plymouth (71-35) in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night. Frankly, the kind of outing that basketball junkies thought might be more like what Western Reserve could be this year. Coach Chris Sheldon says they were outstanding on both ends. “I thought offensively we really shared the ball and got great looks, made the extra pass. Again, we've talked about when we don't take bad shots, we're way more efficient offensively. Defensively we're really outstanding in getting to shooters and really shutting down Burrer. That was key for us to be able to you go ahead and stay in the game and then it really got away. We really were able to go on some runs that they just couldn't answer. So, excited to end the regular season that way and now you get the #2 team in the state that’s 22-0,” said Sheldon. Sheldon says Genoa has a great big, a tremendous point guard and a number of shooters. “I wish I could tell you what wasn't good about them. Jeff. It starts with the Ashland University commit 6’8” Walter Plantz, he can do it all. He is a load, he's really good off the bounce and he’s got great footwork for a low post guy and great touch,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening. “He's going to get a lot of our attention, but their point guard (Ryan) Routson kid really makes them go. He’s their engine. He’s a 5’8” version of Aaron Craft is what I like to call him. Plays at a high motor, pushes the ball offensively, gets it to the front of the rim or sets up the post guy or their shooters. Then that's the third component, they have got multiple shooters around those two.” Sheldon says their defense must be on point, they have to rebound misses, but overall the pressure in this game is squarely on the shoulders of Genoa. “We're going to have our hands full trying to cover them offensively with making them take tough shots, contested shots and then if we can do that can we rebound the ball because they got some size besides the 6-8 kid. So, it's a tremendous task for us, but as I told our guys we have got nothing to lose. They're the team that’s 22-0 and ranked two in the state. We need to go play free and easy and that should be our mindset walking in there,” he said. Published 2/26/26 © Swankonsports.com Tune in for a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Saturday night at 10 PM