Lakota West earned its sixth state semifinal berth and second in a row by beating Oak Hills 3-2 in a regional final Friday at Wright State.
Seventh-ranked Lakota West will play eight-time state champion North Canton Hoover at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Third-ranked Pataskala Watkins Memorial, which lost 1-0 to Massillon Perry in the state championship game last season, will play two-time state semifinalist Holland Springfield at 3 p.m. Thursday in the first semifinal.
The championship game will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Division III
Miami East beat Fredricktown 10-0 in a regional final Saturday at Centerville High School, earning its first state berth since 1979 when it won the state championship.
Miami East will play first-time state semifinalist Massillon Tuslaw at 3 p.m. Friday in the state semifinals in a matchup of unranked teams. Three-time state semifinalist and second-ranked Cardington-Lincoln plays 2016 state champion Wheelersburg, the state’s top-ranked team, in the other semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
The state championship game will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Division IV
Defending state champion Bradford (23-5) will play Strasburg-Franklin (25-4) at 10 a.m. Friday with Jeromesville Hilldale (23-3) playing Van Wert Lincolnview (24-4) in the second semifinal. The championship game will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Bradford, ranked fifth in the state poll, beat top-ranked Russia 3-1 on Saturday at Wright State to win its third regional championship in the last four years.
BASEBALL
Among the area baseball teams still alive are: Lebanon, which won its first district champions Saturday by beating Vandalia Butler 3-0; Southeastern, which won its first district championship since 2012; Northeastern, which is a district champion for the first time since 1961; and Badin, which is two victories away from its first state appearance since 2016.
The baseball regionals start Thursday. Here’s the schedule of the games involving local teams:
Division I
Fairfield vs. Cincinnati Moeller, 2 p.m. Thursday, Midland Baseball Complex in Batavia.
Mason vs. Lebanon, 5 p.m. Thursday, Midland Baseball Complex in Batavia.
Division II
Badin vs. Cleves Taylor, 2 p.m. Thursday, Mason
Eaton vs. Delaware Buckeye Valley, 5 p.m. Thursday, Mason
Division III
Northeastern vs. Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, 5 p.m. Thursday, Wright State’s Nischwitz Stadium
Division IV
Southeastern vs. Russia, 2 p.m. Thursday, Princeton High School
Fort Loramie vs. Howard East Knox, 5 p.m. Thursday, Princeton High School
About the Author
