Local teams pile up postseason wins across spring sports

Across Stark County and beyond, Lake, Marlington and Lake Center Christian all spent the week piling up postseason wins, district qualifiers, crooked numbers and regional track berths as spring sports season shifted fully into survive-and-advance mode.

Baseball

Lake baseball opened the week May 18 by turning Massillon pitching into a mercy-rule victim in a 14-5 victory. AJ Mitchell launched three home runs and finished 4-for-5 with four runs and four RBI, while Josh Lippe went 5-for-5 with a grand slam and seven RBI. Anderson Alacchi also homered as the Blue Streaks hammered out 16 hits.

Two days later, Lake showed it could win without the offensive fireworks, rallying past Berea-Midpark 4-2. Ty DeGeorge went 2-for-3 with a run and RBI, while Grady Widner tossed a complete game with seven strikeouts.

Then came May 21, when No. 5 seed Lake steamrolled Akron East 18-0 in a Division III Northeast 1 sectional final. The Blue Streaks scored 11 runs in the first inning and seven more in the second. Drew Pribanich and Joe Woodin each drove in multiple runs while Aaron Mitchell struck out four over two innings in the shortened win.

Lake’s week ended May 22 with a 7-6 loss to Green in the completion of a suspended Federal League game. The Blue Streaks piled up 15 hits, but five errors proved costly as Green walked it off in the ninth inning. Alacchi went 3-for-5 with a homer, while Mitchell added three hits, including a double and triple, as Lake closed the week 17-8-1 overall and 6-6 in league play.

Marlington baseball, meanwhile, saved its dramatics for the postseason. On May 21, the No. 9 seed Dukes edged Salem 3-2 in a Division IV Northeast 4 sectional final when Collin Baier scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Matthew Baldwin went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Brock Woods doubled and scored, and Logan Smith earned the win with two scoreless innings as Marlington improved to 16-6-1.

Three days earlier, the Dukes closed the regular season by hammering East Canton 14-3. Baldwin tripled and drove in three runs, Smith collected two RBI, and both Tyler Walder and Woods doubled in the rout.

Lake Center Christian continued its steady march toward the postseason beginning May 18 with an eight-inning 4-3 victory over Norton. The Tigers followed that up May 19 with an 11-1 rout of Akron Firestone before erupting for a 19-0 sectional final win over Campbell Memorial on May 22 in Division VI Northeast 2 tournament play. LCC closed the week at 19-4-1 and looking every bit like a team nobody wants to see in a district bracket.

Softball

On the softball diamond, Lake was busy turning district tournament games into blowouts.

The No. 3 seed Blue Streaks opened postseason play May 18 with an 11-0 victory over Geneva. Isla Green and Aubrey Eisele each collected three hits, while Olivia Draher drove in two runs. Gianna Greathouse dominated in the circle, allowing only two hits while striking out 11.

Three days later, Lake looked even better in an 11-0 district championship victory over Tallmadge. Draher homered and doubled while driving in four runs, Greathouse added a homer of her own, and the Blue Streaks erupted for seven first-inning runs to remove all suspense early. Greathouse tossed another gem, allowing just one hit as Lake improved to 18-7 and climbed to sixth in the Division III state rankings.

Marlington softball’s postseason run ended May 21 with a 5-2 loss to No. 1 seed Elyria Catholic in the Division IV Northeast 1 district championship game at Dalton. The Dukes grabbed an early 2-0 lead before the Panthers answered immediately and never trailed again.

Aaliyah Williams drove in both Marlington runs, Chelsea Miller collected three hits, and Justine Doringo struck out 11 while allowing only one earned run as the Dukes finished a strong season at 18-7.

Marlington advanced to the title game by dismantling Cloverleaf 10-0 on May 19 in a district semifinal. Miller went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored, Makenna Metz homered and tripled, and Doringo added a three-run blast while also firing a two-hit shutout in the circle.

Track and field

Track and field athletes from all three schools also punched tickets to regionals with standout performances at district competition.

At the Austintown Fitch Division II district, Lake’s boys and girls teams both placed third. Andrew Vensel captured the 1600-meter run in 4:22.44, while Carter DeBois finished second in the 800-meter run. Liam VanElzen advanced in both hurdles races, and the Blue Streaks qualified relay teams in the 4x100-meter relay, 4x200-meter relay and 4x800-meter relay. Justin Landes added a regional berth in discus.

For the girls, Gabriella Satava qualified in the 300-meter hurdles, Lake advanced relay teams in the 4x200-meter relay and 4x800-meter relay, while Hailey Cooper, Jordyn Landes, Noelle Leonelli, Madison Orum and Kaitlyn Josef all earned regional spots in field events.

Marlington’s boys and girls also each finished third at the Austintown Fitch Division III district. Irelyn Johnson won both the 1600-meter run and 3200-meter run with times of 5:05.87 and 10:44.15, respectively, while Olivia Callahan captured the 300-meter hurdles title. The Dukes also won the 4x100-meter relay and 4x200-meter relay district championships. Additional regional qualifiers included Grace Kungl, Kadence Bernard, Brincyn Boyce and relay teams in the 4x400-meter relay and 4x800-meter relay.

On the boys side, Cameron Evanich qualified in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash, while Logan Kuhn advanced in the 400-meter dash. Gabe Minor won the 3200-meter run in 10:14.02 and also qualified in the 1600-meter run, while Brady Griggs advanced in both distance races as well.

At the Springfield Division V district, Lake Center Christian’s girls finished second and the boys placed sixth. Gianna Ritchie won the 800-meter run in 2:17.98 while also qualifying in the 3200-meter run, and the Tigers claimed a district title in the 4x100-meter relay. Nicole Hayes qualified in both sprint races, while Destinee Krebs, Jenna Keiser, Jillian Griffing and relay teams in the 4x400-meter relay and 4x800-meter relay also advanced.

For the LCC boys, Joey McAboy qualified in the 800-meter run, the Tigers advanced in the 4x800-meter relay, and Julian Pruszynski earned a regional berth in the high jump.