Marlington, Lake athletes heat up postseason push

The middle of May is supposed to be the calm before tournament chaos fully engulfs high school sports. Apparently nobody told Marlington and Lake, whose athletes spent the week treating scoreboards like personal enemies.

Softball

Marlington opened the week May 11 with the sort of game that shortens coaches’ lifespans. The Dukes slipped past Youngstown Ursuline 6-5 in eight innings thanks to Makenna Metz, who delivered the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the eighth. Aayliyah Williams stayed hot at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Chelsea Miller homered and drove in two more runs. Meanwhile, Justine Doringo piled up 12 strikeouts in the circle.

The next day brought a heavyweight fight with Division III power Archbishop Hoban, and this time the Dukes came up just short in a 7-5 loss. Marlington looked poised to pull it off before Hoban scored three runs in the seventh inning. Miller continued her offensive surge, finishing 2-for-2 with a double, RBI, two walks and two runs scored. Giavanna Glasser added a double and RBI as Marlington traded blows with one of the state’s top-ranked teams.

Then came tournament time, and Ravenna basically wandered into a tornado warning.

The Dukes demolished the Ravens 24-0 in a Division IV sectional final May 14 that stopped feeling competitive somewhere around the second inning, when Marlington (17-6) hung 16 runs on the board. Miller hit for the cycle, Lydia Duncan added two hits, three runs and two RBI, while Williams ripped two doubles and drove in three more runs. Doringo tossed a five-inning no-hitter with 11 strikeouts.

Lake, meanwhile, had only one game on the schedule — a Division III Northeast 3 District sectional final against visiting North Olmsted. The third-seeded Blue Streaks (15-7) played like heavy favorites, dispatching the Eagles 12-1 in five innings.

Baseball

Lake baseball opened its week with pure Federal League chaos against GlenOak on May 12. The Blue Streaks survived 7-6 in eight innings after both teams took turns punching holes in each other’s hopes and dreams. Lake rallied with two runs in the bottom of the eighth for the walk-off win after GlenOak briefly grabbed a 6-5 lead.

Ty DeGeorge led the charge by going 2-for-3 with three RBI, Joe Woodin drove in two runs, and Alex Quior added two hits and two runs scored as Lake kept its league title hopes alive for at least another day.

Twenty-four hours later, GlenOak returned the favor.

The Golden Eagles beat Lake 9-7 after the Blue Streaks erased a three-run deficit in the sixth inning, only to immediately give those runs right back in the bottom half. The loss officially ended Lake’s hopes of sharing the Federal League championship.

If that wasn’t painful enough, Jackson followed by unleashing a pitching performance straight out of a video game. Polar Bear ace Ethan O’Byrne fired a complete-game no-hitter with a school-record 17 strikeouts in an 8-0 win over Lake on May 14.

Meanwhile, Marlington spent the week stacking road wins before participating in one of the strangest baseball games this side of a beer league softball tournament.

On May 12, the Dukes beat Columbiana 6-2 behind a monster game from Brock Woods, who went 3-for-3 with a homer, double and two stolen bases. Ben Warner tripled and scored twice, while Logan Smith delivered two RBI and picked up the win on the mound.

Marlington followed that with a 7-5 win over Canton South on May 14 after building a 6-0 lead and then spending the late innings stress-testing everyone’s blood pressure. Woods stayed scorching hot with two doubles and three hits, while Tyler Walder added two hits, a stolen base and an RBI.

Then came the Friday night carnival against Lake.

The Dukes and Blue Streaks (14-7-1) combined for 28 runs, 33 hits and five errors in a 14-14 tie that lasted nine innings and probably felt like 19. Marlington (14-6-1) blew a 10-3 lead, fell behind 14-12, then rallied to tie the game in the seventh before both teams apparently ran out of either pitching or emotional energy.

Logan Smith drove in four runs, Ben Warner collected three hits, Brock Woods added three more hits, and Matthew Baldwin stuffed the stat sheet with three hits, two stolen bases and two runs scored.

Track and field

At the Eastern Buckeye Conference Championships, Marlington’s girls battled Salem for the league crown before ultimately finishing second, while the Dukes boys claimed fourth place.

Irelyn Johnson led the way for the girls by winning both the 1600-meter run in 5:10.63 and the 3200-meter run in 11:00.38 while also taking second in the 800. Olivia Callahan swept the hurdles, winning both the 100- and 300-meter hurdle races, while Quinn Cernansky captured the long jump title with a leap of 17-2.25.

Grace Kungl added runner-up honors in the 200 and fourth in the 100, while Kadence Bernard placed third in both the 200 and 400. Marlington’s relay teams also shined, highlighted by a first-place finish in the 4x200 relay.

For the boys, Cameron Evanich sprinted to a conference title in the 400-meter dash with a winning time of 50.32 while also finishing second in both the 100 and 200. Blaize Horn added another EBC championship by winning the 300 hurdles in 42.06, and the Dukes captured the 4x400 relay title as well.

Gabe Minor placed second in the 800 and fourth in the 1600, Logan Kuhn finished second in the 400, and Joe’l West-Cole took fourth in the shot put.

At the Federal League Championships, Lake’s girls finished sixth while the boys placed fifth.

Madeline Utz paced the girls with a third-place finish in the 1600, Gabriella Satava took third in the 100 hurdles, Hayden Croyle was third in the 300 hurdles, and Cecilia Swihart added a third-place finish in the high jump. Hailey Cooper also reached the podium with a third-place finish in the shot put, while the 4x200 relay team grabbed fourth.

For the boys, Andrew Vensel led the distance crew by placing second in the 1600, with Brycen Vensel fourth in the same event. Brady Norcia and Nolan Brasko finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 3200, Liam VanElzen earned runner-up honors in the 110 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles, and Justin Landes placed second in discus and fourth in shot put. The 4x800 relay also secured a third-place finish.

Darrah Rennick turned in a strong meet in the wheelchair division with runner-up finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and shot put.