Area softball teams advance in postseason play

The softball postseason began during the week of May 11, and several area schools remained alive entering last week’s action.

New Philadelphia opened tournament play with an 11-1 win over Zanesville May 11, but the victory set up a sectional final matchup at Dover. The defending state champion Crimson Tornadoes handled the Quakers 8-0 May 13 to advance to a May 21 district final against either Sheridan or Marietta, which were scheduled to play May 20.

Elsewhere:

Division IV

Indian Valley was overwhelmed in its tournament opener, falling 16-2 at Carrollton May 12.

Division V

Claymont opened postseason play with a 5-4 upset of No. 4 seed Edison May 11. The seventh-seeded Mustangs were scheduled to face No. 3 Ridgewood May 18 in a district semifinal.

Tusky Valley, the top seed in the district, was scheduled to host Buckeye Local May 18. Buckeye Local advanced with an 8-7 win over Union Local in sectional play.

Sandy Valley opened tournament play May 11 with a 5-2 loss to 10th-seeded Coshocton. The Cardinals finished the season 16-10 after entering the tournament as the No. 6 seed.

Division VI

Newcomerstown’s season ended May 13 when the sixth-seeded Trojans were upset 10-7 by No. 9 Buckeye Trail. Newcomerstown finished 9-11.

Division VII

No. 2 seed Strasburg-Franklin opened postseason play with a 15-0, five-inning win over No. 9 Malvern May 11. The victory advanced the Tigers to a May 19 district semifinal against No. 8 Tuscarawas Central Catholic.

Strasburg-Franklin’s win over Malvern also secured a share of the Inter-Valley Conference North Division title. The Tigers finished 11-1 in the division, matching Conotton Valley’s record after the teams split their regular-season meetings.

Middle school state track

Several area athletes competed in the OHSAA middle school state track meet May 16 at Hilliard Darby High School.

Competing in the Division B meet, New Philadelphia’s Welty Middle School had several athletes qualify. Seventh grader Larry Harris finished seventh in the 400-meter dash. Harris also qualified in the 200 but did not start. Eighth grader Liam Dawson finished 10th in the 800-meter run, while seventh grader Chance Quickley placed 11th in the 200-meter hurdles.

For the Welty girls, eighth grader Sammy Troyer and seventh graders Maddi Blair, Hayden Shanabrook and Aleah McBride finished 10th in the 4x400 relay.

Indian Valley competed in Division A, where eighth grader Will Gump finished third in the boys discus with a throw of 157 feet, 7 inches. Classmate Kinsley McDonald placed third in the girls pole vault by clearing 10 feet.

Claymont also competed in Division A and received top-10 finishes from three eighth graders. Azellya Wright finished seventh in the girls discus, Kyler Bloom placed ninth in the boys high jump and Logan Patterson finished ninth in the boys pole vault.

Dover’s Division A competitors included eighth grader Juma Herman, who placed 14th in the boys long jump and 15th in the 100-meter dash. Eighth grader Olive Herman finished fourth in the girls long jump and 14th in the 200-meter hurdles. Landen Muhlheman placed ninth in the boys pole vault.

Tusky Valley eighth grader Jaxson Shuman placed eighth in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes in Division A.

Strasburg-Franklin seventh grader Lainy Edwards qualified for the girls high jump but did not clear a height. She was one of four seventh graders to qualify for the state meet in the event.

The middle school state meet is an invitational featuring the top 24 declared athletes in each event. Athletes must compete in an OHSAA-sanctioned qualifying meet to be eligible, although not all invited athletes participate.