State champs lead Holmes, Wayne County baseball tournament hopes
Hiland and Waynedale enter the postseason with eyes on defending their titles
Cameron Miller and the Waynedale baseball team enter the Division V Northeast 4 District as the No. 1 seed and will look to defend their state title while chasing a fourth championship in five years.
Joshua McWilliams
With a pair of reigning state champions in Hiland and Waynedale headlining the way, the area is set for another wild couple of weeks of tournament baseball. The pair isn't alone, as Triway and Wooster are both enjoying strong seasons and will look to make their own noise this spring.
Div. III Northeast District 3
Wooster picked up the No. 4 seed and is the odds-on favorite to make it out of its bracket. The Generals will open sectional finals action at home against Chaney and could see their biggest district test in the finals against No. 8 Aurora.
The Generals’ biggest challenge could come in regional play, where they could face either No. 5 Lake or No. 6 Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. Wooster has its sights set on more than just another regional appearance, as a trip back would extend its current streak to four straight seasons. After last year’s team fell just short and following the tough emotions after the loss of sophomore Maddox Graser, the Generals will be a team on a mission.
Div. IV Northeast District 1
Orrville is enjoying a 16-4 season and sits atop the Principals Athletic Conference, earning the No. 4 seed. The Red Riders will open sectional finals action at home against PAC rival Canton South, a team they swept by a combined 11-2 score during the regular season.
Orrville will be eyeing a potential big matchup to get out of the district against No. 3 Norton.
Div. IV East 1 District
West Holmes earned the No. 12 seed and will open tournament play on the road against No. 3 Edison.
Div. V Northeast districts
In the Northeast 2 bracket, Triway picked up the No. 3 seed and will look to make a deep tournament run. The Titans could have to get by No. 2 Lakeview to get out of the district, with that potential matchup likely deciding who advances to regionals and possibly setting up another epic Triway-Waynedale showdown.
Waynedale, the reigning Div. V state champion and No. 1 seed, looks to have a smooth path out of the Northeast 4 bracket. The Golden Bears could see No. 4 Tuslaw or No. 7 Southeast to open regional play as they look to defend their state title and make it four championships in the past five years, with back-to-back titles potentially bookending the run.
No. 25 Northwestern will open district bracket action on the road against No. 21 Wickliffe, with the winner likely to face Waynedale.
In the Northeast 3 bracket, Tuslaw is one of the odds-on favorites, with its top competition potentially coming from No. 8 Black River, No. 7 Southeast or No. 15 Norwayne.
Div. V East 1 District
Garaway earned the No. 4 seed and will open sectional action at home against No. 14 Fairless. If the Pirates advance to the district finals, they'll likely run into No. 1 Barnesville.
Div. VI Northeast districts
In the Northeast 1 bracket, Hillsdale earned the No. 5 seed and will eye a potential district finals matchup against No. 2 Kirtland, a program familiar to area fans.
In the Northeast 3 bracket, Dalton picked up the No. 12 seed and will open on the road at No. 10 David Anderson, while No. 27 Loudonville will open at No. 6 LaBrae.
In the Northeast 2 bracket, No. 14 Smithville will host No. 21 St. Thomas Aquinas in a sectional final.
In the Northeast 4 bracket, Chippewa earned the No. 3 seed and will be the favorite to get out of its district. The Chipps will start their tourney run by hosting the winner of No. 15 Columbia and No. 20 Newton Falls in a district semifinal matchup. Rittman picked up the No. 8 seed and will host No. 18 Cuyahoga Heights in the sectional finals.
Div. VI East 1 District
Hiland, which has won three consecutive state titles, earned the No. 1 seed and will be favored by many to make it back to state. The Hawks’ journey will start in the sectional finals, where they will host the winner of No. 10 Bridgeport and No. 11 Bellaire.
Hiland’s best matchups could come at regionals, where it may face Green or Trimble out of the Southeast 1 bracket, and potentially South Webster or Huntington in the regional finals with a state berth on the line. The Hawks will look to defend their Div. VI state crown and extend their supremacy with a fourth straight state championship.
Div. VII Northeast 3 District
Central Christian earned the No. 6 seed in its bracket and will open tournament play at home against No. 23 Wellsville Senior in a sectional final.
