Crestview, Cardinal Mooney among top seeds

May 9, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

STRUTHERS

The high school sectional baseball tournament gets under way today with four semifinal games in Division III.

The 12-team field for the Struthers district features top seed Canton Central Catholic (17-4-1). The other seeds — No. 2 seed Crestview (16-5), No. 3 Cardinal Mooney (14-6) and No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas (15-9) — also have first-round byes.

Last month, Canton Central Catholic defeated Lake Center Christian, 1-0, to present head coach Douglas Miller with his 700th career victory.

Now in his 35th season, Miller and his Crusaders moved down a division this year and aren’t strangers to district site Cene Park, where they won 1997 and 2003 regional titles.

Crestview (16-5) has as formidable a pitching staff as any in the tourney with Ohio State University recruit Michael McDonough and Andy Gorby each 5-0. Dylan Dickey, Tyler Hurd and Jake Crawford round out the unit.

Offensive punch comes from outfielder Joe Fitzsimmons and third baseman Kaden Davis.

“I worry about us more than who we play,” Rebels coach Dan Hill said. “Pitching and solid defense are the keys and we’re swinging the bat really well right now.”

The Rebels will meet the winner of today’s game between No. 8 Campbell Memorial (8-12) and No. 7 Columbiana (13-8).

Clippers head coach Ryan Wolf is expected go with Jake Clark (4-3) on the hill. Mitch Davidson (4-1, .420 batting average) and catcher Keenan Green are the leading hitters.

The Red Devils struggled early with injuries playing a big part in a 0-9 start. They head to the tournament, however, having won eight of their last 11 outings.

“We’re a young team that starts four sophomores, but we’re healthy right now and looking forward to tournament play,” Campbell coach Brian Nichols said.

The Red Devils will start either Laz Lebron (1-1) or Michael Jones (2-2). Outfielder Yianni Koullias (.414) is the team’s offensive catalyst as the leader in in runs scored and stolen bases.

Cardinal Mooney (14-6) has won eight sectional titles in the 10 seasons Al Franceschelli has coached.

The Cardinals will look to Jack Lynch (4-1, 2.54 earned run average) on the mound. Lynch (.350), Bryce Ritchie (.375) and Dom Pecchia (.360) are their top hitters.

They will meet the winner of the No. 11 East Palestine (2-12) and No. 5 Springfield Local (14-8) contest.

“We have just two players with varsity experience, but have come together much faster than I originally thought,” Tigers first-year coach Terry Dobson said.

The Tigers feature pitchers Andy Sodergren (3-1, 1.24 ERA) and Nathan Sommers, both of whom played with Heartland Christian a year ago.

Top hitters include Sommers (.394), Sodergren (.392) and freshman Brannon Brungard (.382).

The Bulldogs feature pitchers Marshall Huddleton, Braxton Westover and Trevor Kimmel.

South Range (14-10), the No. 6 seed, has won seven sectional titles in Jim Hanek’s 10 years as coach.

“We’re a Jekyll and Hyde team with our bats,” Hanek said. “We had a stretch where we played five games and scored just seven runs.”

Greg Dunham (2-3), Travis Baxter (2-2) and Brandon Youngs (2-0) are the pitchers to keep an eye on. Baxter (.350), Dunham (.338) and Youngs (.333) have the Raiders’ top bats.

South Range will host No. 12 United Local (5-15), a team that has split its last four contests. The Eagles have one of the youngest teams as they start five freshmen, two sophomores and a senior.