Heath earns No. 1 seed in Division III in Central District baseball draw

COLUMBUS — The Heath and Lakewood baseball teams are defending Central District champions, and they chose their path for their title defense Sunday during the annual tournament draw.

Heath (18-2) received the No. 1 seed in Division III and hosts either No. 19 Wellington and No. 22 Tree of Life at 5 p.m. May 15. The Bulldogs, who also are defending regional champions, could host No. 10 Fairbanks in a district semifinal, and potential opponents in a final are No. 3 West Jefferson and No. 7 North Union with the winner advancing to the Wright State regional.

No. 6 Newark Catholic (9-12) hosts either No. 14 Cardington or No. 18 Fredericktown on May 15 with potential matchups against No. 4 East Knox and No. 2 Highland down the road in the bracket feeding into the Hamler regional.

No. 8 Utica (11-10) hosts No. 25 Africentric on May 13 with a possible visit from No. 11 Columbus Academy two days later, which would be a rematch of last year’s district final. No. 23 Northridge (1-22) visits No. 20 Madison-Plains on May 13 with the winner visiting Highland two days later.

Lakewood (14-6) received the No. 6 seed in a loaded Division II bracket as 21 teams battle for a spot in the Mason regional. The Lancers host either No. 21 Columbus East or No. 11 Bishop Hartley on May 14 with the potential of hosting either No. 7 London or No. 10 Granville (11-9) two days later, and a date with No. 1 Bishop Watterson in a district semifinal could await.

Licking Valley (17-3) is the No. 3 seed and hosts either No. 15 Bishop Ready or No. 19 Linden-McKinley on May 14. A victory could set the Panthers up for a showdown at No. 2 Jonathan Alder two days later.

No. 13 Johnstown (6-14) hosts No. 16 River Valley at noon on Saturday. The winner visits No. 4 Buckeye Valley on May 14.

Newark (15-7) is the No. 15 seed in Division I and hosts either No. 22 Hilliard Bradley and No. 29 Olentangy on May 15. No. 16 Watkins Memorial (14-7) hosts either No. 17 Westerville Central or No. 32 Canal Winchester the same day.

The Wildcats and Warriors could meet in a district semifinal at Newark. Potential opponents in a district final include No. 2 Grove City and No. 9 Lancaster.

No. 38 Licking Heights (6-14) visits No. 20 Gahanna at 5 p.m. May 13. The winner visits No. 4 Pickerington Central two days later.

Granville Christian (13-3), which is the No. 6 seed in Division IV, hosts No. 9 Fisher Catholic at 5 p.m. May 14, and a trip to No. 4 Mechanicsburg could follow two days later. No. 13 Liberty Christian (7-10) visits No. 3 Berne Union on May 14.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Heath is No. 1 seed in Division III in Central District baseball draw