High school baseball draws: See who area teams will play in their sectional tournaments
There were few surprises as area baseball teams learned their postseason fates.
Teams statewide participated in sectional tournament drawings on Sunday, where New Lexington, Tri-Valley and Sheridan were among those who earned top three seeds by voting coaches.
Here is how it broke down:
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East District
Two teams advance to the Athens regional against the two Southeast District winners at either Ohio University's Bob Wren Stadium or Ron Mazeroski Field at Cadiz Harrison Central.
Tri-Valley (18-2) earned the No. 2 seed in Division II behind St. Clairsville, which chose the upper bracket with the likes of No. 3 Steubenville, No. 5 New Philadelphia and No. 7 Cambridge, among others.
St. Clairsville will host the winner of No. 14 John Glenn (5-15) or No. 20 Rayland Buckeye Local in the sectional finals, with that winner getting either No. 7 Cambridge or No. 10 Millersburg West Holmes at 5 p.m. on May 20 for a district final bid.
No. 10. Maysville (6-11) and No. 13 Philo (7-14-1) lock horns at 1 p.m. on May 11 for a berth in the sectional finals at 5 p.m. on May 14 against host Steubenville. That winner plays either New Philadelphia, No. 11 East Liverpool or No. 17 Lisbon Beaver Local.
In the bottom bracket, Tri-Valley hosts either No. 15 Meadowbrook (6-13) or No. 19 Claymont at 5 p.m. on May 14 in a sectional final at Kenny Wolford Park.
The winner plays either No. 8 Gnadenhutten Indian Valley or No. 9 Morgan (10-7) at 5 p.m. on May 20 at a site to be determined in the district semifinals.
In the bottom half, No 16 Zanesville (6-15-1) travels to No. 12 River View (8-12) at 1 p.m. on May 11 for a first-round sectional at Ron Tisko Field. The prize is a sectional final bout at No. 4 Wintersville Indian Creek for a May 20 district bid against either No. 6 Carrollton or No. 21 Minerva.
All district games are at sites to be determined at 5 p.m. on May 20. The finals are set for 5 p.m. on May 22.
In Division III, West Muskingum (11-9) was seeded ninth of 14 teams and plays at No. 10 Cadiz Harrison Central at 5 p.m. on May 13. The winner gets a sectional final at No. 2 Zoarville Tuscarawas Valley at 5 p.m. on May 15.
In the bottom half of the lower bracket, No. 11 Ridgewood (6-13) travels to No. 7 Beverly Fort Frye at 5 p.m. on May 13 for a sectional final berth against either No. 3 Sandy Valley or No. 13 Bellaire. The site is to be determined.
In the upper bracket, No. 14 Coshocton (3-19) visits No. 4 Garaway at 5 p.m. on May 13; the winner plays either No. 5 Martins Ferry or No. 12 Belmont Union Local at 5 p.m. on May 15 in a sectional final at a site to be determined.
The district winner faces the third bracket Southeast District winner in the regional. The district finals are at Paints Stadium.
In Division IV, Rosecrans (14-7) was voted fourth of 17 teams, where one team advances to the regional.
The Bishops, in the lower half of the bracket opposite top seed Berlin Hiland, will host No. 12 Newcomerstown at 5 p.m. on May 13 at Gant Stadium.
The winner gets No. 5 Strasburg or No. 15 Sarahsville Shenandoah for a berth in the district at the highest-seeded team's site.
Above them, No. 3 Caldwell hosts No. 10 Monroe Central and No. 6 Shadyside squabbles with No. 8 Steubenville Catholic Central to decide the other district semifinalist.
Hiland is joined by No. 2 Toronto, No. 7 Hannibal River and No. 9 Bowerston Conotton Valley, among others, in the top bracket.
Southeast District
Two teams advance to the Athens regional in the 20-team bracket in Division II, where the two district winners will square off at OU.
New Lex (18-2), no doubt influenced by its 5-4 win against Sheridan last Wednesday, earned the No. 2 seed behind top-seeded Chillicothe Unioto and is in the bottom half of the bracket with Sheridan (20-3).
That means a potential district final matchup between the longtime Perry County rivals, who entered Sunday with a combined record of 38-5.
New Lex hosts the winner of No. 15 Greenfield McClain and No. 18 Vinton County at 5 p.m. on May 15 in a sectional final, with the winner getting either No. 7 Waverly or No. 10 Gallipolis Gallia Academy at 4 p.m. on May 21 in the district semifinals at OU.
Sheridan, in the bracket beneath New Lex, hosts the winner of No. 14 Circleville Logan Elm and No. 19 Hillsboro at 5 p.m. on May 15 in its sectional final.
That winner gets either No. 6 Washington Court House Miami Trace or No. 11 Circleville for a district bid in the game following the first semifinal on May 21.
In the upper half, Unioto hosts the winner of No. 16 seed Fairfield Union and No. 17 Piketon for a sectional final, with the winner coming back against either No. 8 Vincent Warren or No. 9 Washington Court House at OU.
No. 4 Jackson and No. 5 Athens highlight the bottom half of the upper bracket, which also includes No. 12 Pomeroy Meigs, No. 13 Marietta and No. 20 Bidwell River Valley.
The district finals for all four brackets are set for 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, on May 22.
In Division III, Crooksville (3-15) earned the 25th seed of 25 teams and travels to No. 24 Peebles — a drive of 2 hours, 15 minutes — for a pigtail game at 5 p.m. on May 14.
The winner plays at top-seeded Wheelersburg at 5 p.m. on May 16. No. 12 Wellston and No 13 Portsmouth West play in the other sectional final, with the district semifinals set for 4 p.m. on May 23 at Paints Stadium in Chillicothe.
sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Tri-Valley, New Lex lead the pack in high school baseball draws
