Watkins Memorial, Granville earn top seeds in Central District softball

COLUMBUS — The Watkins Memorial softball team is the top-ranked team in Ohio, and the Warriors again are a favorite to extend their streak of Division I district championships to four.

Watkins received the top seed in Sunday’s Central District draw. Granville is the top seed in Division II.

Watkins (20-0), which also is pursuing its fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament, opens the postseason at home May 9 against either No. 30 Canal Winchester or No. 37 Thomas Worthington. The Warriors could host No. 19 Dublin Coffman in a district semifinal, and a potential opponent in a final is No. 12 Pickerington North.

No. 26 Newark (8-11) visits No. 21 Big Walnut on May 7. The winner plays No. 24 Licking Heights (12-10) in the second round with that winner likely visiting No. 3 Hilliard Bradley in district semifinal.

Granville (20-2), which hosts Watkins in a Licking County League-Buckeye Division rematch on Monday, hosts No. 21 Linden-McKinley on May 6 and would host No. 20 Beechcroft two days later in a bracket which feeds into the regional at Wright State. A potential district semifinal opponent is No. 8 Buckeye Valley, and a potential final opponent is No. 4 Licking Valley (12-7).

Valley hosts either No. 11 Highland or No. 13 Whitehall on May 8. The winner advances to play either No. 14 Centennial or No. 15 Hamilton Township in a district semifinal.

No. 7 Lakewood (10-6) hosts No. 16 Bexley on May 6. A victory would send the Lancers to No. 3 River Valley two days later.

No. 12 Heath (11-9) visits No. 6 London on May 8. That winner advances directly into a district semifinal likely at No. 2 Jonathan Alder in a bracket which feeds into the regional at Pickerington Central.

Newark Catholic (13-7) earned the No. 2 seed in Division IV as it pursues a second consecutive district championship, and the Green Wave host No. 12 Shekinah Christian on May 7 with the winner advancing to play No. 1 Danville for an early showdown in a second-round battle. NC could meet No. 3 Mechanicsburg in a district final should both teams make their way through the bracket.

No. 13 Liberty Christian (0-7) likely will visit No. 3 Mechanicsburg on May 9.

Utica (8-8) earned the No. 11 seed in Division III and hosts No. 13 Centerburg on May 6 with the winner visiting No. 9 Grandview Heights two days later. That winner likely visits No. 2 Cardington for a district semifinal.

Defending champion Johnstown (5-16) is the No. 14 seed and hosts No. 19 Worthington Christian on May 6. The winner visits No. 4 Fredericktown on May 8, and a trip to No. 3 Liberty Union could await in the district semifinal.

No. 18 Northridge (4-15) visits No. 8 Northmor on May 6, and the winner visits No. 6 Grove City Christian two days later.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Watkins Memorial, Granville seeded No. 1 in Central District softball