Several area teams entrenched in league races

Though inevitable as it seems, a rainy week of spring weather has set up for a busy final month of the season for area baseball and softball teams. Things don't look much better this coming week, with heavy rains expected again on Tuesday and potentially Thursday. Below is a look at where league races stand as the first full week of May approaches: In the Firelands Conference, the top two teams in the standings are scheduled to meet on Monday and Tuesday. Division VII No. 7-ranked St. Paul (13-2, 8-1) is slated to visit Crestview (8-4, 6-2) on Monday and host the Cougars on Tuesday. The Flyers still have a pair of games against New London (6-9, 2-7) on May 11-12, as well as a rescheduled game vs. Monroeville (9-6, 4-5) on May 14. South Central (6-7, 6-3) is two games off the pace with five FC games remaining and handed St. Paul its lone league loss to date. The Trojans have a pair of games with winless Mapleton on Monday and Tuesday and still face Plymouth (8-8, 5-4) on May 12-13, along with a rescheduled game against New London. In the SBC Lake Division, Norwalk (11-5, 5-1) faces a huge week if the weather does cooperate. The Truckers are one game behind Perkins (9-3, 6-0) in the league race after the Pirates scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to beat Norwalk, 3-1, on April 17. On Monday, Norwalk hosts Tiffin Columbian (3-10, 1-4) in a rescheduled game from April 15. They host the Pirates on Wednesday and visit Bellevue (9-5, 4-2) on Friday. In the SBC Bay Division, No. 15-ranked Div. V Edison (11-3, 7-1) remains in a first-place tie with Margaretta (13-4, 7-1) with two games left. The Chargers host Willard (2-13, 2-6) on Monday and visit Port Clinton (4-12, 0-8) on Friday. BASEBALL STANDINGSFIRELANDS CONFERENCETeam FC AllSt. Paul 8-1 13-2Crestview 6-2 8-4S. Central 6-3 6-7Plymouth 5-4 8-8Monroeville 4-5 9-6W. Reserve 4-5 6-7N. London 2-7 6-9Mapleton 0-8 0-14 SBC LAKE DIVISIONTeam Lake AllPerkins 6-0 9-3Norwalk 5-1 11-5Bellevue 4-2 9-5Clyde 1-4 4-8Columbian 1-4 3-10Sandusky 0-6 4-9 SBC BAY DIVISIONTeam Bay AllEdison 7-1 11-3Margaretta 7-1 13-4Huron 5-3 10-7Vermilion 3-5 4-8Willard 2-6 2-13P. Clinton 0-8 4-12 SOFTBALL Three in contention In the SBC Lake softball race, a recent hot streak has put Norwalk (9-9, 5-2) back in contention. The Truckers are one game off the pace of Clyde (8-8, 4-1) after beating the Fliers last week. However, Norwalk will need the Fliers to slip up in one of their final five games against other Lake opponents. As for Norwalk, it needs to rally against Bellevue (8-9, 4-3) on Monday. The Truckers trail 3-2 with two outs and a runner on third base for Bellevue in the top of the fifth inning of a suspended game from April 22. The Truckers then visit Tiffin Columbian (1-12, 0-6) on Tuesday and host Perkins (7-10, 3-4) on Wednesday if weather cooperates. Perkins won the first meeting, 5-4, on April 17, while the Truckers held off a late Columbian rally for a 7-6 win on April 28. Like the SBC Bay Division baseball standings, Edison (12-4, 6-1) finds itself tied with Margaretta (13-4, 6-1) at the top after the home team won each meeting. The Chargers visit Port Clinton (11-9, 4-5) on Monday and are slated to host Willard (8-8, 2-4) on Wednesday this week. Edison's final SBC Bay game is at Huron (7-6, 3-3) in a rescheduled game on May 18. The Polar Bears still visit Vermilion (3-14, 0-7) and Huron and host Willard to finish their league schedule. In the FC, Div. VI No. 6 Mapleton (16-2, 8-0) remains atop the standings. The Mounties remain one game ahead of Crestview (8-5, 7-1) and two games in front of Monroeville (11-5, 6-2). Mapleton edged Crestview, 5-3, on April 17. The rescheduled meeting is set for Wednesday in Olivesburg. Meanwhile, the Eagles still have the two games with Mapleton on May 11-12. Before that, Monroeville is scheduled to play the first of six FC games in eight days with a pair of games against New London (8-10, 4-5) on Monday and Tuesday. Monroeville still visits St. Paul (11-7, 6-3) in another rescheduled game, followed by a makeup at home against the Cougars at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Eagles likely need to win all six games to assure themselves a shot at the conference title. SOFTBALL STANDINGSSBC LAKE DIVISIONTeam Lake AllClyde 4-1 8-8Norwalk 5-2 9-9Bellevue 4-3 8-9Sandusky 3-3 7-6Perkins 3-4 7-10Columbian 0-6 1-12 SBC BAY DIVISIONTeam Bay AllMargaretta 6-1 13-4Edison 6-1 12-4Huron 3-3 7-6P. Clinton 4-5 11-9Willard 2-4 8-8Vermilion 0-7 3-14 FIRELANDS CONFERENCETeam FC AllMapleton 8-0 16-2Crestview 7-1 8-5Monroeville 6-2 11-5St. Paul 6-3 11-7N. London 4-5 8-10S. Central 2-7 5-11W. Reserve 2-7 3-10Plymouth 0-10 2-16