Four area teams earn top three seeds

The path to Firestone Stadium in Akron was set in place on Sunday. The statewide softball tournament draw was held, with area teams slotting into eight different district sites. In Division III, Norwalk (9-9) is a No. 5 seed in the Oregon Clay district. The Truckers entered Monday on a five-game win streak and will visit No. 3 Lexington (10-9) in a sectional title game at 5 p.m. on May 14. Ironically, the Truckers are slated to visit Lexington in the regular season finale just three days earlier on May 11. The winner of that game will advance to a district semifinal at 6 p.m. on May 21 against either No. 6 Sandusky (7-6) or No. 2 Ontario (17-5). The Truckers beat Sandusky twice and lost to Ontario by a 10-3 score on April 11. The potential district title game will be at 12 p.m. on May 23 at Oregon Clay High School. The other half of the bracket includes No. 2 Toledo Notre Dame against No. 3 Maumee and No. 7 Toledo Waite against No. 5 Bowling Green. The winners from those two games meet in a district semifinal at 3 p.m. on May 21 at Clay. In Div. V, SBC Bay co-leader Edison earned a No. 1 seed in the Clyde district. The Chargers (12-4) will host No. 6 Port Clinton in a third meeting on May 13 in a 5 p.m. sectional title game. The Chargers held off the Redskins, 5-4, on April 20, and the return trip to Port Clinton was set for Monday. The winner of that game takes on the No. 8 Fostoria (0-12)-No. 3 Eastwood (15-4) winner at 4 p.m. in a district semifinal on May 19 at Clyde. In the bottom half of the bracket, No. 5 Delta visits No. 3 Paulding, and No. 7 Bluffton heads to No. 2 Swanton. Those two winners meet at 4:30 p.m. on May 19 in a district semifinal in Napoleon. The district title game is at 5 p.m. on May 22 back at Clyde. In the Napoleon district, Willard (8-8) is the No. 7 seed and visits No. 2 Elmwood (15-4) in a sectional title game at 5 p.m. on May 13. The winner takes on either No. 5 Crestview (8-5) or No. 4 Huron (7-6) at 6 p.m. in a district semifinal on May 19 in Clyde. The other half of the bracket features No. 6 Delphos Jefferson at No. 4 Evergreen and No. 1 Archbold. The district title game is at 5 p.m. on May 22 at Napoleon. In Div. VI, both New London (8-10) and South Central (5-11) will host sectional title games. New London is a No. 4 seed in Northwest District 5 and hosts No. 6 Mansfield Christian (9-5) at 5 p.m. on May 12. That winner advances to take on No. 1 Colonel Crawford (16-7) in a 3:30 p.m. district semifinal on May 19 at Shelby High School. The other half of the bracket has No. 8 Lima Perry visiting No. 1 Ada, and No. 7 Lima Central Catholic taking on No. 2 Carey. Those two winners match up in a district semifinal at 5 p.m. on May 19 at Lima Bath. The district title game is at a site to be determined at 5 p.m. on May 21. The Trojans are a No. 3 seed in the Clyde district and will host Bucyrus (5-9) at 5 p.m. on May 12. That winner takes on the victor between No. 7 Buckeye Central (2-14) and No. 2 Bucyrus Wynford (5-9) in a district semifinal at 5:30 p.m. on May 19 at Shelby. The other half of the bracket includes No. 7 Ottawa Hills and No. 1 Margaretta along with No. 2 Lakota. The district title game is set for May 21 at Clyde at a time to be later determined. In the Archbold district, Western Reserve (3-10) is the No. 5 seed and travels to No. 4 Toledo Christian for a sectional title game on May 12. The winner advances to face either No. 3 Woodmore or No. 6 Northwood in a district semifinal at a time to be determined on May 19 at Clyde. A third meeting between Firelands Conference foes Monroeville and St. Paul in the district tournament could again be in play later this month. St. Paul (11-7) is the No. 2 seed in the Oak Harbor district and will host No. 4 Seneca East (5-8) in a sectional title game on May 15. At the same date and time, No. 3 Monroeville (11-5) hosts No. 7 Crestline (3-10). The two winners will then meet in a district semifinal at 6 p.m. at Buckeye Central on May 20. Last season, the Eagles defeated the Flyers in a district title game at BC en route to a second straight trip to the state championship game. The two teams met on April 28 in Monroeville, with the Eagles claiming the 12-2 win. The second meeting is slated for this Thursday in Norwalk. The fifth seed, Fremont St. Joseph CC (3-12), travels to No. 4 St. Mary Central Catholic (5-7) in a sectional title game on the other half of the bracket. That winner draws No. 2 Gibsonburg (10-2) — ranked No. 8 in the state — in a district semifinal at Oak Harbor at 4 p.m. on May 20. The two district winners then head to Oak Harbor for the championship game at 5 p.m. on May 22. In the Buckeye Central district, Plymouth (2-16) is a No. 6 seed and and visits No. 5 Lucas (5-8) in a sectional title game on May 15. The two teams were slated to play on April 16, but the game was rained out. The winner draws No. 1 Mohawk (14-3) in a.4 p.m. district semifinal on May 20 at Buckeye Central. ------------------------- District tournament glanceDIVISION IIIOregon Clay districtMay 14Sectional championships (all games at 5 p.m.)No. 3 Maumee at No. 2 Toledo Notre DameNo. 7 Toledo Waite at No. 5 Bowling GreenNo. 6 Sandusky at No. 2 OntarioNo. 5 Norwalk at No. 3 LexingtonMay 21District semifinal at ClayMaumee-Notre Dam winner vs. BG-Waite winner, 3 p.m.District semifinal at WillardSandusky-Ontario winner vs. Norwalk-Lexington winner, 6 p.m. May 23District championship game at ClayTeams TBD, 12 p.m. DIVISION VNapoleon districtMay 13Sectional championships (all games at 5 p.m.)No. 6 Delphos Jefferson at No. 4 EvergreenNo. 7 Willard at No. 2 ElmwoodNo. 5 Crestview at No. 4 HuronMay 19District semifinal at NapoleonEvergreen-Jefferson winer vs. No. 1 Archbold, 2 p.m.District semifinal at ClydeElmwood-Willard winner vs. Crestview-Huron winner, 6 p.m.May 22District championship game at NapoleonTeams TBD, 5 p.m. Clyde districtMay 13Sectional championships (all games at 5 p.m.)No. 6 Port Clinton at No. 1 EdsonNo. 8 Fostoria at No. 3 EastwoodNo. 5 Delta at No. 3 PauldingNo. 7 Bluffton at No. 2 SwantonMay 19District semifinal at ClydeP. Clinton-Edison winner vs. Fostoria-Eastwood winner, 4 p.m.District semifinal at NapoleonDelta-Paulding winner vs. Bluffton-Swanton winner, 4:30 p.m.May 22District championship game at ClydeTeams TBD, 5 p.m. DIVISION VINorthwest District 5May 12Sectional championships (all games at 5 p.m.)No. 6 Mansfield Christian at No. 4 New LondonNo. 8 Lima Perry at No. 1 AdaNo. 7 Lima Central Catholic at No. 2 CareyMay 19District semifinal at ShelbyMansfield Christian-New London winner vs. No. 1 Colonel Crawford, 3:30 p.m.District semifinal at Lima BathAda-Lima Perry winner vs.Carey-Lima CC winner, 5 p.m.May 21District championship at TBATeams TBD, 5 p.m. Clyde districtMay 12Sectional championships (all games at 5 p.m.)No. 7 Toledo Ottawa Hills at No. 1 MargarettaNo. 7 Buckeye Central at No. 2 Bucyrus WynfordNo. 5 Bucyrus at No. 3 South CentralMay 19District semifinal at ClydeMargaretta-Ottawa Hills winner vs. No. 2 Lakota, TBADistrict semifinal at ShelbyWynford-Buckeye winner vs. Bucyrus-South Central winner, 5:30 p.m.May 21District championship game at ClydeTeams TBD, TBA Archbold districtMay 12Sectional championships (all games at 5 p.m.)No. 4 Wayne Trace at No. 1 HicksvilleNo. 5 Defiance Tinora at No. 2 Patrick HenryNo. 5 Western Reserve at No. 4 Toledo ChristianNo. 6 Northwood at No. 3 WoodmoreMay 19District semifinal at ArchboldHicksville-Wayne Trace winner vs. Patrick Henry-Tinora winner, 4 p.m.District semifinal at ClydeWestern-Toledo CC winner vs.Woodmore-Northwood winner, TBAMay 21District championship at ArchboldTeams TBD, 5 p.m. DIVISION VIIOak Harbor districtMay 15Sectional championships (all games at 5 p.m.)No. 5 Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic at No. 4 St. Mary Central CatholicNo. 4 Seneca East at No. 2 St. PaulNo. 7 Crestline at No. 3 MonroevilleMay 20District semifinal at Oak HarborSJCC-SMCC winner vs. No. 2 Gibsonburg, 4 p.m.District semifinal at Buckeye CentralSeneca East-St. Paul winner vs. Crestline-Monroeville winner, 6 p.m.May 22District championship at Oak HarborTeams TBD, 5 p.m.