Six of the area’s top softball teams tested their talents against some of Ohio’s top competition last weekend at the Prebis Memorial invitational hosted by LaGrange Keystone High School in northwest Ohio.
Led by Perrysburg, Notre Dame, and Whitmer — who all went 3-0 in the Friday-Saturday event — the northwest Ohio contingent finished a combined 12-6.
A controversial call prevented Anthony Wayne from a chance at joining the 3-0 ranks at the Prebis. Springfield was 1-2 with two one-run losses, and Oak Harbor lost its three games.
Perrysburg (19-2, 8-0 Northern Lakes League), ranked No. 3 in the Division I state coaches poll, got two pitching wins plus a save from senior ace Bri Pratt. The Yellow Jackets blanked Brecksville-Broadview Heights 7-0 on Pratt’s one-hitter, and they mercy-ruled Medina 12-0 on Pratt’s five-inning no-hitter. Perrysburg also outslugged Willoughby South 10-7 with Pratt coming on for the save.
Sixth-ranked Notre Dame (20-1, 9-0 Three Rivers Athletic Conference) blanked Columbus DeSales 3-0 and topped defending state champion Elyria 8-3 and Uniontown Lake 12-3.
Unranked Whitmer (16-3, 10-0 TRAC) beat Cleveland St. Joseph 6-3, Avon 15-4, and Olmsted Falls 13-7.
Tenth-ranked Springfield (14-3, 7-1 NLL) defeated Canton GlenOak 7-6 but lost to Hilliard Bradley 4-3 and North Canton Hoover 8-7 in nine innings.
Unranked Anthony Wayne (13-2, 7-0 NLL) topped Massillon Perry 4-3 and Amherst Steele 9-5 but lost 4-3 to Walsh Jesuit.
In the bottom of the seventh inning of that loss, the Generals’ Sydney Pennell attempted what appeared to be a successful squeeze play with Madison Hines sliding home safely from third while Pennell was tagged out after the bunt.
Someone called out “foul ball” after the play, and as Hines began walking back toward third base, she was tagged by Walsh Jesuit. The umpiring crew called both Generals players out, resulting in a double play, and the run was disallowed. After a dispute, the call stood.
Oak Harbor (18-5, 9-0 Sandusky Bay Conference, Bay Division) is ranked No. 2 in the Division II state poll. The Rockets lost at the Prebis to three top D-I teams — Elyria 5-2, Uniontown Lake 10-0, and Massillon Perry 11-2.
Four of these top area teams will be in action 5 p.m. Wednesday in league showdowns, with Notre Dame playing at Whitmer and Anthony Wayne hosting Perrysburg.
TRACK AND FIELD: With its girls team successfully defending its title at home at the 42nd annual Nancy Erme Relays on Friday, the Whitmer boys traveled to St. Francis de Sales to defend their title at the 20th annual Knight Relays.
The Panthers won eight events in posting a first-place total of 135 points. The host Knights were second at 89, and Bedford was third at 71.
Keying Whitmer’s win was junior hurdles standout Jacob Gladieux, who took the 110-meter high hurdles title in 14.57 seconds, the 300 lows in 39.57, and anchored the Panthers’ win in the 440 shuttle hurdles relay (1:02.67).
Gladieux also ran a leg on Whitmer’s narrow runner-up finish in the 1600 relay (3 minutes, 29.85 seconds), just 0.09 seconds behind first-place Central Catholic in that race.
The Panthers’ other event victories came in the 800 (Nathan Cousino, 1:53.72), the 3200 (Jacob Harris, 9:36.47), the 6400 relay (18:39.33), the pole vault relay (Tre Young 14 feet, and Ben Scharf 13-0), and the discus relay (Riley Keller 159-2 and Joseph Delvaux 131-4).
Gladieux was named the meet’s track MVP, and the field events MVP was senior Jefferson Edwards of St. Francis, whose 48-8 was the best shot put effort and whose 140-0 was second among the discus throws individually.
TENNIS: The championship finals in the Northern Lakes League boys tennis tournament are scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Keefe Courts at Bowling Green State University. The finals follow the consolation finals.
The Three Rivers Athletic Conference boys tourney at Shadow Valley begins Friday at 10 a.m. with first-round singles and doubles matches. The event resumes with consolation finals at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and concludes with championship finals at noon.
Contact Steve Junga at sjunga@theblade.com, 419-724-6461, or on Twitter @JungaBlade.
First Published May 1, 2018, 8:31 p.m.
