The Cox First Media coverage area will be represented by Coldwater, Graham, Minster, Russia, Springboro, Badin and Lakota West this week.
Here is what you need to know:
1. Two local teams are still alive in Division I.
GWOC champion Springboro is in the final four of just the second time (2019) while Lakota West is making its fourth trip (2007, ’08, ’17).
The Firebirds, who won it all in ’07, finished 13th in the OHSBCA coaches poll and face No. 11 Lewis Center Olentangy in the first DI semifinal Saturday at 4 p.m. at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton.
The Panthers, who tied LWHS for 13th in the poll, face No. 18 Perrysburg in the next game, which is scheduled to start at 7.
If Springboro and Lakota West face off in the Division I state championship game at 4 p.m. Sunday at Canal Park in Akron, it will be a rematch of a regular season game the Firebirds won 7-2 on May 21.
2. Badin has unfinished business.
The Rams qualified for the state tournament for the 16th time, but the most recent of their two state championships was in 1996.
They’ve been back 10 times since then but tasted defeat each time.
Last year was particularly painful as Badin was three outs from a title against Beloit West Branch in the Division II title game before allowing three runs in the bottom of the seventh to lose 3-2.
This year, they are the top-ranked team remaining in Division III and set to face Newark Licking Valley in the first DIII semifinal Friday at 10 a.m. at Canal Park.
If the third-ranked Rams win that one, they will face No. 9 Hunting Valley University School or No. 7 Wapakoneta at 1 p.m. Saturday at Canal Park.
Badin also won it all in 1991.
3. One Division VII semifinal is a regular season rematch.
Russia takes on Minster at 4 p.m. Thursday in the second Division VII semifinal at Canal Park.
The second-ranked Wildcats beat the Raiders 6-3 in Russia on April 11 and enter the state tournament at 24-6. They were ranked No. 2 in the final coaches poll and are aiming to add a fourth state title to ones they won in 2011, ’12 and ’17.
Standing in their way is a Russia squad that like Badin wants to put recent disappointments behind it.
The Raiders’ title drought only covers the past two seasons, but they lost in the semifinals last year and dropped the state championship game in 2023.
After winning the Division VII basketball state championship, eighth-ranked Russia scuffled through much of the regular season but appears to have found itself at the right time, and the seniors are looking for bookend titles for their careers, having beaten Van Wert Lincolnview in ‘22.
Credit: Marcus Hartman
Credit: Marcus Hartman
The other DVII semifinal will pit No. 6 Newark Catholic against No. 1 Tiffin Calvert, and the championship game is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Canal Park.
4. Coldwater has been there even more than Badin.
The second-ranked Cavaliers have made 21 appearances in the state tournament, a history that goes back to 1938. They won it all the last time they made it this far — in 2019 — and are scheduled to take on No. 1-ranked Apple Creek Waynedale at 4 p.m. Friday in the first Division V semifinal at Canal Park.
Coldwater won the MAC this season and is looking for its eighth state championship in baseball (1983, ’84, ’87, ’90, ’92, 2014, ’19).
5. Graham faces No. 7 Lynchburg-Clay in the second DV semifinal Friday.
The Falcons won it all in 1930 and ’73, but their only other final four appearance since then came when they were state runner-up in 1995.
This season, Graham won the CBC Mad River division but entered the postseason just 13-10 after a regular-season-ending loss to Coldwater. The Falcons have won six in a row since and are one win away from their fourth championship game appearance. They are 3-0 in the semifinals, also winning their penultimate game in 1995.
The Division V state championship game is set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Canal Park.
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