“With all the great teams in that room, that’s kind of awesome for our program,” Monroe coach Bob Hunt said. “If nothing else, at least we’ve gained everybody’s respect. We’ve got a lot of guys back this year, but we’ve also had some kids step up and answer the call.”
The Hornets took a 14-3 record to the draw, having started the season with a 2-3 mark. They dropped to 14-4 with a 2-1 loss to Dayton Christian while the draw was going on.
Monroe will open at home May 14 against either No. 10 Valley View (0-15) or No. 9 Belmont (4-8).
Bellbrook (13-6) is seeded second, Franklin (14-7) third, Carlisle (13-8) fourth and Fenwick (9-12) fifth. If the seeds hold, the Falcons and Hornets will meet for a sectional crown. They’re scheduled for a regular-season game Tuesday in Middletown.
“At this point in the season, if I’ve done my job as a coach, our kids will be ready to go,” Hunt said. “Mentally, I think our kids are prepared. Physically, to be successful, you’ve got to have some luck. Baseball is so weird. One off day and you’re home.
“Here’s the thing that’s a plus for me: Every kid who’s on our roster right now has been to a league final, a sectional final, a district final and a regional final. So nothing we see should surprise us. I think that has to be an advantage.”
Hunt feels he’s got the pitching to make another postseason run. The quartet of Troy Beck, Zack York, Logan Becraft and Devin Hyden has excelled.
“We can go with any of those four and give ourselves a chance to be successful,” Hunt said.
Monroe leads the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division with a 9-1 record and will travel to 8-2 Bellbrook on Wednesday.
Fenwick is set begin tournament play at home May 12 against 13th-seeded Dunbar. The Wolverines’ record is a mystery — they didn’t send a coach to the draw.
The Fenwick-Dunbar winner will meet the victor between No. 6 Alter (8-10) and No. 11 Ponitz (4-6).
“I think that’s an indication of our schedule, and the games that we’ve played have been pretty tight outside of the La Salle game,” Falcons coach Pete Maus said of being seeded in the Top 5 with a losing record. “I feel pretty good about the draw at this point.”
Fenwick won a vote-off with Alter for the fifth seed. The Falcons beat the Knights 7-2 in their first meeting, and they’ll play again Monday.
“We’ve played OK at times. It’s putting it all together for seven innings and having offense and defense together at the same time,” Maus said. “We played pretty well against CJ (last Friday) and showed a glimmer of what we can do, so hopefully we’re starting to put the pieces together. A lot of hope, but a lot of uncertainty too.”
Franklin coach Matt Current was excited about his team’s seeding. The Wildcats will finish third in the SWBL Southwestern Division, but they’ve won nine of their last 10 games.
“It’s really been a neat turnaround for this group,” Current said. “It was a real honor to see that No. 3 seed come in. Hopefully we’ll show up and be able to live up to that billing.”
Franklin took a bye and will play at home May 14. The Wildcats will await the winner between Carlisle and No. 8 Eaton (5-16), who will play at CHS on May 12.
Bellbrook figures to be a sectional finalist in that bracket. No. 7 Oakwood (7-9) and No. 12 Thurgood Marshall (4-6) will play for the right to meet the Golden Eagles.
“That’s going to be a bloody bracket because there’s a lot of talented teams,” Current said. “You kind of had to pick your poison. We’re just going to have to buckle down and see what happens.”
Carlisle coach Chris Hawkins said going where he did was not a sign of disrespect toward Franklin. He was looking at possibilities beyond the sectional and felt the upper bracket was a better route because it leads to a Cincinnati team as opposed to somebody from the Kenton Ridge sectional.
“I thought it was kind of a no-brainer, to be honest,” Hawkins said. “If you’re giving your kids a chance to put some depth in your tournament, those are the kind of things you look at. I just felt Cincinnati was a weaker region. And we’ve lost three sectional championships in the last six years at Miamisburg (the sectional final site in the lower bracket). I told my kids that we are not going to Miamisburg.”
The Indians have yet to play anybody in the upper bracket this season.
Five other area baseball and softball teams earned No. 1 seeds Sunday. They were:
• Badin baseball: The Rams (15-5) will be at home against either No. 8 Twin Valley South (9-5) or No. 9 Preble Shawnee (4-12) on May 13 in the Division III Dayton sectional.
The other sectional semifinal is No. 5 Dayton Christian (17-5) vs. No. 6 Dixie (9-12).
“It’s not about where you start. It’s about getting to Columbus and taking care of business,” Rams coach Brion Treadway said. “This time of year makes Badin baseball exciting, and we’re ready to embrace this year’s challenge. We don’t take any game lightly. I’ve had it all happen in my short time as a head coach.”
Badin has not lost a sectional game since 1998. It’s been a regional qualifier six times in the last seven years.
The Rams have already clinched the Greater Catholic League Coed Central Division championship, their 24th consecutive GCL title. They got pounded 9-1 by Fairfield on Saturday night, but have still won 13 of their last 15 contests.
“Losing to Fairfield was no fun. We’ve got to do a better job of facing high-quality pitchers like that,” Treadway said. “But we’re moving forward. I’ll put our schedule up against any Division III team in the state. I feel like we’ve seen it all. We’ve just got to take care of business.”
• Franklin softball: The Wildcats (11-7-1) are in the Division II Dayton sectional.
If the seeds are true, Franklin will meet SWBL Southwestern rival Monroe (No. 3 seed, 13-4) for a sectional title. The Wildcats won their first meeting 3-0, and the Southwestern crown will be on the line when they play again Tuesday at Franklin Community Park.
“Hopefully that kind of gets our girls a little fired up that they’re in our bracket. That means they’re not afraid to come up and play us,” Franklin coach Jim Miller said. “I’m happy with the draw. I like our chances.”
The Wildcats will host either No. 10 Chaminade Julienne (4-11) or No. 11 Alter (7-5) on May 14. Franklin has stumbled a bit of late, losing three of its last four games.
Springfield Shawnee ousted the Wildcats in the regional semifinals last year.
• Ross softball: The Rams are 15-5 and heavily favored in the Division II Cincinnati sectional. The next-highest seed in their bracket is No. 6 New Richmond (12-12).
Ross will be at home May 12 to face No. 11 Norwood (1-15).
“It’s always nice to be respected by your peers,” Rams coach Paul Fernandez said. “I think we have the nucleus to make a deep run, but it’s all about consistency.”
It hasn’t been a great season for Ross to this point. The Rams are just 5-5 in the Southwest Ohio Conference.
“We’ve started to talk about getting things more focused,” Fernandez said. “We’re building towards Goal 2, which is to make that tournament run. We need to get on a roll.”
• Badin softball: The Rams (18-3) have won 11 of their last 12 games and will be wearing the bull's-eye in the Division III Dayton sectional.
Badin will host either No. 9 Preble Shawnee (7-11) or No. 11 Cincinnati Christian (7-7) on May 13. No. 3 Deer Park (15-2) and No. 5 Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (14-3) are also in the Rams’ bracket.
Badin coach Greg Stitzel, admitting he was a little surprised to be voted No. 1, said ace pitcher Danielle Ray (back injury) is ready to start throwing again, but he doesn’t know when she’ll pitch in a game.
“I still have a lot of confidence in Nicole,” Stitzel said of freshman Nicole Rawlings, who’s been strong during Ray’s absence in the circle. “She’s already proven that she can withstand the pressure.”
The Rams play Monday through Saturday this week. They’re still trying to wrap up the GCLC Central championship.
“I really didn’t want to practice on Mother’s Day and then have to play a tournament game Monday,” Stitzel said. “Taking a bye gives us a day off and then two days of practice to prepare for Cincinnati Christian or Preble Shawnee. Playing the sectional final at Monroe was a huge deal too.
“I feel pretty good about this team. They’re a close-knit group that plays really well together.”
• Lebanon softball: The Warriors (21-0) are ranked second in the latest Division I state poll and will host No. 23 Xenia (3-17) in a first-round Dayton sectional contest May 11.
Lebanon coach Brian Kindell hasn’t had to overuse ace pitcher Tara Trainer during the regular season (Kim Frank has been very good as well), giving the Warriors even more fuel in their quest to return to the state tournament.
“We expected to be the No. 1 seed based on record, in addition to quality of schedule,” Kindell said. “It’s a nice honor, but we really don’t care about rankings. Our goal is to win the last game of the season.”
Lebanon lost to North Canton Hoover in the 2014 state semifinals.
The Warriors are gunning for their fourth straight Greater Western Ohio Conference South Division title. Lebanon is 6-0 in the GWOC and plays 7-1 Springboro on Monday (at home) and Tuesday.
“One of the main goals at Lebanon is to win a league championship every year,” Kindell said. “(Monday) is a unique opportunity to play a game and put the bull’s-eye on someone else’s back.”
Monday will be Senior Day and Youth Day at the Lebanon Junior High School diamond.
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