The Chagrin Valley Conference is guaranteed a district baseball champion after Chagrin Falls and Berkshire both advanced Wednesday to set up a winner-take-all postseason showdown Friday at Mentor High School.
Behind dominant complete-game performances from Jack Watson and Sam Barcikoski, the Tigers and Badgers punched their tickets to the Division V district championship game, ensuring the CVC will send a team into the regional round.
Kirtland also continued its postseason baseball run behind another dominant outing from Sebastian Becker, while West Geauga softball moved within one win of a state semifinal appearance. Perry softball saw its season end in a tightly contested regional semifinal loss, and Independence baseball dropped a one-run district battle against Springfield.
Across baseball and softball, CVC teams leaned on elite pitching, timely hitting, and postseason poise as championship weekend approaches.
Kirtland 2, Jackson-Milton 0
Kirtland baseball continued its postseason surge behind a dominant outing from Sebastian Becker, who fired a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts as the Hornets advanced to a Division VI regional championship game against Hillsdale on Friday at Twinsburg High School.
Becker also ignited the offense, doubling to open the first inning before scoring on an RBI single from Lucci Cantini. Kirtland added another run in the third after Becker was hit by a pitch, stole second, and later scored on an RBI single by Chace Gron.
Cantini finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Becker scored both Kirtland runs.
Linescore
JM — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0R, 2H, 2E
KIR — 1 0 1 0 0 0 x — 2R, 5H, 2E
Springfield 2, Independence 1
Springfield capitalized on early Independence baseball miscues and made the runs stand in a narrow district semifinal victory.
The Tigers scored in the second after a leadoff error and added another run in the third on consecutive two-out hits. Independence threatened late, finally breaking through in the sixth when Josh Peters singled and later scored on an infield bunt by Kaden Schuette.
The Blue Devils put the tying run aboard again in the seventh after a two-out double by Anderson Jolliffe and an intentional walk to Owen Jenks, but Springfield escaped with the win.
Jolliffe struck out six over six innings, while Schuette reached base three times and drove in Independence’s lone run.
Linescore
SPR — 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 — 2R, 5H, 1E
IND — 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1R, 7H, 3E
Chagrin Falls 4, Tuslaw 1
Jack Watson delivered one of the area’s top pitching performances of the night, striking out 10 without issuing a walk as Chagrin Falls baseball advanced to the Division V district championship game.
The Tigers broke through in the fourth when Henry Cimperman singled and later scored during a two-run inning highlighted by a clutch hit from Joey Tenebria. Chagrin Falls steadily added to the lead behind timely hitting from Tenebria and Cimperman.
Cimperman finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Tenebria collected two hits, two RBI, and a double.
Friday’s district championship matchup against Berkshire guarantees a CVC team will advance to the regional round.
Linescore
CF — 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 — 4R, 8H, 0E
TUS — 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1R, 6H, 1E
Berkshire 6, Norwayne 3
Berkshire baseball earned its spot in Friday’s all-CVC district championship game behind a complete-game effort from Sam Barcikoski and an offense that produced runs early.
The Badgers jumped ahead in the first when Bear Masink delivered an RBI single before Patrick Brancel stole home. Berkshire added three more runs in the third inning, highlighted by RBI hits from Masink and Christopher Brancel.
Barcikoski helped himself throughout the night, finishing 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a double while also striking out six over seven innings.
Masink added two RBI in the victory as Berkshire advanced to face Chagrin Falls with a regional berth on the line.
Linescore
BER — 2 0 3 0 0 1 0 — 6R, 7H, 2E
NOR — 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 — 3R, 9H, 0E
Millbury Lake 2, Perry 0
Perry softball saw its postseason run end in a 2-0 regional semifinal loss to Millbury Lake.
Despite the loss, the Pirates received another strong outing from Sophie Sivon, who went the distance and allowed just one earned run while striking out five.
Lake threatened in the second inning with runners at first and third and no outs, but Perry escaped the jam behind a fielder’s choice and consecutive strikeouts.
The Pirates nearly answered in the bottom half of the inning when Ella Bayless-Fahey and Mercedes Snell opened with back-to-back singles, but Lake escaped without allowing a run.
Lake finally broke through in the third on a solo home run to left field and added an insurance run in the fifth after consecutive two-out singles and an error.
Perry continued to generate opportunities late. Haylee Reed and Arianna Rogers singled in the fifth, and Sivon led off the sixth with another hit, but the Pirates were unable to deliver the tying run.
Linescore
ML — 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 — 2R, 8H, 1E
PER — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0R, 5H, 1E
West Geauga 8, Elyria Catholic 6
West Geauga softball is one win away from a state semifinal berth after holding off Elyria Catholic for an 8-6 regional semifinal victory.
The Wolverines improved to 22-5 and advanced to Friday’s regional championship game against Mogadore Field at Kent State University.
Elyria Catholic jumped in front with two runs in the first inning, but West Geauga answered in the third behind a string of clutch extra-base hits.
Gabby Donofrio walked to lead off the inning and scored on Danica Talcott‘s RBI double. After Malory Lear singled, Dayana Malone ripped a two-run single to give West Geauga a 3-2 lead.
The Wolverines added another run in the fourth when Donofrio doubled and later scored on Talcott’s RBI single.
West Geauga created separation with a four-run sixth inning. Lely Percassi reached on an error before Donofrio hammered an RBI triple. Talcott followed with an RBI single, another run scored on an error, and Malone capped the inning with an RBI double.
Talcott finished a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Donofrio scored three times and added a double, triple, RBI, and walk. Malone drove in three runs.
Elyria Catholic rallied for four runs in the seventh inning with the help of two West Geauga errors, but Percassi worked out of the jam to secure the complete-game victory. She struck out seven.
Linescore
WG — 0 0 3 1 0 4 0 — 8R, 9H, 3E
EC — 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 — 6R, 7H, 3E
Other CVC Scores
Baseball
- Hillsdale 7, Rootstown 0
Top 10 Performers
- Sebastian Becker, Kirtland — 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 9 K; 1-for-2, 2 R, 2B
- Jack Watson, Chagrin Falls — 7 IP, 1 ER, 10 K, 0 BB; 1-for-3, 1 R
- Sam Barcikoski, Berkshire — 7 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 6 K; 3-for-4, 3 R, 2B
- Danica Talcott, West Geauga — 3-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B
- Gabby Donofrio, West Geauga — 2-for-3, 3 R, RBI, BB, 2B, 3B
- Sophie Sivon, Perry — 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 K; 1-for-3
- Dayana Malone, West Geauga — 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2B
- Joey Tenebria, Chagrin Falls — 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2B, R
- Bear Masink, Berkshire — 2-for-4, 2 RBI
- Anderson Jolliffe, Independence — 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 K; 2-for-4, 2B
Twitter Summary
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