DIVISION I

WHO: No. 1 Elyria Pioneers (25-1) vs. Holland Springfield Blue Devils (21-6)
WHEN: Today, noon
WHERE: Clyde High School, 1015 Race St., Clyde
AT STAKE: The winner will be the home team in a state semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Firestone Stadium in Akron. The opponent will be either Mason (23-8) or Liberty Township Lakota East (22-6). They are playing for the Dayton regional title today.
TICKETS: $6
INFORMATION: Call tournament manager Bob Bishop at (419) 457-9511.
DIRECTIONS: Get to state Routes 113-20 at Bellevue, either by Ohio Turnpike to the Ohio Route 4 exit near Bellevue or by Route 113 from Elyria. Take 113-20 into Clyde. Turn left at the light on E. Maple Street near McPherson Cemetery. Take E. Maple about .8 of a mile to Race Street. Turn left on Race Street to the school.
RADIO: WEOL, 930-AM.

Probable starting lineups

ELYRIA

Cynthia Woodard, cf
Jen Bower, c
Tess Sito, p
Megan Bashak, lf
Sarah Bracey, rf
Brianna Wade, 1b
Ashlee Stolarski, 3b
Jessica Bellottie, DP
Kristen Boros, ss
Jessica Mandula, 2b

HOLLAND SPRINGFIELD

Brittany Richberg, ss
Christine Zappone, 2b
Lindsey Bandeen, 3b
Krista Haley, rf
Jesse Zappone, lf
Kaela Alexander, 1b
Amanda Schroeder, cf
Cailyn Cordrey, DP
Meagan Price, c
Ashlyn Michalak, p

Scouting Holland Springfield

COACH: Rob Gwozdz
NICKNAME: Blue Devils
COLORS: Blue and white
CONFERENCE: Northern Lakes League
ENROLLMENT: 913 (424 girls)

Notable

 • Holland is a Toledo suburb. This is Springfield’s first appearance in a regional final.
 • The Blue Devils start five sophomores and a freshman. No. 1 pitcher Ashlyn Michalak is a sophomore.
 • The Blue Devils fell behind Toledo St. Ursula 1-0 in the first inning of their regional semifinal on Thursday. They tied it in the second, then scored three runs in the third.
 • The big hit was a two-run single by sophomore right fielder and cleanup batter Krista Haley. She faced a 1-2 count when she hit the next pitch up the middle.
 • Every Springfield batter put the ball in play at least once against St. Ursula. The Blue Devils struck out nine times, six times swinging.
 • Michalak seemed to tire in the St. Ursula game. She threw 54 pitches through the first four innings. She then threw 20 pitches in the fifth and 21 in the sixth. She walked three, all in the fifth and sixth.
— compiled by Bob Daniels

DIVISION II

WHO: No. 1 Keystone Wildcats (27-4) vs. No. 3 Clyde Fliers (23-2)
WHEN: Today, noon
WHERE: Bucyrus High School, 900 W. Perry St., Bucyrus
AT STAKE: The winner will be the home team in a state semifinal at 10 a.m. Friday at Firestone Stadium in Akron. The opponent will be either Canfield (20-4-1) or Akron Hoban (23-5). They are playing for the Akron regional title today. It is Hoban’s fourth tournament game on the same diamond.
TICKETS: $6
INFORMATION: Call tournament manager Tom Jeffrey at (419) 562-2739
DIRECTIONS: Take any of several roads west to Ohio Route 4 just east of Bellevue. Go south on Route 4 to Bucyrus. Turn right on W. Perry Street just before the bridge. Take W. Perry to the school, which will be on the right.
RADIO: WEOL 930-AM (tape delay)

Probable starting lineups

KEYSTONE

Kara Dill, ss
Kim Kokoski, cf
Clare Sullivan, 2b
Kate Yeo, 3b
Taylor Bell, 1b
Taylor Kessinger, c
Lauren Wagner, p
Hailee Gullett, DP
Aubrie Ridinger, rf
Ginger Slone, lf
Scouting Clyde

CLYDE

Nicole George, 2b
Morgan Gray, lf
Kaila Strausbaugh, ss
Kay Elfring, 3b
Aleisha Boonie, 1b
Lauren Meyer, c
Nikki Bryant, rf
Aubrie Burkett, DP
Kaylea Griffin, cf
Brooke Billings, p
   

Scouting Clyde

COACH: Marc Marshall
NICKNAME: Fliers
COLORS: Blue and gold
CONFERENCE: Sandusky Bay Conference
ENROLLMENT: 606 (301 girls)

Notable

• Clyde scored five runs in the first inning of its 11-5 regional semifinal victory over Pemberville Eastwood on Thursday.
• The Fliers sent 12 batters to the plate and scored six more runs in the fourth.   
• Clyde avenged one of its two losses with a 3-0 district semifinal victory over Sandusky Perkins. The other loss was to Huron. All are members of the Sandusky Bay Conference.
• Clyde defeated Lexington 2-1 for the district championship.
• Fliers pitcher Brooke Billings struck out four and walked none in the Eastwood game. She allowed nine hits.
• A coincidence: Billings takes pitching lessons from former Keystone coach Dave Leffew.
• Keystone defeated Clyde 6-0 in the 2003 regional on the same field in Bucyrus.
• Clyde is in Sandusky County, east of Fremont. It is the village about which author Sherwood Anderson wrote in his collection of short stories, “Winesburg, Ohio.”
— compiled by Bob Daniels

DIVISION III

WHO: Wellington (21-4) vs. Manchester (21-7)
WHEN: Today, noon.   
WHERE: Genshaft Field, Massillon
AT STAKE: Winner to Thursday’s 3 p.m. state semifinal against winner of Ridgewood North Union (23-3) and West Liberty Salem (30-1) at the Fairborn Regional.
TICKETS: $6
INFORMATION: Call tournament manager Eric Schumacher (330) 830-3901, ext. 50142
DIRECTIONS: From Wellington take Ohio 58 South. Slight left on Ohio 89. Left on Ohio 302. Right on County Route 175. Left on US 250 East. Stay straight on US 30 East. Merge onto Ohio 21 North toward Massillon. Take the Erie Street ramp. Turn Right onto Erie St. Genshaft Field is off Erie at 2801 Erie Street South, Massillon.
RADIO: WEOL 930-AM (tape delay)

Scouting Manchester

COACH: Jim Morehart
NICKNAME: Panthers   
COLORS: Black and Red
CONFERENCE: Principals Athletic Conference
ENROLLMENT: 390 (200 girls)

Probable starting lineups

WELLINGTON

Melanie Conklin, p
Cassie Gleisner , rf
Melissa Rennie, cf
Callie McConnell, 1B
Melissa Sawyer, C
Amy Rader, SS
Christy King, DP
Rachel Galloway, SS (Flex)
Brittany Gow, 3B
Brooke Lewis, SS

MANCHESTER

Nicole George, 2b
Morgan Gray, lf
Kaila Strausbaugh, ss
Kay Elfring, 3b
Aleisha Boonie, 1b
Lauren Meyer, c
Nikki Bryant, rf
Aubrie Burkett, DP
Kaylea Griffin, cf
Brooke Billings, p

Notable

• Manchester is seeking its fourth trip to the state finals, where they’ve won each time — 1979, 1990 and 2001.
• The Panthers defeated Keystone, 2-0, for the 2001 title.
• Wellington is bidding for its first appearance in the state semifinals since the football team qualified in 1982. It was erroneously reported in Thursday’s paper that, if victorious, this would be Wellington’s first state semifinal appearance in any sport in school history. Wellington has been in the regional final before. The 1987 Lady Dukes basketball team reached the regional finals and the 2004 Duke boys soccer team also reached that level.
• Wellington will be the home team in today’s game.
— compiled by Tim Gebhardt

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