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Ellet senior Aaron Male, seen here last season, was a thorn in Stow-Munroe Falls' side on Thursday when the visiting Orangemen blasted the Bulldogs 13-3.
"Rounding third and heading home."
That popular baseball phrase best describes what’s happening with the City Series baseball, softball and track seasons.
BOYS, GIRLS TRACK: EXCITEMENT, ANYONE?: The track season culminates Friday afternoon/evening at the Orange Bowl in Ellet as the boys and girls championships are decided. And if the regular-season finishes are any indication, then it should be an exciting meet.
The Buchtel girls team won the regular-season title, while Buchtel, Kenmore and Firestone all tied for the boys regular-season crown.
Are we starting to see more parity in CS? It appears that way, especially on the boys side. CS Athletic Director Joe Howard says it’s a goal he would like to see in all sports in the conference.
Anyway, if you’re a track fan, then Friday should be a delight at Ellet.
BASEBALL: ELLET, FIRESTONE ON COLLISION COURSE: The baseball season is also winding down, with CS teams trying to make up games washed out by this very wet spring. But if everything holds true to form, then Ellet and Firestone will meet for the title again on Sunday, May 22 at 5 p.m. at Canal Park.
As I told you last week, this is an experiment to see if more fans will show up to cheer the boys on a Sunday, when more people are typically off work. Playing the game on a weeknight just wasn’t drawing enough fans, according to Akron Public Schools officials.
If you’ve never seen a local high school baseball game, then you should give it a try. You’ll be surprised at the effort you’ll see on the diamond. It's the same effort and enthusiasm you see on a football field or basketball court. The quality of play has also improved over the past several years.
Of course, the emphasis in the week ahead is wrapping up conference titles, while at the same time trying to advance in sectional and district competition.
Even thought Ellet and Firestone have failed to advance in tournament play this week, there's still plenty of season left. The two schools can wrap up the regular season and look forward to the city championship.
SOFTBALL: COLOR IT ORANGE: The Ellet softball team is steaming toward another City Series title. The state’s fourth-ranked Lady Orangemen want some state hardware to add to their city medals, and Chuck Shuman’s squad has high hopes for a deep tournament run.
UPDATE ON FLOSSIE SITUATION: The latest on the player abuse allegations against Tim Flossie is that the veteran Firestone football coach gave his side of the story at a hearing with APS Superintendent David James and other school officials on Tuesday.
Flossie, who is being represented by well-known Akron attorney Bob Meeker, says he’s not heard when James will make a final decision on his future, but with the end of the school year right around the corner, we should hear something soon on what happens concerning the allegations made by Falcons quarterback Nick Heimbaugh.
A BAD STORY GETS WORSE: Troubles continue to mount for two-time state swimming champion Andrew Bartley of Firestone. You could say, "formerly of Firestone," because the senior was officially expelled from school this week -- just weeks away from what would have been his graduation ceremonies -- after being charged with having a gun and drug paraphernalia in his car in the school parking lot.
Bartley’s case is working its way through the court system. He saw his case move from Akron Municipal Court to Summit County Common Pleas Court through a direct indictment.
We’re learning more about how Bartley was caught with the items in his car. One student apparently overheard Bartley telling another student about the car’s contents and then contacted a parent, who in turn called the school and police.
WHATEVER THE REASON, IT'S UNFORTUNATE: The start of next football season just won’t be the same on the revelation by SportsInk.com’s Steve King that Archbishop Hoban and Akron Garfield won’t open the 2011 season against each other, as they traditionally have done for the last eight years.
Hoban is calling it a case of miscommunication. Garfield coach Bob Sax says it’s a case of not getting a timely answer back from Hoban officials about renewing a two-year contract.
What a shame. Garfield instead will play Wooster to open the season, while Hoban will host a Washington D.C. school, Gonzaga Prep. Steve has the full explanation of what went wrong.