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Freshman catcher Jessica Solvey (left), senior pitcher Letitia Bittinger and the East Canton Hornets are on a real roll, getting two shutout wins to capture a sectional softball championship.
One week into the baseball and softball postseason and the Portage Trail Conference County Division is still well-represented with three teams alive in both sports.
In softball, East Canton, Mogadore and Garrettsville Garfield all won sectional championships. The Hornets and Wildcats both captured championships last year in the Cortland and Ashland Division IV districts, respectively. The G-Men avenged a 2010 district final loss to County Division rival Waterloo, 4-1, in their sectional championship game.
The second-seeded Hornets are back to the form that took them to the state semifinals last spring, shutting out both Wellsville and Columbiana Crestview behind senior ace Letitia Bittinger. East Canton could potentially face No. 1-seeded Columbiana in a district championship game if both teams survive their semifinal contests.
The Wildcats have allowed two runs in each of their sectional games while taking a 14-2 win over Our Lady of the Elms and a 4-2 victory over Kidron Central Christian.
Even the five teams that have been eliminated have seen success, with Streetsboro, Waterloo and Woodridge all earning first-round triumphs. Meanwhile, Rootstown lost to Waterloo 8-4 in the opening round, forcing the early elimination of one County Division school.
If the rain ever stops falling, then East Canton, Mogadore and the G-Men all have district semifinal games to be played. Garrettsville Garfield will face Apple Creek Waynedale at Creston Norwayne High School, while the Hornets and Wildcats are still waiting to find out who their next opponent will be.
Baseball: Bombs away yet again
The Windham Bombers are the benchmark of consistency when it comes to County Division teams in the new millennium. Since 2001, Windham has snagged 10 sectional championships, five district crowns and two regional titles.
That’s why last season’s early exit -- Windham's only year without a sectional championship -- came as such a surprise, but with a 4-3 win over Sebring McKinley, the Bombers are back into the second week of the tournament. Windham is set to meet Rittman at Barberton on Wednesday for a chance to get to a district championship game.
Since moving out of the Struthers District for the 2008 tournament, the Bombers have not won their district.
The only other teams left in play from the County Division personify the overwhelming story of the spring. Waterloo has been trying to get its opening-round game against host Manchester played since last Thursday. The winner will face Garrettsville in the G-Men’s first taste of tournament action.
Boys track: Let the fun begin
Following last week’s PTC Meet, the boys track teams across the County Division are preparing for their respective district meets.
PTC champion Woodridge will be traveling to the highly-competitive Orrville Division II District with the likes of powers Buchtel and St. Vincent-St. Mary and will be bringing a strong team across the board. Hurdler Nick Karam and distance runner Jimmy Charles are coming off double wins at the conference meet and are joined by sprinter Ceon Kelly and middle distance aces Vibushan Sivakumaran and Jacob Onifer as competitors looking for success starting on Thursday.
Streetsboro finished behind the Bulldogs at the PTC Meet and are taking a strong team to the Pymatuning Valley Division II District. Sprinter Steve Magic, thrower Alex Todd and jumper Edward Julian have all had good seasons, and will be looking to advance to the regional meet along with talented relay teams for the Rockets.
Streetsboro will be joined at Pymatuning Valley by Waterloo and Garrettsville Garfield. The G-Men's Alex Radwanski will give Julian some competition in the long jump and high jump.
Mogadore and East Canton are the County Division’s only Division III teams, and both programs will be at Norwayne High School on Wednesday for the Creston District. Hornets thrower Duke Taylor is coming off a win in the shot put at the PTC Meet.
The final County Division team, Rootstown, is headed to the Cortland Division II District at Lakeview High School.
Girls track: Taking on Northeast Ohio
In girls track, Rootstown is the only team going to a different district than its male counterparts. The Rovers -- and double jump winner Ashleigh Pickens -- will be at the Independence Division III District.
Like the boys, Woodridge also won the girls division at the PTC Meet and brings distance ace Morgan Willis, hurdler Miranda Stockton and very good distance relay teams to Orrville this week.
Waterloo will be led to Pymatuning Valley by sprinter Jamie Willis as the Vikings look for more success after finishing second in the County Division. Thrower Mercedes Oliver and the Streetsboro sprint relay teams are also heading to Pymatuning Valley along with Garrettsville.
Finally, Mogadore and East Canton will once again look to advance competitors out of the Creston Division III District to the Navarre Regional at Fairless High School.
Football: Divisional musical chairs
The Ohio High School Athletic Association recently released their new divisional alignments for the 2011 and '12 football seasons and PTC County Division teams are doing plenty of shuffling around.
One of the more interesting changes comes with Streetsboro, which will be leaving the County Division for the Metro Division. The Rockets used to be in Division III, but are dropping down to Division IV due to falling numbers. Meanwhile, Woodridge is jumping up to Division III, making it possibly the biggest County Division team.
The final two changes for the upcoming season involve two teams dropping from their current division. Waterloo will go from Division IV to V, while East Canton is moving to Division VI, the smallest football division in the state.