BELLVILLE — The Colts are out of the barn and at full gallop.
Fifth-seeded Clear Fork was one of just a handful of area teams to survive last week’s sectional tournaments and will take on No. 2 Margaretta in the Division III district semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Shelby.
The Colts (15-8) opened sectional play with an 8-3 win over sixth-seeded Crestview. Clear Fork followed with a 12-5 win over No. 3 Colonel Crawford.
Margaretta advanced with a 10-3 win over Wynford in last week’s sectional championship game. The Polar Bears won a district title last spring.
Clear Fork dropped to Division III this year after reaching the Division II district championship game each of the past two seasons. The Colts are searching for their first district title since 2017.
Third-seeded Ontario (19-5) beat No. 9 Vermilion 11-2 in Monday's Division II sectional championship game which was postponed because of rain last week. The Warriors will play No. 2 seed Bellevue in the district semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Willard.
Third-seeded Hillsdale will play No. 18 Waynedale for a third time at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Division III Wellington district semifinals. The Falcons (17-5) advanced with a 9-1 win over Columbia, while the Golden Bears (6-12) stunned defending Division III state runner-up Tuslaw 13-3 in the sectional final.
Hillsdale swept the season series with Waynedale.
Eighth-seeded Loudonville roughed up No. 10 Black River 17-10 in last week’s sectional championship game and will play defending Division II state champ and No. 2 seed Triway in the Division III Creston district semifinals at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Norwayne High School. Triway, which dropped to Division III this year, pounded Fairless 21-0 in the sectional final to advance.
In Division IV, fourth-seeded Plymouth will play top-seeded Monroeville in the Galion district semifinals at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The Big Red (14-10) beat Crestline 10-2 in the sectional final to advance, while Monroeville blanked Buckeye Central 9-0. Plymouth and Monroeville split their season series in Firelands Conference action this spring.
I have covered high school sports in Richland County since 2000. Email him at curt@richlandsource.com or follow him on Twitter: Follow @curtjconrad on twitter.
