TOP OF THE CROP
Baseball
1: (1) University (8-1)
2: (2) Perry (8-2)
3: (3) NDCL (5-3)
4: (4) Mentor (9-1)
5: (5) Kenston (5-6-1)
6: (6) Kirtland (10-1)
7: (7) Chardon (8-4)
8: (8) Gilmour (7-4)
9: (9) Geneva (4-2)
10: (NR) Madison (6-4)
Dropped out: Lake Catholic (4-5)
Watch List: Cardinal (6-4), Hawken (6-6), Riverside (4-3), VASJ (8-1)
Crop comments: University responded from its first loss of the season with a quartet of wins, capped by a pair of shutouts against West Geauga and Lake Catholic. Contests with Mentor and St. Edward will be a strong test for the Preppers at the midpoint of the season. … After its nine-inning win over West Geauga, Perry fell to Hawken (7-3) before a bounce-back win over the Hawks (7-2). The Pirates had a strong win over Conneaut before a pair of road contests with Cardinal and Greenview. … While the Lions dropped both contests in their week, they were to a strong Walsh Jesuit team. A pair of contests with Lake Catholic and a trip to North Ridgeville will be a good challenge for NDCL at the midpoint of the season. … Mentor suffered its first defeat, as the Cardinals couldn’t recover from a slow start against Shaker Heights (9-7). But they bounced back with a 1-0 win over Brunswick as Mentor now turns to a sectional final rematch from a season ago with University. … Kenston suffered a loss to Mayfield to start the week but found its swing in a rematch with a 17-9 victory later in the week. The Bombers also won a contest of defending state champions with an 8-4 win over Hiland. … Kirtland’s bats have been its strength this season with five contests of 10 runs or more. The lone defeat came in a trip to Cardinal (14-13) as the Huskies rallied from eight runs down in the bottom of the seventh. The Hornets also picked up a win over Cuyahoga Heights before a pair of contests with Crestwood. … Chardon fell to University but picked up a trio of wins in WRC play, which included a sweep of South. The Hilltoppers have four of their next five on the road, including a contest of the last two WRC champions with Kenston. … Gilmour had its bats find their swings with double-digit runs against Lake Catholic and Orange, but the Lancers fell silent against Shaker Heights (2-1). Chardon and Kenston are also on tap for the Lancers as well. … Geneva picked up a pair of wins over Jefferson, the latter of which had the Eagles walk-off for the win. But they were on the opposite end of a walk-off to Warren JFK, which had three runs in the bottom of the eighth for the victory. … Madison has gained confidence at the plate, as the Blue Streaks have won five straight, which included a shutout of Fairport and held Conneaut to one run. A pair with Geneva is due up for the Blue Streaks as they aim to stay hot.
