Licking County baseball teams set postseason path in Central District draw
COLUMBUS — The Newark and Watkins Memorial baseball teams have battled with some of the best in Division I in the Central District, and the Wildcats and Warriors will have an opportunity to prove they are among the elite.
Newark received the No. 15 seed and Watkins No. 14 in Sunday's district tournament pairings. Both will begin their postseason run at home next week.
Newark (13-6-1), which remains in contention for the Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division championship, trailing Pickerington Central and Lancaster, hosts either No. 18 Hilliard Bradley or No. 33 Westerville North at 5 p.m. May 17. The Wildcats, who fell in eight innings Saturday in a tuneup with No. 5 Upper Arlington, could meet No. 10 Pickerington North in a district semifinal and either No. 6 Dublin Scioto or No. 7 Olentangy Orange in a final.
Watkins (15-6) hosts No. 49 Walnut Ridge at 5 p.m. May 14 with a likely visit from No. 17 Olentangy to follow two days later. The Warriors, who battled No. 1 Olentangy Liberty and No. 3 Grove City in recent weeks before beating Gahanna on Saturday, could see No. 2 Bishop Watterson in a potential district semifinal with Grove City and Lancaster possible opponents in a final.
Licking Heights (8-12) is the No. 35 seed and hosts No. 39 Central Crossing at 5 p.m. May 15. The winner visits No. 4 Hilliard Darby two days later.
Newark Catholic is the top seed in Division IV, and the path is challenging with just one district bracket feeding into the regional at Wittenberg rather than the traditional trip to Beavers Field in Lancaster. The Green Wave host No. 16 Granville Christian (3-6-1) at 5 p.m. Monday with a possible home game against No. 7 Fisher Catholic to follow two days later with No. 4 Berne Union or No. 6 Elgin down the road in a potential district semifinal opposite No. 2 Fairfield Christian and No. 3 Northmor.
Liberty Christian (7-6) is the No. 12 seed and hosts No. 14 Tree of Life at noon Saturday. The winner visits FCA on May 15.
Licking Valley (12-6), which received the No. 4 seed in Division II, hosts either No. 14 Bishop Ready or No. 16 River Valley at 5 p.m. May 18. The Panthers could see No. 6 Bexley or No. 8 Bishop Hartley in a potential district semifinal.
Granville (10-9) is the No. 7 seed and hosts LCL foe No. 10 Lakewood (8-12) at 5 p.m. May 18. That game feeds directly into a district semifinal potentially against No. 3 Highland in the same bracket as Valley, which feeds into the regional at Mason.
Johnstown (6-11) is the No. 11 seed and hosts No. 18 Whitehall at 5 p.m. May 18. The winner likely will meet No. 2 Bloom-Carroll in a district semifinal.
Heath (14-6), which received the No. 5 seed in Division III, hosts either No. 15 Amanda-Clearcreek or No. 16 Grove City Christian at 5 p.m. May 18. With a victory, the Bulldogs could meet No. 8 Grandview Heights in a district semifinal with a possible meeting with No. 1 Fredericktown looming in a final to determine the representative in the regional at Wright State.
Utica (9-11) is the No. 9 seed and visits No. 6 East Knox at 5 p.m. May 18 with the winner likely to meet No. 2 Worthington Christian in a district semifinal. Northridge (2-15) is the No. 18 seed and opens at No. 12 North Union at 5 p.m. May 16.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking County baseball teams set path in Central District draw
