Leading up to the Playoffs, we’ll be previewing all of the districts involving Northeast Ohio schools in Divisions I through IV.

Sunday night (5/7), we’ll reveal our staff predictions for each district and regional tournament, surveying five baseball writers/analysts for their opinions on who will bring home the hardware.

All of these districts begin play on May 8 at 4:30 pm.

Division II

Bowling Green Region

Parma District

Favorites #1 Keystone, #2 Padua, #3 Holy Name

Contenders #4 Firelands, #5 Bay

Sleepers #6 Clearview, #7 Fairview, #8 Buckeye, #9 Brookside, #10 Rocky River

This district is as evenly matched as any you’ll find in the tournament. #1 Keystone’s record (19-1) speaks for itself.

The Wildcats have a solid lineup, solid pitching rotation and play excellent defense.

The one question mark for Keystone would be that they didn’t face the same level competition as teams like Padua and Holy Name this season. That’s not to say the Patriot Athletic Conference is a cakewalk, but if Keystone runs into Holy Name or Padua, either of those teams would be their toughest opponent so far.

Padua sits atop the talent-loaded North Coast League Blue Division, which has six teams capable of making noise in the Playoffs.

Holy Name already swept Padua in a double header. It’s tough to beat the same team three times in a season, but the Greenwave will have that confidence on their side if the #2 vs. #3 matchup comes to fruition.

#4 Firelands has the best pitcher in the district and one of the best pitchers in the entire state in Trevor Damron.

What’s been most impressive about Firelands’ season is the Falcons have been getting it done on days he doesn’t pitch, too.

Some of Firelands’ big wins came against Lutheran West (14-2) and Buckeye, and they didn’t have their ace on the mound.

Whatever game Damron pitches, his team has a good chance to win – no matter who’s on the other side.

#5 Bay started off the season slow, losing its first three games, but the young team made tremendous leaps and bounds this season, and took Elyria Catholic down to the wire in the Great Lakes Conference Championship Game last week.

In the range of sleepers (6-10), each team has had its moments this year that give opposition enough reason to be on its guard.

Clearview, Fairview, Buckeye and Brookside all beat up on each other in PAC play. Brookside was one of only two teams to beat Lutheran West, so don’t let that #9 seeding fool you.

Fairview rattled off a six-game win-streak midway through the season, but it was an inconsistent 2017 as a whole.

Clearview and Buckeye quietly took care of business in conference play this season, but if they get past the first round, their second round matches are against two imposing teams.

#10 Rocky River had an up-and-down year, but took Keystone to the brink early in the season in a 6-5 loss, split two games with Cuyahoga Heights and held its own against Bay.

The familiarity between three of the GLC teams in this district is also something to watch for, if Bay, Holy Name or Rocky River run into each other.

Some of the more intriguing potential matchups in this district (aside from the District Final) include a possible third rivalry match between Holy Name and Padua, the Bay vs. Firelands match, and a potential Keystone-Firelands semifinal with Damron on the hill.

Whatever happens in this district, the winner will have earned every penny on their way to regionals and there aren’t any games off in this bracket.

Players to Watch

Drew Compton Keystone

Nick Pillin Padua

Jack Stolar Holy Name

Trevor Damron Firelands

Liam Hanna Bay

Hudson Region

Jefferson District

Favorites #1 Lake Catholic, #2 Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin

Contenders #3 Lakeview, #4 Geneva, #5 University School

Sleepers #6 Edgewood, #7 Perry, #9 West Geauga

The interesting thing about this district is that NDCL beat Lake Catholic both times head-to-head this season and LC was still ranked #1.

At the end of the day, there’s a good chance those two teams will get one last meeting and seeding would go out the window at that point.

Lake Catholic (14-7) and NDCL (7-5) both played tough schedules this season and are as battle-tested as any schools in D-II. That being said, it’s tough to foresee an upset in those first couple rounds, but teams like Geneva, U.S. and Perry have already taken down their fair share of top-tier teams this year.

Geneva (10-6) sits second place in the Chagrin Valley Chagrin Division and two of its three conference losses came against Chagrin Falls – one of the top-ranked D-II teams in the state.

Perry (7-9) upset Chagrin Falls this season and held its own in the competitive CVC.

U.S. played a strong schedule all year and that should help their chances for tournament play, as whatever teams they face in the Playoffs won’t be as intimidating as a couple schools they saw in the regular season.

Even as the #9 seed, West Geauga is capable of making some noise. The Wolverines already split their two games with Perry this season and also upset NDCL, 11-8, so they aren’t going to sneak up on anybody.

Some intriguing potential matchups in this district include the 4 vs 5 Geneva-U.S. showdown, a possible #9 vs #1 WG vs LC game, the potential district final between the two NCL rivals, and a possible rematch of last year’s district final between Geneva and NDCL.

Whoever ends up in the semis in this district, May 15 at Jefferson will be a fun day of baseball and fans should be in store for two close games.

Players to Watch

Anthony Kornokovich LC

Nick D’Angelo LC

Julian Mangelluzzi NDCL

Nick Cipriani NDCL

Kaleb Smothers Geneva

Josh Martin Perry

Akron District

Favorites #1 Field, #2 Tallmadge, #3 St. Vincent-St. Mary

Contenders #4 Norton, #5 Northwest

Sleepers #6 Springfield, #7 Canton South

This is one of the more top-heavy districts and there’s a strong case to be made for any one of the top three teams to make a deep run in the tournament.

#1 Field (17-0) ran the table this season and the Portage Trails Conference is no joke. However, teams like Tallmadge (16-5) and STVM (10-7) faced juggernauts at all levels this year.

Tallmadge was the only team to defeat No. 1 ranked Massillon Jackson this season and the competition doesn’t get any tougher than that.

Tallmadge also finished the season in second place in the Suburban League American Division – one of the deepest conferences in Northeast Ohio.

STVM’s record is misleading, but there are definitely some games the Irish would like back. If the Irish can get back to playing like they did during a 7-game win-streak early in the season, they’ll be a tough out for anyone in this tournament.

It’ll be interesting to see how Field handles the pressure of keeping the undefeated season intact and facing some of the more elite competition down the road.

However it unfolds, this district is a three-team toss-up for us.

Norton (9-6) put together an impressive season, but based on their two head-to-head losses against Field this season, that second round match does not look favorable for the Panthers.

#6 Springfield gave Field one of its toughest tests of the season, falling by a score of 4-3 and the Spartans are worth keeping an eye on in this district. Their potential second round match against STVM could be a close game, depending on which Irish team shows up.

The potential district semifinal between #2 Tallmadge and #3 STVM has all the makings for a great game. The district final could be a great opportunity for the Field Falcons to show they’re ready for prime time and it should be a fantastic game at Canal Park.

Players to Watch

Austin Black Field

Rusty Shaffer Field

Jared Burick Tallmadge

Scott Seeker Tallmadge

Brandon Bischof STVM

Mike Martin STVM

Euclid District

Favorite #1 Chagrin Falls (19-5)

Contenders #2 CVCA, #3 Woodridge, #4 Ravenna, #5 Orange

Sleepers #6 Streetsboro, #7 Crestwood, #8 Benedictine, #9 Revere

The other ten teams in the district won’t go into the Playoffs thinking like this, but #1 Chagrin Falls is a heavy favorite in this district.

The Tigers were briefly ranked No. 1 in the state in Division II after starting the season 14-1. Chagrin Falls is one of the more complete baseball teams in the area with a deep pitching rotation and an imposing lineup.

As the last couple weeks of the season showed, Chagrin Falls is not un-beatable, but two of their losses came to two of the top teams in the area in D-I: Twinsburg and Solon.

#5 Orange (8-7) will be an interesting team to watch in this district, as the Lions upset the Tigers on April 26.

When it comes to Chagrin Falls’ first playoff game, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more evenly matched 1 vs 8 or 9 game than whoever ends up playing the Tigers.

Benedictine as an 8-seed is battle-tested from playing in the talented North Coast League and the Bengals pulled off some impressive wins over the course of the season, beating NDCL, Lake Catholic, Padua and Kirtland this season – among others.

#2 CVCA (12-7) put together an impressive season and recent wins over #4 Ravenna and a tough D-I Highland team give you an idea of what the Royals are capable of at this level.

#3 Woodridge (10-4) can put runs on the board (6.4 runs per game) and was outstanding in PTC Metro play, going 9-3, with two losses coming to the unbeaten Field Falcons.

#4 Ravenna (11-5) showcased a high-powered offense (6.4 runs per game) and shut opponents out three times this season.

#6 Streetsboro has one of the best pitchers in the district and that can’t be overstated when it comes to this time of year.

#7 Crestwood started the season red hot, went through a midseason slump and is starting to get back to its winning ways, picking up a huge win over Lake Center Christian – one of the top two teams in the PTC County Division.

#9 Revere played a challenging schedule in Suburban League play, so they won’t be overwhelmed by Benedictine or whoever they face in the tournament.

When all is said and done, for any team to eliminate Chagrin Falls would be a surprise, but that doesn’t mean this district is lacking talent – it’s just a matter of Chagrin Falls being that good.

Looking at the bracket, from the second round forward, literally every single potential matchup is intriguing. It doesn’t appear there will be any lopsided games after the first round of the tournament and a couple of those first round games should be fun to watch, too.

Players to Watch

Jack Amendola Chagrin

Cole Newbauer Chagrin

Erik Wilson Chagrin

Collin Kennedy Chagrin

Steven Taylor CVCA

Drew Wilson CVCA

Jacob Margroff Woodridge

Andy Prentice Ravenna

Kyle Armbrecht Streetsboro

Hunter Osborne Crestwood

Connor O’Donnell Benedictine

Closing Thoughts

When it comes to Division II, there really isn’t one team or even two or three teams that stand out far and away above the rest of the pack in Northeast Ohio. That’s what will make these district tournament games so interesting to watch.

One district we did not touch on (because it’s a bit out of our range to cover games) is the Struthers District. Whether it’s Niles McKinley, Canfield, Poland Seminary, West Branch, Hubbard or Marlington – all of those teams 1-through-6 are capable of making some noise and they’ll present a tough challenge in regionals.

In some districts we’ve mentioned in these previews, teams outside of Northeast Ohio don’t face as tough of competition in the regular season, but that is not the case in the Struthers District.

Whoever faces the Struthers champ in the regional semis or regional final will have their work cut out for them.

Ultimately, the parity within each district appears to line up for the regionals to be just as wide open.

There are no fewer than ten teams with what appears to be a serious shot at bringing home a regional title – just from the four Northeast Ohio districts alone.

Any team that gets through either the Parma, Jefferson, Akron or Euclid districts will be battle-tested, both by their regular season and tournament schedules.

I haven’t looked at our staff predictions yet (which we’ll post Sunday night), but it wouldn’t be a surprise if all five panelists have different answers for their regional champs.