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 10 at 4:30 pm.

Division IV

Lorain Region

Medina District

Favorite N/A

Contenders #1 Hillsdale, #2 Lake Center Christian #3 Cuyahoga Heights, #4 Lake Ridge

Sleepers #5 Mogadore, #6 East Canton, #9 Columbia

The gap between the top four teams in this district is so small that there wasn’t enough of a significant talent edge to give one team “the favorite” designation over another.

There’s an argument to be made that either LCC (12-5) or Lake Ridge (14-4) should both be seeded above Hillsdale (13-5) because of strength of schedule.

The 1-2 punch of both Lake Ridge and LCC’s pitching rotations should definitely work in their favor in this tournament. Meanwhile, Hillsdale has one of the top sophomore pitchers in the state on its side.

Cuyahoga Heights (7-7) is much better than their record would indicate, but it’s been an up-and-down year against tough competition. The defending regional champs lost some talented players to graduation, but that playoff pedigree cannot be overlooked this time of year.

Mogadore (11-5), East Canton and Columbia are three teams who have faced high level competition all season and shouldn’t be expected to be overwhelmed by the playoff stage – whoever they go against.

The potential Cuyahoga Heights vs. LCC game will make for some highly entertaining baseball and when it comes to a possible Lake Ridge vs. Hillsdale game, don’t be surprised if the Royals prove the seeding to be inaccurate.

This district has some potent offenses and several of these teams (especially in the top four) have already proven what they’re capable of against tough D-III and D-II schools.

Whichever team comes out of this district is going to be a handful in the rounds to come and it wouldn’t be a surprise if this district champ ends up in Columbus.

Players to Watch

Jay Luikart Hillsdale

James Kontur LCC

Matt Starcher LCC

Ian Ashby Lake Ridge

Neil Robertson Lake Ridge

RJ Dean Cuyahoga Heights

Fairport Harbor District

Favorite #1 Warren JFK (9-3)

Contenders #2 Mathews, #3 Fairport Harding

Sleepers #4 Windham, #5 Maplewood, #6 Bristol

The question of this district is who can topple JFK?

Warren JFK didn’t receive a ton of recognition in coaches’ polls, but the Eagles put together a dominant regular season and are still alive in the hunt for a North Coast League White Division Championship. JFK defeated St. Thomas Aquinas this season and held its own against Trinity, both of which are impressive D-III schools.

Fairport Harding (9-13) plays tough opponents in the Chagrin Valley Conference and split two close games with Hawken – one of the best D-III teams in the state.

The Skippers also received a huge jolt in the arm with the return of star player Caleb Hites.

The Alderson Broaddus commit missed the first five weeks of the season, due to a broken ankle, but since his return, he hasn’t missed a beat.

Hites belted a homer in a CVC game against Perry on May 3 and will be a valuable piece to Fairport’s playoff run.

Windham, Maplewood, Bristol and Mathews are all familiar with one another and those should make for some interesting matchups in the first couple rounds.

The matchup that could be most intriguing is a potential rematch of 2016’s district final between Fairport Harding and Warren JFK. This time around, JFK has been playing more consistent ball heading into the tournament, but the cliché still rings true, on any given day, it could go either way in the Playoffs.

Both teams have played solid competition this year and haven’t been overwhelmed by opponents a step above D-IV, so expect them to be more than ready for tournament play.

Whichever team gets through this district will have its hands full in regionals, but a team like Fairport, which made it to the regional semifinals in 2016 has that experience to fall back on if they can reach Lorain again.

Players to Watch

Drew Mendik Warren JFK

Caleb Hites Fairport

Luke Honkala Fairport

Brock Sloan Bristol