Findlay starts tournament trek in Brunswick, Van Buren gets top seed

Findlay High's baseball team will be putting in some miles while several area Division IV and VII teams find themselves facing some state-ranked opposition based on pairings for the 2025 OHSAA state baseball tournament released on Sunday.With the small number of big schools in Northwest Ohio, Division I programs were lumped with Northeast District teams for the tournament. Findlay (13-6) ended up being seeded No. 10; Brunswick (10-7) was seeded No. 9.Higher seeded teams host all first-round tournament games, meaning the Trojans will be traveling to Brunswick on May 28 for their tournament opener.Toledo Whitmer (1-11), one of just two other Division I schools in the Northwest District, was seeded 16th and is paired with No. 1-seeded and No. 4-ranked Massillon Jackson (19-3) in its opening tournament game. That winner will face the winner of the Findlay/Brunswick contest.One sidelight of the expanded OHSAA playoffs is a more direct line of advancement. Findlay, for example, begins tournament play already in the district semifinals, and would need just two wins to land a spot in the Sweet Sixteen regional field.Bluffton University will host a Division V district and it will be an elite field of teams competing to get there. Four of the nine teams looking to advance are state-ranked, including No. 2 Edison, No. 3 Coldwater, No. 7 Liberty-Benton and No. 12 Oak Harbor. L-B will host Bluffton in one first-round game; Fostoria faces Port Clinton in another matchup, with that winner getting Edison in the sectional final.Two district tournaments will be held in Findlay, with Division VI schools playing at the Marathon Diamonds and Division VII schools at Findlay High.Van Buren, 20-2 and ranked No. 4 in the Division VI state polls, grabbed the top-seeded spot, a first-round bye and an automatic advancement to district semifinals at Marathon Diamonds. A couple of first-round games in that alignment have Carey hosting Lakota and No. 14-ranked Elmwood hosting Riverdale.The first-round matchups for the Division VII district at Findlay High have No. 1-seeded Hardin Northern hosting Vanlue, McComb hosting Cory-Rawson, Pandora-Gilboa traveling to New Riegel and Arlington at Arcadia.Leipsic and North Baltimore are among the eight teams in another well-stocked sectional field that includes three state-ranked Division VII teams: No. 3 Miller City, No. 5 Kalida and No. 14 Fort Jennings. OHSAA TournamentDIVISION IFindlay (10) at Brunswick (9), 5 p.m. May 28DIVISION IVElida (6) at Upper Sandusky (3), 5 p.m. May 21Winner advances to district semifinals at Fort Jennings, May 28Bryan (5) at Ottawa-Glandorf (4), 5 p.m. May 21Winner advances to district semifinals at Archbold, May 28DIVISION VFostoria (9) at Port Clinton (8), 5 p.m. May 22Winner at Edison (2), noon, May 24Bluffton (5) at Liberty-Benton, 5 p.m. May 24Winners advance to district semifinals at Bluffton University, May 29DIVISION VIAda (8) at Marion Local (1), noon, May 24Lima Perry (8) at Columbus Grove (3), noon, May 24Winners advance to district semifinals, TBDLakota (5) at Carey (4), p.m. May 23Seneca East (6) at Hopewell-Loudon (2), 5 p.m., May 23Riverdale (7) at Elmwood, 5 p.m., May 23Winners advance to district semifinals at Findlay Marathon Diamond, May 28.DIVISION VIIVanlue (8) at Hardin Northern (1), 5 p.m., May 23Cory-Rawson (6) at McComb (3), 5 p.m., May 23Pandora-Gilboa (7) at New Riegel (2), 5 p.m., May 23Arlington (5) at Arcadia (4), 5 p.m., May 23Winners advance to district semifinals at Findlay High School, May 29Holgate (6) at Leipsic (4), 5 p.m. May 22North Baltimore (5) at Fort Jennings (3), 5 p.m. May 22Winners advance to district semifinals at Patrick Henry, May 29