Big first inning carries Van Buren past Tigers

VAN BUREN 16 N. BALTIMORE 4 VAN BUREN – Van Buren scored 11 times in the first inning, led 16-0 after two and cruised to a 16-4 softball win over North Baltimore. Avery Beall did double-duty for Van Buren, allowing four runs on five hits in earning the pitching win, while also delivering a single and an RBI triple in the Black Knights season opener. Claire Miller (3 RBI) and Andrea Groman (2 RBI) had a single and a double each and Claire Maag lashed three base hits for the Knights, who now face road games at Carey today and at Fostoria on Friday. Three of North Baltimore's five hits were for extra bases, with Peyton Coykendall, Jayme Zeigler and Allena Lennard all legging out a double. N. Baltimore 000 22—4 5 3 Van Buren (11)50 0x—16 13 2 WP—Beall (1-0). LP—Lennard. TOP HITTERS: (NB) Coykendall 1B, 2B; Zeigler 2B; Lennard 2B. (VB) Beall 1B, 3B, RBI; Maag 3-1B, RBI; Miller 1B, 2B, 3 RBI; Groman 1B, 2B, 2 RBI. LAKE 10 L-BENTON 0 MIlLBURY – As a freshman, Lake's Parker Dart earned second-team all-Ohio honors as an infielder. This season, they may add all-state pitcher to her list of positions. Dart allowed just one hit, struck out eight and helped her own cause with a strong day at the plate on Wednesday in leading the Flyers (3-0) to a 10-0, five-inning win over Liberty-Benton. Dart, who batted .532 with 10 home runs and 39 RBI last season, rapped two singles, a triple and drove in two runs. Sailor Lindell (2-1B) and Maddie Ankney (1B, 2B) also plated two runs each for a Lake team that, in addition to Dart, returns five other starters from a team that went 25-2 and reached the Division IV regional semifinals in 2025. Payton Spence broke up Dart's bid for a no-hitter, lashing a double for L-B's lone hit. Coming off a 20-5 season, the Eagles (0-2) will be looking to notch their first win of the 2026 season when they travel to Hopewell-Loudon today. L-Benton 000 00—0 1 0 Lake 550 0x—10 13 0 WP_Dart. LP—Gerken. TOP HITTERS: (L-B) Spence 2B. (Lake) Dart 2-1B, 3B, 2 RBI; Lindell 2-1B, 2 RBI), Ankney 1B, 2B, 2 RBI. RECORDS: Liberty-Benton 0-2; Lake 3-0. U. SANDUSKY 5 CLYDE 4 UPPER SANDUSKY – Upper Sandusky rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to knock off Clyde 5-4 in a nonleague softball game. Ella Frombaugh was the winning pitcher and banged out a pair of hits for Upper (1-1). Ava Saull led the Rams with three hits and Madison Wengard and Madison Hart added two each. Amber Dillingham (2-1B, 2B) had three hits and Mya Stiefel (1B, 2B) had two for Clyde (1-1). Clyde 101 002 0—4 12 2 U. Sandusky 020 010 2—5 10 0 WP—Frombaugh. LP—Dillingham. TOP HITTERS: (Cly) Farrar 2-1B; Stiefel 1B, 2B, 2 RBI; Dillingham 2-1B, 2B. (US) Wengard 2-1B; Hart 1B, 2B, RBI; Saull 3-1B, RBI; Frombaugh 2-1B. RECORDS: Upper Sandusky 1-1; Clyde 1-1. H. NORTHERN 16 ARLINGTON 4 DOLA – Hardin Northern continued its sizzling start to the 2026 softball season, improving to 3-0 by overcoming an early 3-2 deficit and chalking up a 16-4 win over Arlington. Morgan Stewart homered and drove in three runs for Hardin Northern, which scored five runs in the third inning and nine in the fourth. Addy Bacon tripled and scored four times, Baylie Bacon drove in two runs with a pair of doubles and Karli Fath and Kaitlyn Whitaker added two hits each. Lyla Holtzberger was the winning pitcher for the third straight game. She gave up four runs on six hits, struck out seven and did not walk a batter in the five-inning game. Harper Ratliff had a single and a double and Ellie Marquart doubled in a run in Arlington's season opener. Arlington 300 01—4 6 3 H. Northern 115 9x—16 10 3 WP—Holtzberger (3-0). LP—Velazquez. TOP HITTERS: (Arl) Ratliff 1B, 2B; Glick 1B, RBI; Marquart 2B, RBI; Taulbee 1B, RBI. (HN) A. Bacon 3B; B. Bacon 2-2B, 2 RBI; Holtzberger 1B, 3 RBI; Seabrook 2b, 2 RBI; Stewart HR, 3 RBI; Fath 1B, 2B, RBI; Whitaker 1B, 2B. RECORDS: Arlington 0-1; Hardin Northern 3-0. ADA 17 LIMA SR. 2 ADA – Ada got its 2026 season off to a solid start with a 17-2 win over Lima Senior on Wednesday. Ada graduated an all-Ohio battery of first-team pitcher Jenna Bassitt and honorable mention catcher Nattily McClain, but had the pitching and defense needed to overwhelm the Spartans. MCCOMB 23 OTTOVILLE 2 MCCOMB – A potent offense continued to be McComb's calling card as the Panthers pounded out a 23-2 win over Ottoville. The Panthers, who beat Columbus grove 20-3 in their season opener, are off to a 2-0 start. In other softball action on Wednesday, Lakota doubled up Arcadia 10-5 and Kenton outslugged Cory-Rawson 17-9. LOCAL SPORTS Wednesday's Results BOWLING Sportsman Lanes PRIME TIMERS LEAGUE High game: (men) John DeMuth 244; (women) Debby Schade 187. High series: (men) DeMuth 653; (women) Oates 497. MORNING GLORIES LEAGUE High game: Crystal Lane, Hitching's Ins., 199. High series: Lane, 510. SUNSETTERS LEAGUE High game: Carol Yeager, Broad Construction, 190. High series: Charity Schafer, Snap Crackle Pop, 499. SCHEDULE Thursday's Events SOFTBALL Elida at Ada Carey at Van Buren Leipsic at Miller City Liberty-Benton at Hopewell-Loudon Fostoria at Tiffin Calvert BOYS LACROSSE Sylvania Southview at Findlay, 6:30 p.m. GIRLS LACROSSE Marysville at Findlay, 7 p.m.