New Riegel blanks Arlington, secures district title

NEW RIEGEL 18ARLINGTON 0NEW RIEGEL – New Riegel's softball record is not perfect, but its pitching certainly was on Saturday when the Blue Jackets blanked Arlington 18-0 in a Division VII district softball final at Liberty-Benton.Karsyn Piper and Payton Weaver, both junior right-handers, combined for a perfect game. Piper, the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division Player of the Year who threw five hitless innings a semifinal win over North Baltimore, went the first four innings, striking out 11 of the 12 batters she faced. Weaver struck out two of the three batters she saw in fifth. Neither pitcher walked a batter, and the Blue Jackets played errorless defense in not allowing a single base runner.Offensively, New Riegel put up video-game numbers in improving to 22-3 and earning a spot in the Division VII regionals. The Blue Jackets 13 hits included a home run by Jacqui Tiell and nine doubles, with Maddie Heilman (2-2B, 2 RBI), Alexis Mathias (1B, 2-2B, RBI), Lacey Schalk (2-2B, 3 RBI), and Claire Schalk (2-2B, RBI) lining two each.Arlington ended post season play with a 4-20 record.New Riegel will face Covington Wednesday at 4:30 in one of two regional semifinal games at Wapakoneta. Hardin Northern (19-3) and South Charleston Southeastern square off in the 2 p.m. matchup, with the winners returning Friday at 5 p.m. for the regional title and the bid to state that goes with it.Hardin Northern also got solid pitching in its district final win, with the Polar Bears allowing just two hits in a 5-0 victory over Continental. Hardin Northern scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning, then added two insurance runs in the fifth.Findlay High will be the site of a Division VII softball regional tournament as well on Wednesday. Gibsonburg and Mohawk will clash in a 2 p.m. game at Babcock Field, with Ayersville and Edgerton, league rivals in the Green Meadows Conference, squaring off at 5 p.m. Those winners will also meet Friday at 5 p.m. for a regional championship.Arlington 000 00—0 0 4New Riegel 1789 1x—18 13 0WP—Piper. LP—Ratliff. TOP HITTERS: (NR) Heilman 2-2B, 2 RBI; Mathias 1B, 2-2B, RBI; Tiell HR, 3 RBI; La. Schalk 2-2B, 3 RBI; Baughman 2B, RBI; C. Schalk 2-2B, RBI; Li. Schalk 1B, 2B, RBI. MOHAWK 11H-LOUDON 0NEW WASHINGTON – Mohawk's Aubrey Gottfried pitched a shutout, struck out 12 batters and was 3-for-3 at the plate and drove in four runs in the Warriors 11-0 district final win over Hopewell-Loudon.Katie Woodland and Mara Haynes belted two-run home runs for Mohawk (24-3). The Warriors will face Gibsonburg (17-3) Wednesday at 2 p.m. in a Division VII regional semifinal game at Findlay's Babcock Field. ADA 11COL. CRAWFORD 10SHELBY – Ada built enough of a lead to survive a suspension of play and a late rally by Colonel Crawford to edge the Eagles 11-10 and win a second straight Division VI district softball championship.Ada forged an 11-8 lead through six innings before play was suspended by wet weather on Friday. The Bulldogs trailed 3-0 early, but surged into the lead when two-run home runs by Reese Jordan and Tea Griffith sparked an eight-run second inning rally.The teams returned to the diamond on Monday, with Ada holding on for the win and a spot in the Division VI regional tournament at Bellefontaine where the Bulldogs, who reached the regional final last season, will take on Danville Wednesday at 5 p.m. New Madison Tri-Village and Fayetteville Perry meet in the opening game, with the winners returning Friday at 5 p.m. for the regional final. Tennis MASON – Bluffton's Grady Coonfare and Isaiah Kohli have qualified for the Division II boys state tennis tournament in doubles and will play their first match Thursday at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason.Coonfare and Kohli placed fourth in the district tournament. A key win for the Bluffton seniors was a come-back 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 win over Port Clinton's Kai Weit and Evan Lovitt in the district semifinals.Seeded No. 4 from the Northwest District, Coonfare and Kohli will face Circleville's Logan Elm's Mason Wolfe and Zach Speas, the No. 1-seeded team out of the Southeast District, in their first match. (14-sub head) Oren namedLIMA –The Northwest Central Conference announced on Monday that Steve Oren has been named the league's new commissioner. He replaces Jerry Cooper, who filled that position from 2022 until January of this year.A long-time referee, Oren has officiated basketball for 51 years, football for 50 years and volleyball for eight.Area schools North Baltimore, Cory-Rawson and Hardin Northern are all members of the NWCC. ScheduleTuesday's EventsBASEBALLUpper Sandusky at Liberty-Benton