The prospects of Julie Shives playing college volleyball seemed to take a serious hit Aug. 4 when the Southwestern City School levy failed.
That left hundreds of the district's student- athletes including Shives -- then a Central Crossing standout -- without a place to play.
But Shives and her family turned to a familiar face at Hilliard Davidson and things eventually turned out just fine. In front of a gymnasium full of people at Davidson Wednesday, April 14, Shives, along with three other Wildcats' athletes, signed letters of intent to continue their careers at various colleges and universities.
Shives will play at Southeast Missouri State University, a Division I school that competes in the Ohio Valley Conference. Shives was team MVP, a first-team All-OCC and All-Central District selection at Davidson, but said she wouldn't have been able to accomplish any of it without the support of the Davidson family.
"We waited until the levy failed," Shives said. "We were really hoping it passed because we really wanted to stay, we didn't want to move. I wanted to play volleyball, it was really important, especially my senior year. We've known (Davidson coach) Betty Cameron since I was like 10, she coached my sister and is a great coach so we moved over here.
"It was really tough leaving my friends, but everyone here at Davidson was really welcoming. They really made me feel comfortable here. The girls on the team helped, the teachers were great. It was tough at times, but I made a lot of good friends and it was a great experience."
Shives practically owes her D-I scholarship to a close friend, who happens to attend one of the Wildcats' biggest rivals.
"(Dublin Coffman outside hitter) Andrea Baylin is going there and she was on my club team," Shives said. "She said they were looking for a setter and she gave them my name. I went there and loved it. It was amazing and a perfect fit."
The other three athletes who signed last week included football players Phil Huff (Kent State University) and Pat Dougherty (Georgetown College) and swimmer Jake Miller (University of Ashland).
Huff, a skilled lineman, had other options but was holding out for a D-I offer which finally came.
"Ashland and a couple other D-II schools were in the mix," Huff said, "but this definitely is the best team I could've been on. I'm excited to go D-I. When I was looking for a college I wanted one with big classes at a big school. Kent State is the second- biggest school in the state."
Huff said he will be well prepared for college after four years at Davidson.
"I think our offensive line has to go harder for longer amounts of time because we have the ball so much and the offense we run," he said. "We do a lot of run blocking, but I also have to get use to pass blocking."
Darby signings
The Panthers had a total of seven athletes commit to colleges in the past week, including a standout in track and cross country who is headed to one of America's premier academic institutions.
Senior distance runner Jay McKenna will run track and cross country at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"MIT has a real good distance running program," McKenna said. "So that was a big plus; obviously first and foremost I'm going there for the great academic opportunities. It is nice that they have a strong athletic program.
"I've been running competitively since seventh grade so I really wanted to continue that in college."
MIT competes at the Division III level and is a national power in track and cross country.
Other signees at Darby included All-Ohio trackster Xerina Hughey (Miami University), lacrosse player Tyler Smetanko (St. Andrews Presbyterian College), volleyballer Kayla Cammarata (Edinboro University), cross country-track runner Shannon Kelleher (Wittenberg University), basketball guard Kalee Seagle (Ohio Wesleyan) and soccer standout Sami Atkinson (Ohio Northern University).
Seagle, who was called the heart and soul of the Lady Panthers this season, has always dreamed of playing in college and now will have her chance.
"It is definitely a huge weight off my shoulders," Seagle said, "especially with it being so late in my senior year. It's so exciting, the coaches at Ohio Wesleyan are awesome, the players are awesome, and I'm excited to go to a program where the same coach has been there for like 25 years."
That consistency is something Seagle may have to get use to, as she had three different varsity basketball coaches in three years at Darby.
"It was kind of cool because each coach was different," she said. "The down side was you were always learning something new, but I think it helped me in the long run become a better player."
Current Lady Panthers coach Liz Lehman said she inherited quite an athlete that made those around her better.
"She was just invaluable to us this year," Lehman said. "You could see it in the box score; you could see it in practice. Her fellow players like and respect her a lot. She helped teach the younger kids a lot. She was a great kid to inherit; I really can't take credit for her being up there.
"She never missed a beat going from coach to coach to coach. That just shows how much she loves the sport."
Junior Casey Cempre has no idea where he will playing when the Thomas Worthington High School boys tennis team plays host to the Worthington Cup on Saturday along with Worthington Kilbourne.
But it really doesn't matter to him.
"I'm just excited because it's the Worthington Cup," Cempre said. "It's just a huge tradition for our team. It usually has the best players there, so I'm just happy to be playing in it at all."
That carefree attitude is one of the things Thomas coach Tyler Stephen enjoys most about Cempre, who had a 3-2 record at first singles through the Cardinals' first six dual matches.
However, Cempre has had no problem playing doubles when Stephen has needed him to. Cempre and Joey Wortman teamed to defeat Brian Aguirre and Jack Klein 6-0, 6-4 at first doubles in a 3-2 win over Worthington Kilbourne in the first round of the OTCA Division I team tournament on April 1.
"Sometimes you will have players who play first singles and they won't play anywhere else," Stephen said. "Against Kilbourne, I approached him with the idea of playing him at doubles and he said, 'I'll do whatever is best for the team.' He stepped up and got the job done."
"It's important to put your best lineup out there," Cempre said. "If that means playing doubles, that's fine with me."
Cempre and Mark Evans teamed to place fourth at the Hilliard Davidson Doubles Classic last Saturday to help the Cardinals finish fourth with 18 points, behind New Albany (29), Dublin Coffman (27) and Davidson (20). Kilbourne and Cincinnati Seven Hills tied for fifth with 16 points, followed by Shaker Heights (12) and Watterson (10).
Thomas' David Edison and Wortman defeated Kilbourne's Sam Lazaroff and Ryan Wiet 8-3 to take third in the second flight. Also for the Cardinals, Harrison Chang and Matt Osesberg (third flight) were sixth and Karthik Hari and Chris Shumaker (fourth flight) placed fifth.
For the Wolves, Klein and Roger Juang (third flight) placed second, losing to Dublin Coffman's Eric Herzfeld and Daiki Kumasegawa 8-1 in the final. Kevin Metka and Aguirre (first flight) finished sixth and Andrew Zuk and Jonathan Ringel (fourth flight) were eighth.
Kilbourne will be trying to keep its hold on the Cup. The Wolves, who won the Cup the last two years and four of the last nine, scored 15 points last season to finish ahead of Upper Arlington (11), Bexley (10), Watterson (10), Davidson (9), Olentangy Liberty (7), St. Charles (7) and Thomas (5).
This year's event features the top singles player and top doubles team from Thomas, Kilbourne, Dublin Jerome, Davidson, New Albany, Olentangy Liberty and St. Charles. Combined, the eight schools produced 11 of central Ohio's 12 qualifiers for the Division I singles and doubles state tournament last season.
Metka is one of the returning state qualifiers playing in the Cup. He won the Cup's singles title in 2008 and last year teamed with graduate Jonny Price to win the Division I state doubles championship.
Other players to watch include Liberty's Arren Carter, a three-time state singles qualifier, UA's Billy Weldon, a two-time state doubles qualifier, and New Albany's Riyad Bennoui, a two-time state doubles qualifier.
Kilbourne coach Steve Metzmaier said winning the Cup last year may have given Metka confidence for the postseason.
"I think every time you win something, it's going to help you out," Metzmaier said. "For the three guys (who represent Kilbourne in the tournament), it's a midseason checkpoint to see where they stand."
Dom Marzano may be coaching a Hilliard Bradley High School boys lacrosse team that was winless in six games before last Wednesday, but he knows better days are ahead for the Jaguars.
He believes the first-year program actually is further along than expected and is getting better with each outing.
"I think we're ahead of schedule," said Marzano, a 2002 Davidson graduate. "Since we're a first-year program with a first-year coach, it has taken this long to implement our system and now it's time to work on shooting form and other individual skills. I really thought we wouldn't be able to do that for at least a couple more weeks."
The Jaguars lost to the Pickerington Club team 8-1 on April 14 and lost to Darby 5-1 last Friday. Marzano saw positives in both losses.
"We're clearing well, playing good defense and have been playing well in goal," he said. "In the last two games, we even outshot our opponents and had more groundballs, but we couldn't score.
"We need to work on finishing - putting the ball in back of the net. From the first to the sixth game, we have improved on the little things. All of the other stuff is there, but we just have to get it past the goalie."
The only way the Jaguars can improve their shooting is through practice. Now that the players have started to grasp the philosophy of Marzano and his coaching staff, they can work on the individual skills of the sport.
"We have had opportunities in the last two games, but we're just not finishing and putting the ball in the net," Marzano said. "Now the practice plans focus on everyone's individual play. We have worked on form and shot technique. Now we can work on each player's individual shot and stick skills."
Marzano has been impressed with the play of junior attacker Nick Sparks as well as sophomores Austin Johnston (defender) and Logan Muether (goalkeeper).
"Nick Sparks is our leading scorer and Logan Muether has really been stepping up and playing well in goal for us," he said. "And Austin Johnston is a long-stick midfielder who is all over the field. Usually you have two long sticks out there, but he covers so much ground that we have been playing with one."
Marzano said his team has the right attitude to continue its improvement.
"Their work ethic has been great," he said. "The practices have been fantastic. They work hard and push themselves to get better as a team. As a group of high-schoolers, that's an impressive goal. They want to get better sooner rather than later."
•The Davidson boys team remained unbeaten through 11 games entering its OCC-Buckeye Division showdown against Upper Arlington last Wednesday.
The Wildcats were on the verge of tying a program record for most wins in a season with 12. Since becoming a varsity program in 1989, they have won 12 games twice, finishing 12-4 in 1994 and 12-8 last season.
"We have started strong, but we know we have to continue to work hard in practice to get better," junior attacker Sky Strahler said. "The teams we will play are going to be better and better and we have to make sure we keep improving."
Junior goalkeeper Adam Lewis shares the same philosophy.
"We have to keep doing what we have all year," he said. "We can't overlook fundamentals and we have to keep going hard every time we take the field."
The Dublin Coffman High School girls track and field team continued a trend last Saturday when it scored 40 points to place eighth out of 16 squads in its own Dublin Coffman Track and Field Classic, behind champion North Canton Hoover (121).
While the Shamrocks haven't challenged for a team title in any of their first three invitationals, they have finished higher in each event than they did a year ago.
Coffman finished 13th out of 18 teams in its home invitational last season.
"We're scoring a lot more points and placing higher in every meet because we have a lot more depth this year," coach Greg King said. "It's not one person carrying this team to better finishes. We're so much stronger overall."
Megan Collins finished third in the 3,200 meters (11 minutes, 41.38 seconds) and finished fourth in the 1,600 (5:19.5).
Sara Johnson finished third in the 100 hurdles (15.77). The 3,200 relay placed second (10:01.25) and Coffman's 1,600 relay placed third (4:12.55).
The Shamrocks boys and girls squads will compete Friday in the Wildcat Invitational at Westerville South.
"We're continuing to experiment with our lineups and putting different kids in open and relay races to help us make our choices for who will run (in the postseason meets)," King said. "Next week, some of our people will run different races than they ran this week."
Coffman's boys team finished third (66) in the 18-team field behind Centerville (85.5) and North Canton Hoover (69).
Placing first for the Shamrocks was E.J. Williams in the 400 (49.56), their 1,600 relay (3:25.74) and their 3,200 relay (8:21.31).
Carl Ruf finished third (2:01.39) and Grant Onken placed fourth (2:01.71) in the 800, and John Kieffer finished third in the 1,600 (4:29.79).
"I've been here since 2001, and this is the highest we've ever finished in this meet," coach Tyler Gantz said.
"We scored a lot of points and we still haven't loaded up our lineup, from top to bottom, yet. This is a good sign that we're in good shape."
•Jerome's boys team finished ninth (33) at the Classic.
Dan King finished second in the high jump at 6-feet to tie a program record.
Nick Schneider placed third in the 3,200 in 9:55.94.
The boys and girls squads will compete Friday in the Freedom Relays at Olentangy Liberty.
"We had a lot of great individual performances and this was a very successful meet because we made a lot of progress," coach Dave Stroh said.
"Our relays aren't where they need to be, so we're going to continue to work on them so we can be at our best by the middle of May."
Jerome's girls squad finished last (5) at the Classic.
Rebecca Rings finished sixth in the 800 (2:28.65).
"Our kids ran what they've normally been running, but we had some tough competition," coach Randi Stephens said. "Our girls had a lot of personal-best performances here."
•Scioto's girls team finished fourth (54) at the Classic behind Hoover, Brunswick (103.5) and New Albany (61).
Hannah Miller finished second in the discus (110-10), and Rachel Christian was runner-up in the 100 (12.5) and 200 (26.28).
"Rachel and Hannah had good days, but overall this wasn't a real good team performance," coach Matt Suttle said.
"We were hoping to contend for first place, but our sprint relays and distance runners didn't run well."
Scioto's boys team finished 15th (21) at the Coffman event.
Michael Shibko placed third in the pole vault (13-4) and Luis Carbajal finished fourth in the 3,200 (9:56.89).
Scioto's boys and girls squads will compete Friday in the Lancaster Fulton Relays.
"If we run well, our girls could contend to win this meet," Suttle said.
At a glance
Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Coffman, Jerome and Scioto boys and girls track and field teams:
COFFMAN
*April 13 - Boys: Defeated Westland 113-15; Girls: Def. Westland 111-16
Last Saturday - Boys: Finished third (66) in 16-team Dublin Coffman Track and Field Classic behind Centerville (85.5) and North Canton Hoover (69); Girls: Finished eighth (40) in 16-team Dublin Coffman Track and Field Classic behind champion North Canton Hoover (121)
*Last Tuesday - Competed against Thomas Worthington
Friday - At Wildcat Invitational at Westerville South
*Tuesday - Home vs. Hilliard Darby
*OCC-Central meet
JEROME
*April 13 - Boys: Lost to Olentangy Liberty 93-44; Girls: Lost to Liberty 100-37
Last Saturday - Boys: Finished ninth (33) in 16-team Dublin Coffman Track and Field Classic behind champion North Canton Hoover (69); Girls: Finished last (5) in 16-team Dublin Coffman Track and Field Classic behind champion North Canton Hoover (121)
*Last Tuesday - Competed against Westerville South
Friday - At Freedom Relays at Olentangy Liberty
*Tuesday - Home vs. Olentangy
SCIOTO
*April 13 - Boys: Lost to Westerville South 69-63; Girls: Def. South 73-55
Last Saturday - Boys: Finished 15th (21) in 16-team Dublin Coffman Track and Field Classic behind champion North Canton Hoover (69); Girls: Finished fourth (54) in 16-team Dublin Coffman Track and Field Classic behind champion North Canton Hoover (121)
*Last Tuesday - Competed against Westerville North
Friday - At Lancaster Fulton Relays
*Tuesday - Home vs. Westerville Central
*OCC-Cardinal meet
Pickerington North volleyball coach Marci Truex believes in setting lofty goals.
And two of them are, "To at least get back to the regional finals, then to state," said Truex.
The Panthers finished last year with a 15-10 record and a visit to the regional semifinals.
The team lost Anthony Evans to graduation, a player who was the team's setter for the past three years as well as an Ohio Capital Conference first-teamer, making it a difficult position to fill.
So far, the road to the regionals for the Panthers has been rocky. North traveled to Beavercreek for a tri-meet Saturday, April 17, where it lost to Beavercreek, 25-21 and 25-30, and then won against Stowe 26-24 and 25-12.
The team has several returning letterwinners. They are seniors Michael Mulroy, Steven Gleich, Vasily Shatalov and Kyle Hoskinson. Juniors Jesse Fausnaugh, Sam Lambert, Ben Schneider round out the letterwinners back.
According to Truex, those players have been key to this year's success. In particular, Hoskinson, the team captain, is "a solid player and leader all around." the coach said. "The kids look to him for direction."
Hoskinson is on track to be the first North four-year letterwinner in boys volleyball.
Fausnaugh is what Truex calls the team's "big gun" and is currently leading the team in kills. The coach says the entire team "feeds off his productivity."
Two juniors, Schneider and Lambert have been "absolutely consistent," while Mulroy is 'taking the primary setting role" as well, said Truex.
Before making it to the finals, the Panthers have to get past two notable teams in Gahanna and Mount Vernon. Past matchups between North and the Lions have gone all five sets. Truex describes those matches against Gahanna as a "battle fest."
In the teams' most recent meeting April 6, the Panthers came out on top -- 25-20, 27-29, 25-16, 24-26, 15-12. Mount Vernon, currently ranked No. 6 in the state has always been North's No. 1 rival, with the teams alternating league titles.
The Panthers faced the Yellow Jackets Thursday, April 15, and lost in three games -- 25-19, 25-12, 25-11. North hopes to redeem itself when it plays Mount Vernon again May 4.
According to Truex, the Panthers can do it.
"The kids just show heart and intensity," the coach said. "We just have to get back on a winning trend. We've had a rough week, but the kids have a good attitude and that goes a long way."
The Panthers face Dublin Coffman on the road Wednesday, April 21 (5:30 p.m.), host Delaware Hayes Thursday, April 22 (5:30 pm.) and travel to Worthington Kilbourne Saturday, April 24 (10 a.m.).
Returning for the Pickerington Central girls track and field team are five state meet qualifiers from 2009.
Not bad.
The girls are captained by seniors Christina Gagliardo (pole vault), Kendall Payne (discus), Jenny Kuzmic (hurdles), Kaitlin Peters (high jump, sprints), Jessica Hurley (distance) and Megan Sharrett (distance).
Gagliardo placed 10th in the pole vault at last year's state meet with a mark of 11-feet, 0-inches.
Also back are all four members from the 1,600-meter relay team that made states, including Peters and juniors Jasmine Greene, Jalisa Jarrett and Tionne Goodson.
Jarrett also qualified for the 400 dash at states, while Green advanced to the big stage for the 300 hurdles.
A large Tigers junior class will help add depth to the events.
Jordon Robinson and Elizabeth England will be competing in sprints with Erika Gordon and Grace Calloway. In distance, Kaitlyn Meyer and Annie Curie will play large roles. Also adding to the depth will be pole vaulter and sprinter Alli Hammond. Ada Burley will participate in the throwing events.
"I think we're pretty balanced," said Central coach Robb Hammond. "If you look at the results from the last about four weeks now, we've been able to score across the board -- sprints, distance, throws... ."
The coach said he doesn't see any weaknesses, but added the team is working hard to improve in the high jump and long jump.
"We're trying some different kids; that's what we do a lot of times on Tuesdays (in league duals) if we need to experiment a little bit," Hammond said. "We're trying to fill some spots."
He also said the squad's goal every year is to win the Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division meet, but to do that, they need to score as many points as possible. To do that, the Tigers are trying to build depth in all events.
PHSC most recently competed at the Dublin Coffman Invitational Saturday, April 17, posting a fifth-place finish in the 16-team event.
Greene finished first in the 300 hurdles with a time of 48.13, and the 1,600 relay placed second (4:09.51).
In field events, Payne and Gagliardo turned in top-three finishes. Gagliardo was second in the pole vault (9-10), while Payne placed third in the discus (103-6).
"(Saturday's) meet at Dublin was the toughest meet that we've run in so far as far as competition," said Hammond. "So I thought it was good for the girls to see that competition. I don't think it was a great day for us (Saturday). We accomplished some things. It was kind of cold, a long day."
At the Stingel Invitational April 10 at Pickerington North, the team placed second out 15 teams and third at the 14-team Wildcat Premier at Hilliard Davidson April 3.
"There is no 'I' in team," Hammond said. "We're all working together to score as many points as possible. That's how we've been successful that past couple of years."
Boys track and field
Central has a new head coach this season with Milton Folson taking the reins.
The team is captained by seniors Stephen Blake (400, relays), Connor Reed (discus) and Jaysen Arzadon (hurdles) and juniors Tamani Carter (relays), Grant Hammond (pole vault) and Tyler W. Hammond (sprints).
In the 400, sophomore Billy Eakins plays a big role, while sophomore Devone Penick competes in sprints.
Two other key sophomore contributors are Michael Gase and Mason Prater in the distance events.
In field events, senior Kenny Johnson high jumps, while junior Aric Barker and sophomore Nick Wilson compete in the shot put.
Folson said right now the strength of the team is its enthusiasm, but something potentially posing a weakness is its youth.
"We've got guys who are still learning to run races, whether it's our sprints or our distance," said Folson. "So that's kind of our weaknesses right now."
The Tigers will have a tough road to a conference championship, competing with the likes of Pickerington North, Gahanna and Lancaster.
"I think we'll be competitive," Folson said. "Our strength again will be our throwing events and our relays, and I think we can make a pretty good showing."
At the 18-team Dublin Coffman Invitational, they placed 16th.
"I thought the performance was great," the coach said. "I think every week we're getting stronger. Even though we didn't see a lot of high places as far as marks, our times are getting lower, so that's what we want to see."
Grant Hammond placed second in the pole vault at 14-0.
In earlier events, Central was seventh at the 14-team Stingel Invitational and 13th at the 16-team Wildcat Premier.
Both Tigers teams were to travel to league-opponent Gahanna Tuesday, April 20, before participating in the Watkins Reserve Invitational Thursday, April 22 (4 p.m.) and the Westerville South Relays Friday, April 23 (4:30 p.m.).
LANCASTER -- Lancaster and Newark combined for plenty of action Monday -- 26 runs, 28 hits, six walks and three errors, to be exact.
Lancaster erased a 7-0 first-inning deficit and battered the Wildcats' pitchers for a thrilling 15-11 Ohio Capital Conference-Ohio Division victory at Beavers Field.What was lacking in a contest that was more heavyweight boxing match than baseball game, however, was finesse.
"It was not a good day to be a pitcher," Newark coach Kyle Walters said. "We couldn't ask for a better start. But we haven't had too many situations like that where we've had a seven-run lead. We need to learn how to play with a lead."
The Gales (4-11, 2-5) showed their resiliency in bouncing back from a 7-1 gap with a seven-run second-inning rally. Lancaster sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning and had seven hits and a walk. Cameron Norman delivered the biggest blow with a two-run double.
Denver Hutchison collected the second of his four hits on an infield single that scored Tyler Williams. Chris Long and Russ King each doubled in runs, and Luis Mejia, who started the inning with a lead-off single, drove in the final run with a single that scored King.
"I was just thinking that we needed to get out of this inning, get in there and start hitting the ball," Hutchison said of playing from behind.
"We did it. As soon as we got back into the dugout, we knew we could do the same thing they just did."
The rally answered a first-inning salvo in which the Wildcats (2-11, 1-6 OCC-Ohio) sent 12 batters to the plate. Seven eventually scored.
"When you've got a lead, you've got to roll a goose egg," Walters said. "Once you get up seven runs, you've got to come right back and kill their momentum right away."
Newark rallied for three runs in the fourth, including a two-run double by Daniel Logan after Lancaster inserted its third pitcher of the game. The Gales utilized an all-reliever pitching rotation Monday, and Mejia was the only pitcher to record three consecutive outs in the game.
Lancaster went back to work in its half of the fourth as King, Mejia and Austin Smith each reached base. A walk and a throwing error allowed King to score and loaded the bases for Hutchison. Having committed two errors at second base, Hutchison redeemed himself with a two-run double that gave the Gales a lead for good at 12-10.
"That's one thing we have done this year -- put the ball in play," Gales coach Cory Miller said. "We've just had some tough luck in games this year. (Monday) we saw some balls falling and some beating some outfielders into the gaps."
Logan led the Wildcats with three hits and two RBI, and Zeb Winkleman was 2-for-3, was hit by a pitch, reached on an error and had two RBI.
Hutchison was 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. Leadoff hitter Cameron Norman finished 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBI. Mitch Harding and Dylan Long added two hits and two RBI each for the Gales.
"Both (teams) hit the ball. Both had a couple errors. We both did the best we could," Hutchison said.
"In other games like that, you wouldn't think of coming back. It's just how the game goes."
LANCASTER -- Lancaster and Newark combined for plenty of action Monday -- 26 runs, 28 hits, six walks and three errors, to be exact.
Lancaster erased a 7-0 first-inning deficit and battered the Wildcats' pitchers for a thrilling 15-11 Ohio Capital Conference-Ohio Division victory at Beavers Field.What was lacking in a contest that was more heavyweight boxing match than baseball game, however, was finesse.
"It was not a good day to be a pitcher," Newark coach Kyle Walters said. "We couldn't ask for a better start. But we haven't had too many situations like that where we've had a seven-run lead. We need to learn how to play with a lead."
The Gales (4-11, 2-5) showed their resiliency in bouncing back from a 7-1 gap with a seven-run second-inning rally. Lancaster sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning and had seven hits and a walk. Cameron Norman delivered the biggest blow with a two-run double.
Denver Hutchison collected the second of his four hits on an infield single that scored Tyler Williams. Chris Long and Russ King each doubled in runs, and Luis Mejia, who started the inning with a lead-off single, drove in the final run with a single that scored King.
"I was just thinking that we needed to get out of this inning, get in there and start hitting the ball," Hutchison said of playing from behind.
"We did it. As soon as we got back into the dugout, we knew we could do the same thing they just did."
The rally answered a first-inning salvo in which the Wildcats (2-11, 1-6 OCC-Ohio) sent 12 batters to the plate. Seven eventually scored.
"When you've got a lead, you've got to roll a goose egg," Walters said. "Once you get up seven runs, you've got to come right back and kill their momentum right away."
Newark rallied for three runs in the fourth, including a two-run double by Daniel Logan after Lancaster inserted its third pitcher of the game. The Gales utilized an all-reliever pitching rotation Monday, and Mejia was the only pitcher to record three consecutive outs in the game.
Lancaster went back to work in its half of the fourth as King, Mejia and Austin Smith each reached base. A walk and a throwing error allowed King to score and loaded the bases for Hutchison. Having committed two errors at second base, Hutchison redeemed himself with a two-run double that gave the Gales a lead for good at 12-10.
"That's one thing we have done this year -- put the ball in play," Gales coach Cory Miller said. "We've just had some tough luck in games this year. (Monday) we saw some balls falling and some beating some outfielders into the gaps."
Logan led the Wildcats with three hits and two RBI, and Zeb Winkleman was 2-for-3, was hit by a pitch, reached on an error and had two RBI.
Hutchison was 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. Leadoff hitter Cameron Norman finished 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBI. Mitch Harding and Dylan Long added two hits and two RBI each for the Gales.
"Both (teams) hit the ball. Both had a couple errors. We both did the best we could," Hutchison said.
"In other games like that, you wouldn't think of coming back. It's just how the game goes."
Gahanna Lincoln's 2009 tennis team climbed to a level it hadn't reached for a while, after winning the Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division championship -- its first since 1981.
But that was then, and the Golden Lions have a whole new set of challenges awaiting them this season.
"That doesn't mean anything," new coach Chris Schwinnen said of the league title. "We're going to have to play.
"It's nice to have the core group coming back off that championship team, but there are a lot of tough teams in our division and we're going to have to prove it on the court."
So far, Lincoln has. In its first two OCC Ohio matches, it edged Pickerington Central 3-2 and Newark 5-0 last week. The Lions' next conference challenge was to take place Tuesday, April 20, at Pickerington North.
They'll host two more OCC foes this week -- Grove City Thursday, April 22, and Lancaster Friday, April 23, both starting at 4 p.m.
It helps when you have two OCC champions back. Junior Jesse Shivener is back at first singles after winning the title there last year. Sophomore Stephen Cheng is playing third singles right now after winning the OCCs at No. 2 in '09.
Mix in freshman Canyon Teague, who has come in and is currently playing on the second court, and Gahanna has a strong singles presence. Shivener, Teague and Cheng all won in the decision over Pick Central.
Teague takes the place of now-graduated Will Raybuck, who advanced to the Division I Central District tournament last season in doubles with Cheng.
"He is doing outstanding so far," the coach said of Teague.
"We have a very good core of returning OCC champions. We didn't lose a lot, so...we're looking pretty good."
Gahanna's first doubles team returns intact, as well, including senior and captain Weston Hebert and sophomore Daniel Emoff.
The Lions also have a 5-0 wins against Athens and Coshocton and a 4-1 decision vs. Upper Arlington's "B" team under their belt.
But their main goal is another conference crown.
"...The guys, as they're saying, they kind of want to keep this going," said Schwinnen. "They liked that feeling last year. The hard work paid off for them.
"I think they want to win another one. The drive is still there. They're not going to sit back and just say, 'Well, we won last year.'
"Led by our captain, Weston, he's got the guys energetic and really enthusiastic and focused on not taking anything for granted and playing one match at a time."
The squad will also test the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association tournaments waters soon. Lincoln, which had a first-round bye, is to play Westerville South (a 4-1 winner over West April 2) before Tuesday, April 27.
But the Lions are mostly thinking OCC, OCC, OCC.
"It's going to be pretty solid," Schwinnen said of the Ohio Division. "We're going to have to play our best tennis against everybody. On any given night, we could get upset.
"People are going to be gunning for us. We are the returning champions, and any time you're the returning champion, you've kind of got a bull's-eye on you. So they're going to bring their No. 1 games against us and we've got to be ready for it, because we've got some tough competition."
Lincoln also hosts Granville Wednesday, April 21 (4 p.m.).
Baseball
The Lions (9-5 overall) went through a rough patch with three straight OCC Ohio losses to Pickerington Central, Pickerington North and Grove City recently.
But things picked up toward the end of last week, including an 8-6 nine-inning win at Reynoldsburg Friday, April 16, that gives Gahanna a 3-3 conference mark.
It split a doubleheader at home with Marysville Saturday, April 17 -- losing one game 3-1 to the Monarchs, but capturing a 6-2 win in the other. In the latter, Drew Majerus pitched a complete game, while the Lions broke out of a 2-2 tie with a run in the fourth and three in the sixth.
Lincoln was to complete the OCC first round Monday, April 19, at home with Groveport. Round two starts Wednesday, April 21, at home with Newark (5 p.m.), followed by a trip to Lancaster Friday, April 23 (7 p.m.).
A non-league game at Worthington Kilbourne is set for Saturday, April 24 (9 a.m.).
Softball
Gahanna (8-4, 5-1) won two out of three OCC Ohio games last week -- beating Pickerington North 4-1 and Reynoldsburg 7-0, while falling to Grove City 5-0.
The Lions then won two games during the Gahanna Softball Showcase Friday and Saturday, April 16-17. With Kim Lennox throwing, Lincoln defeated Brunswick 5-2. Then, after plating six runs in the bottom of the seventh, the Lions edged Lakota West 6-5. Brandis Fishel started in the circle, with Lennox taking over in the final frame.
Three league contests are scheduled for this week: vs. Groveport April 19 to end round one, vs. Newark April 21 (5:15 p.m.) and at Lancaster April 22 (5:15 p.m.).
The Gahanna Lincoln High School softball team has had its share of what coach Jim Campolo called "good problems" during the season's first two weeks.
There's the issue of having too many players who could be regulars in right and left field, with junior Brandis Fishel, junior Cassidy Minor, sophomore Tanya Busby and sophomore Montana Fishel among those who have shown ability in those spots.
Then there's the matter of having too many leadoff hitters.
Junior center fielder Tiyona Marshall provided one of the lineup's biggest strengths as she batted first in the lineup each of her first two prep seasons.
Because of the opposition's frequent decision to walk senior catcher and three-hole hitter Kayla Ledbetter intentionally the last two seasons, however, Campolo moved her to the top of the lineup.
The results have been positive. Gahanna averaged 10 runs over its first four games with Ledbetter batting leadoff and Marshall hitting second or third.
"We're not where we need to be, but the girls are working hard and are trying to get better," Campolo said. "I've been playing a lot of different players. We're trying to come up with some things that work for us. There are a lot of people that can play and we've really moved the lineup around a lot."
Third base has also been in flux, where senior Alyssa Clancy and sophomore Kaitlyn Hann have seen the most action. Senior pitcher Kim Lennox started at third during a 5-1 win over Lancaster on April 7 and also should be a factor there when she's not pitching.
Ledbetter, Marshall and senior second baseman Kelli Lennox, as Campolo expected, have been the team's offensive leaders to start the season.
Removed from batting leadoff hasn't been an issue for Marshall. She acknowledges that she's likely reaping the benefits of having a Division I college recruit in Ledbetter (Miami University) at the top of the lineup.
"I feel like we still have a lot of room to improve on to compete with the top teams in our league," Marshall said. "We need to work on hitting throughout our lineup. I hit second in our first game and third the past (few games), and I think it's smart because there are a lot of benefits to it. We've been able to move (Ledbetter) and score more runs.
"It's been kind of hard having (revolving right and left fielders), but either way I tell them that I will back them up. I have confidence in all of our outfielders."
•SHOWCASE SCHEDULE -- Gahanna will play host to the fifth-annual Gahanna Showcase on Friday and Saturday. The Lions play Saturday against Brunswick (11:15 a.m.) and West Chester Lakota West (3 p.m.) on diamond one.
Games at 5:30 p.m. Friday include Brunswick vs. Oregon Clay (diamond one), Springfield Kenton Ridge vs. Stow-Munroe Falls (two) and Sycamore Mohawk vs. Hamilton (three).
On Saturday, Oregon Clay plays Stow-Munroe Falls (one), Brunswick faces Hamilton (two) and Mohawk plays Kenton Ridge (three) at 9:30 a.m. The other games at 11:15 a.m. pit North Union vs. Kenton Ridge (two) and Bellevue vs. Hamilton (three), while at 1:15 p.m. North Union faces Mohawk (one), Stow-Munroe Falls plays St. Mary's Memorial (two) and Pickerington North faces Oregon Clay (three).
Also at 3 p.m. Saturday will be Bellevue vs. Vandalia Butler (two) and Sandusky vs. Mount Vernon (three). At 5 p.m. Saturday, Lakota West plays Pickerington North (one), Mount Vernon faces St. Mary's Memorial (two) and Butler plays Sandusky (three).
Campolo believes Brunswick and Lakota West are two of the better teams which will be in attendance at the Gahanna Showcase.
"We're playing some pretty tough teams this year," Marshall said. "There are always more people who are able to go to the (Showcase) games because it's on the weekend. Hopefully more of our teachers will be able to make it to those games."
At a glance
Below are recent results and coming schedule for the Gahanna softball team:
April 2 -- Lost to Greenville 5-4, defeated Centerville 9-3
April 3 -- Game against Lebanon was canceled after four innings because of bad weather with the score tied at 4
*April 5 -- Defeated Newark 22-1
*April 7 -- Def. Lancaster 5-1
*Last Friday -- Def. Pickerington Central 3-0
Last Saturday -- Lost to Upper Arlington 2-0; lost to Marysville 2-1
*Last Monday -- Def. Pickerington North 4-1
*Last Wednesday -- Played Grove City
*Today -- At Reynoldsburg
Saturday -- Home vs. Brunswick (11:15 a.m.) and West Chester Lakota West (3 p.m.) in Gahanna Showcase
*Monday -- Home vs. Groveport
*Wednesday -- Home vs. Newark
Of note: The Lions were 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the OCC-Ohio Division before last Wednesday.
*OCC-Ohio game
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