The first three sets featured some quality back-and-forth volleyball between Fort Loramie and Russia. The fourth set? Sometimes you have nights like those … and the Raiders were on the wrong side of a lopsided loss in the Shelby County Athletic League.
Frustration!…The offense was out of synch, and Warren pitcher Cam Hollobaugh kept it there, putting Loramie away with a 3-2 loss to Warren JFK in the Division IV semi-finals. Read about it on Press Pros.
Everyone in agreement? Fort Loramie exploded for five runs in the third inning to bust up Cedarville, 9-1, and Russia followed in the nightcap to beat #4-ranked Fisher Catholic 9-0, making quite the statement for southwest Ohio Division IV baseball in Friday’s regional semi-final round at Princeton High School. Loramie and Russia will meet Saturday to decide which one moves on to the state tournament.
Coach Jeff Sanders’ team shut out Bradford in a sectional final on Monday to advance in a postseason tournament where anything can happen. The scoreboard told the story … Loramie’s Caeleb Meyer quieted Bradford’s bats on Monday. Read Greg Billing baseball inside today’s Press Pros.
It hasn’t happened previously, but due to the remarkable run of success on and off the court at Fort Loramie High School, seniors Grant Albers and Jadyn Puthoff sweep the 2021 Press Pros Shelby County League Scholar-Athlete awards.
What a year for Botkins! #5 seed Botkins pulled a tournament stunner Wednesday by knocking out #3 seed, and 6th-ranked Newton from the baseball state tournament in the sectional final. Read more in today’s Press Pros feature. (Photo by Julie McMaken Wright)
They scored in every inning and pitcher Grant Saunders showed tournament-type readiness with a two-hit, 12-strikeout performance Thursday over SCL rival Botkins. Russia is armed and ready to be someone’s worst nightmare in the Division IV tournament. Read the latest update on Press Pros.
Justin Krites came up aces while Anna’s offense heated up for an 11-6 victory over Botkins on Monday. (pictured) Anna teammate #11 Carter Seigle signals ‘The Out’ as McKane Finkenbine tags out a Botkin’s runner. Read more high school baseball inside today’s PressPros by Colin Foster.
Fort Loramie’s Mack Fortman dominated on the mound and the Redskins’ defense did the rest, making several stellar plays to hand the scrappy Russia Raiders a tough 4-0 loss on Thursday. Read more Greg Billing baseball inside PressPros.
It all happened so fast, with Sean Powell coaching Botkins from relative anonymity to a state championship in just three seasons, and now it transitions quickly to his exit for the head coaching job at Lima Bath. Bruce Hooley writes.
Temperatures in the mid-40s along with a cold breeze made playing conditions tough for Russia and Anna on Thursday. But as the have for all but one game this season, the Raiders overcame their opponent — and the conditions — behind solid pitching and clutch hitting for the 14-5 victory. Read more by Greg Billing on Girls Soft Ball inside today’s PressProsMagazine.
Hoping to make a good showing against a state-title caliber opponent, Fort Loramie came up short and a bit messy in a Saturday loss to Division III Wheelersburg.
After an excruciating century-long wait, and an almost lost-from-memory appearance in the tournament 27 years ago, the Botkins Trojans made the best kind of history on Sunday with their first-ever state title in basketball. Read the latest Press Pros update.
Discouragement could have claimed Botkins’ junior Jacob Pleiman’s confidence on Thursday, but he and the Trojans reached deeply to find the fortitude for a comeback win in the state semifinals. Bruce Hooley writes for Press Pros.
What about this?….They didn’t play their best, and didn’t score at all for ten minutes of the second half. But Botkins used all of its game, and the timely shooting of Jameson Meyer, to beat Richmond Heights and advance to the Division IV final. Read our latest update from the boys State Tournament.
Winning takes vision, hunger, effort and commitment, all of which abound in head coach Carla Siegel’s Fort Loramie girls program, which Saturday hung a third state championship banner that testifies to the school’s elite culture.
Net results…While his son Jayden celebrates in the foreground, Botkins coach Sean Powell hoists the victory net symbolizing the Trojans’ win in the Division IV regional final, and their first trip to the state Final Four since 1994. Read about it in the latest Press Pros update.
What it looked like in person. Loramie was bigger, stronger, and determined to achieve what Covid denied them a year ago. Now the Redskins and Dana Rose (below) are on the cusp, and Thursday they appeared determined not to allow anything to get in their way. Bruce Hooley writes.
Depth, talent and experience is a tough triple threat for anyone to deal with, but that’s what Fort Loramie features and it’s worked for another trip to the state semifinals for head coach Carla Siegel and the Redskins.
A familiar foe exacted revenge on Jackson Center, which had chance after chance after chance at the finish of a two-point district championship loss the Tigers will lament for quite some time. Bruce Hooley writes for Press Pros.
