Trey McLaughlin homered and tripled May 27, powering Licking Valley baseball to a 9-1 victory against visiting No. 9 Bishop Ready in a Division IV district semifinal.
Adam West added hit, a run and two RBIs; Brady Croak a hit, a run and an RBI; and Zane Hancock two hits and a run for the No. 2 Panthers (22-4), the reigning Division III state champions, who play either No. 3 Buckeye Valley or No. 5 Heath for a district title at 5 p.m. May 29 at Denison. Brody Sforza struck out four and allowed two hits and one run in five innings.
Heights cruises
Blake Caldwell hit an inside-the-park grand slam for Licking Heights in a 15-0 victory against No. 15 Briggs in a Division II district semifinal at Berne Union.
Tino Martin doubled and singled and knocked in four RBIs. Caleb Starns added a triple and a single and three RBIs, while Remy Alcorn and A.J. Karl-Cassette had two hits and two runs apiece for the No. 14 Hornets (9-16), who play No. 1 New Albany for a district title at 5 p.m. May 29 at Ohio Dominican. Starns also struck out nine in a five-inning one-hit shutout.
Granville falls
No. 4 Bloom-Carroll scored a run in the fifth inning and three in the sixth, sending No. 6 Granville to a 6-2 defeat in a Division III district semifinal at Beavers Field.
Jackson McMillan struck out nine and allowed three hits and three earned runs in 5⅔ innings for the Blue Aces (15-10-1). He also hit a double. Keaton Feeley doubled and singled, scored a run and drove in a run. Jake Johnson added a hit and an RBI.
TRACK
Granville relay takes third
Benjamin Rose, Connor Boissy, Sebastian Rodgers and Callum Sproul crossed in a time of 7 minutes, 55.48 seconds to place third in the 3,200-meter relay for the Granville boys during the Division II regional championships at Lexington. The Blue Aces qualified for next week’s state meet.
In the girls meet, Granville’s Tory Reynolds cleared 5 feet, 3 inches to place fourth in the high jump, also qualifying for state. Teammate Sophie Price placed sixth in the event (5-2) and could earn an at-large berth to state.
Elsa Tonnessen placed eighth in the 3,200 (11:21.45) for the Blue Aces.
Reed qualifies for state
Katie Reed covered a distance of 38 feet, 10½ inches in the shot put to place fourth for the Utica girls during the Division IV regional championships at Marion Harding. Reed qualified for next week’s state meet.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Roundup: Licking Valley begins baseball tournament run
Reporting by Kurt Snyder, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
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