JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP —
Everybody out of the pool.
Those five words are probably the last thing most people would want to hear in the sweltering heat and humidity that is summertime in Northeast Ohio.
For many of the 54 teams taking part in the Ohio Jaguars Summer Showcase softball tournaments taking place this weekend at Lakeside High School, the Havens Complex and the JAGS Complex, they could mean good things, but also some bad things for other teams, as they finished up pool play Saturday evening and headed for single elimination action starting on Sunday morning at 8 a.m.
Seeding information and bracket matchups for Sunday’s finale were incomplete as of this writing.
Playing at Lakeside High School’s two softball fields, the 12-and-Under ladies had their 10 teams battling through a few close games and several lopsided affairs as they moved toward the end of the day.
The Ohio Blast team appeared to have the upper hand early in the afternoon, winning two games by scores of 15-0 over the Erie Cheetahs and 9-5 over the Orange Crush team. It seemed as if they might have some competition for top seeding spots from the Grand River Styx, who dispatched the same Erie Cheetah team, 15-3, then battled to a 3-3 tie with the Orange Crush. Ties are prevalent in this tournament due to a 75-minute time limit per game.
The Grand River Styx had the upper hand in a game with the Willoughby Starz Blue in the early innings which would also put the Styx at the top for seeding purposes.
The host team Ohio Jaguars stood at 1-0 after a 2-1 nailbiter over the Erie Frost (0-1).
The Willoughby Starz Blue team was at 1-1 after beating the Erie Cheetahs, in their second season of existence, by a score of 14-2 after they had dropped their first game in pool play by an 11-6 count to the Orange Crush.
The Erie Frost and Ohio Outlaws each stood at 0-1 and the Erie Cheetahs brought up the rear with an 0-3 record. Explosive Fast Pitch Black took a 15-0 win over the Ohio Outlaws to stand at 1-0 early in the day.
With later results incomplete, the matchups for Sunday were unavailable.
The 14-and-under grouping was completed with the following results.
Northern Ohio Softball stood at 3-0, as did the host team Ohio Jaguars and the Crush. Explosive Fast Pitch Pink and Erie Frost Blue each went 2-1, HRS Heat and Valley Extreme Red were at 1-2, and Erie Cheetahs, in their first year together, along with Erie Frost White and Thunder Elite 97, brought up the bottom of the pool action at 0-3 for the day.
They begin Sunday activity with the Erie Frost White battling HRS Heat at 8 a.m. on JAGS Field 3, and the Erie Cheetahs and Thunder Elite 97 do battle at the same time on JAGS Field 4. Explosive Fast Pitch Pink and Valley Extreme Red square off at 9:30 on Field 3 and Northern Ohio Softball and Erie Frost Blue do battle on Field 4 at 9:30 as well.
The winner from the Frost White/HRS Heat contest takes on the Jaguars at 11 a.m. on Field 3. The Thunder Elite/Cheetahs winner battles the Crush on Field 4 at 11 a.m. as well.
At 12:30 p.m., Field 3 will host the winner of the Frost White/Heat-Jaguar winner while the Northern Ohio SB/Frost Blue winner takes on the Crush/Cheetahs-Elite winner.
Finally, the winners of the 12:30 games battle for the overall championship at 2 p.m. on Field 3.
If that wasn’t complicated enough, things get even more jumbled up in the older age groups.
In the 16-and-under bracket, 17 teams completed pool play, but a trio of games still to play led to incomplete elimination matchups for Sunday as well.
The Ohio Hurricane Black team went 2-0 to lead pool play. The Tigerlillies and Explosive Fast Pitch White squad each went 2-0-1 on the day. Coming in at 2-1 were the host Ohio Jaguar team guided by Star Beacon freelance writer Bob Ettinger. The Ohio Blast Helon team, Penn Ohio Reign, and Wizards Fast Pitch also came in at 2-1. The Jaguars will receive the highest seeding for Sunday play based on the fact of having scored the most runs in pool action.
At 1-1-1 are Twisters Fast Pitch, Turbos, and the Phoenix.
Coming in at 1-1 were NAC Stingers and Erie Frost.
Teams at 1-2 are Grand River Styx and Hot Sox, at 0-2-1 is Xplosion Fast Pitch, at 0-2 are Shockwaves, and the Diamond Express Red had a tough day, going 0-3.
Several of these teams had not yet completed pool action, so their final records and the matchups could not be completed either.
Action in the 18U grouping was also not quite done.
The Ohio Hurricanes Black, Valley Extreme Carney and Pittsburgh Power each came in at 3-0 for the day, and Valley Extreme Red was 2-0 entering a late game.
The NAC Stingers stood at 1-0-1.
The host Ohio Jaguars stood at 2-1-1, Tigerlillies and the Ohio Hurricanes Red each were 2-1, and the Phoenix was 1-1-1.
Erie Frost and Ohio Lady Buckeyes are each 1-2, along with Diamond Express Black. Chain Reaction Black is 0-1-1, Northern Ohio Softball is 0-2, and the trio of Hot Sox, Lady Lightning, and Ohio Fusion each bring up the rear at 0-3.
Only eight of the 17 teams in this division had elimination round places set.
There was a blend of tight contests and blowouts throughout the second day of action in the Summer Showcase. With many area high school stars split among several of the teams in each division, laughter and good competition was a constant throughout the games..
Those interested in seeing some of the best softball teams from across the state can visit Lakeside High, the Havens Complex, or the JAGS Complex today, with title games starting around 2 p.m. at each venue.
Kelly is a freelance writer from Jefferson.
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