SOFTBALL DRAW: Huron, Oak Harbor, Monroeville earn No. 1 seeds; Bellevue, Margaretta, Danbury are 2-seeds

The annual high school softball tournament draw is a frequent reminder — the SBC Bay Division features some darn good teams. The out-of-area coaches that take part in the seed voting confirm what local coaches are happy to point out. This season, that means No. 1 seeds for Huron and Oak Harbor with Margaretta joining in as a 2-seed. "In my opinion, (the Bay Division is) the toughest of the three divisions from top to bottom," Margaretta coach Dale Dawson said. "The other coaches kind of recognized that as well when you include Oak Harbor in that. That kind of gets us battle-ready with the success that we and Oak Harbor had last year." Huron and Margaretta are in the same bracket, the Division III Shelby District. Previously played at New Riegel, this competitive district will culminate at the home of the Whippets. The Polar Bears won the district championship last season. The year before, Huron lost to Edison in the final. Margaretta returns its ace in the circle, Mariah Fields, who is now a senior. Dawson and the Polar Bears are hoping last season's success breeds more success. "We try to practice with pressure and play games with a little bit of pressure," Dawson said. "If you practice and play with pressure, when you come this time of year, it's nothing new. We never want to get to the point where we're stepping up. We want to be at that level of performance." The Tigers were a No. 1 seed two seasons ago, when a number of this year's starters were already contributors as underclassmen. With healthy Eliza Maloney and Emmah Shaw after they missed the 2022 season, Huron is the top seed again. "It's a great accomplishment by the girls," Huron coach Jude Schmidt said. "They work hard. At the end of the day, we have to play the game. It's just a seed. We've got to show up and play like a 1-seed." The other teams with winning records in the D-III Shelby District: No. 3 Colonel Crawford, No. 4 Upper Sandusky, No. 5 Clear Fork and No. 6 Ashland Crestview. Edison is the 7-seed and will play a sectional semifinal against No. 9 Wynford on May 8, which is the earliest date any area softball team begins postseason play. To open the tournament, Huron gets a bye before playing the winner of Bucyrus and Willard. Margaretta also has a bye before taking on the Wynford vs. Edison winner. If better seeds win, Huron would line up with Upper Sandusky in the district semifinal on May 17. Margaretta is on the same side of the bracket as Colonel Crawford. A potential Huron-Margaretta district championship game would be played May 19 at 5 p.m. Rockets go for encore Oak Harbor is a No. 1 seed for the third consecutive season. In 2021, the Rockets lost a heartbreaker in the district final. They turned it around in 2022 with the program's first-ever trip to the state final four before falling in a Division II semifinal. Dropped down to the Division III Holland Springfield bracket due to enrollment numbers, first-year coach Cami Haas' squad will go for an encore. The Rockets have a first-round bye, then will play the winner of Northwood and Evergreen in a sectional final. Three-seed Defiance Tinora and 9-seed Swanton are also on Oak Harbor's side of the bracket. The 2-seed Pemberville Eastwood and 4-seed Bloomdale Elmwood, a pair of future Northern Buckeye Conference opponents of the Rockets, are the best seeds on the other side. If Oak Harbor makes the district semifinal and final, it'll be familiar with the host site at Holland Springfield. The Rockets have scrimmaged there before each of the previous two seasons, getting a couple of firm tests against one of the best Division I teams in the state. Bellevue hopes to break trend The Lady Red are in a familiar position — for the third consecutive season, they're the No. 2 seed in the Division II Willard District. But they'll be hoping to break the trend of the last two seasons, in which they've lost in the district semifinal to Clear Fork. Bellevue's battery remains the same for this potential third time's the charm postseason trip. Senior pitcher Maci Smythe (D-II Walsh commit) and junior catcher Kyra Henney (D-I BGSU commit) have both been featured each of the past two seasons. The nemesis Colts have dropped down to D-III, so they won't have a chance at spoiling the Lady Red's run. The No. 1 seed in the D-II Willard District is slugging Mansfield Madison. Bellevue hosts the Rams on Friday in a highly intriguing non-league tune-up that both teams will be hoping is a district final preview. Also in the D-II Willard District are 4-seed Clyde, 5-seed Perkins, 8-seed Norwalk and 9-seed Vermilion. The Fliers open against 6-seed Shelby, who the Fliers defeated 3-0 earlier this season. Perkins and Norwalk will meet in the first round before the winner takes on Madison. That sectional final against Madison's winner will play Clyde or Shelby in a district semifinal. Bellevue will face the winner of 7-seed Lexington and 10-seed Mansfield Senior in a sectional final. Vermilion and 3-seed Ontario match up in the first round. Danbury has path to postseason run Following a winter that saw Danbury's girls basketball team make a run to the district final, the Lakers' softball squad has a chance to do something similar. They're the No. 2 seed in the D-IV Oak Harbor District. Gibsonburg is the top seed. Danbury gets a bye before facing the winner of Old Fort and Cardinal Stritch in a sectional final. The Lakers have run-ruled both those teams this season. The district semifinal could potentially pit 3-seed Fremont St. Joseph against Danbury. SJCC beat the Lakers earlier this season, 9-5, and they'll play a rematch on May 8, which would be exactly a week before the potential district semi. If the Lakers make it to the district final, Gibsonburg will present a formidable foe led by Toledo commit Jenna Bloomfield. The Golden Bears won the regular season meetings 3-0 and 2-0, both dominant shutouts by Bloomfield. Monroeville faces Firelands redux in district quest If No. 1 seed Monroeville is to win the D-IV Galion District, it'll likely come by knocking off multiple familiar foes from the Firelands Conference. The Eagles will be favored after a bye to win their sectional final against the winner of Buckeye Central and Mansfield Christian. Four-seed Plymouth is a heavy favorite to beat Crestline in their sectional final, and the winner there faces Monroeville in a district semifinal. The Eagles and Big Red have split this season's meetings as the top-two teams in the Firelands Conference. The two likeliest teams to advance from the lower half of the bracket are 2-seed New London and 3-seed South Central. The Eagles swept the Wildcats in two one-run games earlier this season. St. Paul is also in the Galion District as the No. 7 seed and will play at 5-seed Lucas in a sectional semifinal. Other area teams In Division I, Sandusky is the No. 17 seed in a two-bracket setup. They'll travel to 11-seed Ashland in the first round. The winner gets 3-seed Perrysburg. Port Clinton is the No. 9 seed in the D-II Genoa bracket. The Redskins play 3-seed Otsego in a sectional final to open their postseason. No. 10 St. Mary Central Catholic is in Danbury's bracket and will face 9-seed Toledo Christian in the first round. The winner of that game matches up with top-seed Gibsonburg.