Three area teams head south for spring break baseball

Margaretta's baseball team went through a workout Wednesday wearing shorts. The Polar Bears are in Chillicothe — three hours south of Castalia — for some spring break baseball. "It might have sprinkled here in the morning, but right now we've got sunshine, blue skies and 78 degrees," Margaretta coach Ray Neill reported shortly before noon. Things obviously are different on Ohio's north coast this week. No baseball on the shores of Lake Erie. The trip to southern Ohio proved to be good timing for Margaretta, one of three area baseball teams escaping the cold and rain this week. Danbury currently is in Florida to play ball and soak in the sun. Perkins is headed to Nashville on Thursday to play two games. Margaretta's varsity and junior varsity were each scheduled to play two games in Chillicothe. The varsity will play at VA Memorial Stadium, which is home to the Chillicothe Paints summer collegiate team. Neill, who took his team to West Virginia last spring, knows his way around Chillicothe. He coached the Sandusky Post 83 American Legion team to a state championship in 2008 and the regional was in Chillicothe. "The motel we're staying in was the home site for that tournament," he said. "Since then, I've brought Perkins and Margaretta here periodically." Margaretta lost a 5-4 five-inning game to Lucasville Valley on Wednesday and will play Chillicothe Unioto on Thursday. On the trip home, the Polar Bears will stop in Columbus on Friday to watch Ohio State play Maryland. "It's just enough south to get away and it's a great bonding experience for our teams," Neill said. "The team bonding is a great thing and it's good for the players to see coaches outside of practices and games. "Coming down here, it was me and my truck and three players. They got to know me better and I got to know them better." Perkins will head further south than Margaretta to get in some games. The Pirates — state runners-up last year in Division IV — will drive eight hours to Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday. After a couple rainouts in Ohio, Perkins will open its season Friday against Wilson Central High School in Lebanon, Tennessee, before facing South Warren, Kentucky, on Saturday (rain is in the forecast). "(Wilson Central) has played like 17 games," Perkins coach TJ Blanton said. "Tennessee starts the beginning of March. They're going to be ready to go. "It's good for us. I want to play good competition and see where we're at. Hopefully it'll open some of these kids' eyes. The extra practice has helped (following the basketball team's final four run), but we obviously want to play games." At least one Pirate will see a familiar face in Friday's opener. Standout outfielder Bryce Davie's cousin is a hard-throwing freshman pitcher for Wilson Central. Perkins played in Tennessee two years ago, squeezing in four games in three days. This time, the Pirates are taking a more deliberate approach. "There wasn't a lot of downtime," Blanton said. "We said if we did it again there would be less games and more team bonding and relaxation. We decided to stay there for Easter. We'll have a team dinner and the families that are there will be involved." Blanton said he'd like to take a trip every two years so all the players in the program will get a chance to play out of state. Perkins explored the possibility of playing in Florida or Myrtle Beach, but logistically a trip to Tennessee was more viable. "If we go any further we can't take school transportation," Blanton said. "The entire trip has to be within 1,000 miles of the state line, so once we get past Cincinnati that starts." The Pirates will open Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division play next Wednesday at Columbian and next Friday at Sandusky. Perkins' home opener is next Saturday against Shelby. Danbury wraps up a four-game run in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, on Thursday. The Lakers won their first game in the sunshine before losing two. "It's good for the kids to see we're a better team than we were three or four years ago," Danbury coach Ben Stover said. "We can compete with some schools bigger than us." The Lakers had 16 of the 24 players in the program make the trip and are putting a blend of varsity and junior varsity players on the field. "Kids and their families go on spring break so we were going to lose some kids no matter what," Stover said. "The tough part is playing to win versus playing for experience." Stover would like more practice opportunities, but acknowledged that his team wouldn't be getting much time on the field this week in Ohio. "The boys were saying it was too hot today," Stover said. "I said, 'Remember that it's 35 and raining back home.' If we were back in Marblehead we would not be outside."