AVON — Will Heilman stopped almost halfway between third base and home plate, seeming to dare Hudson’s first baseman, holding the ball, to throw it.
He threw it, to home. Heilman broke for the plate. The throw was a bit off line and Heilman scored the winning run in the last of the sixth inning of [...]

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Has it been three years already?
Andrew Oliver, an All-Ohio standout at Vermilion High who was selected in the 17th round of the 2006 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins, will be waiting for a phone call again today when the first-year player draft gets under way.
Mock drafts have Oliver going anywhere from No. 9 to [...]

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STRONGSVILLE — Elyria needed Strongsville ace Justin Jamison — an Ohio State signee — to show some mortality on the mound in order to stay competitive Thursday.
He was mortal, but it didn’t matter.
Jamison struggled with his command all game, but his offense did some damage against the Pioneers en route to an 11-3 victory in [...]

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LORAIN — Anthony Labondono’s day got off to an inauspicious beginning.
But the Vermilion junior left-hander ended it by retiring the final 15 batters and threw the first no-hitter of his career, leading the Sailors to a 3-0 Division II district semifinal win over Norton on Monday at Southview High School.
It was Vermilion’s first no-hitter since [...]

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AVON LAKE — The Middies’ momentum was gone before they had a chance to enjoy it.
After scoring three runs in the top half of the fourth inning Thursday in a sectional opener, Midview allowed Avon Lake to answer with five and was never able to reclaim the lead. Avon Lake (12-9) put its home-field advantage [...]

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VERMILION — Joel Turner knew that Vermilion’s postseason could have been riding on his at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning Tuesday afternoon.
Protecting a 2-1 lead, Avon starting pitcher Jordan Musser (0-2) had just intentionally walked cleanup hitter Jon Hawkins to load the bases for Turner with two outs.
After taking until he saw a [...]

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PENFIELD TWP. — There were no pyrotechnicians on hand, but Field Three sure had a lot of fireworks Tuesday when Highland met Keystone in Division II sectional baseball tournament action.
The Hornets were down by two runs with two outs in the seventh inning, but tied the game. They used that momentum to claim an 8-7 [...]

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BAY VILLAGE — If it was a secret before, it’s certainly one no longer.
“The bottom line is, we’re very low on pitchers,” Tom Kubuski said after his Elyria Catholic team was trounced 17-1 by Bay in a Division II sectional game Monday. “That’s no secret, and we need pitchers to get through the week.”
Certainly, the [...]

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AVON — It all started with a hard shot up the middle by Avon freshman Joel Yeagley that glanced off the glove of Brookside pitcher Stephen Moody.
That error started a chain reaction of calamity for Brookside and success for the Eagles in a Division II sectional semifinal baseball game Monday.
When the dust settled in the [...]

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COLUMBIA STATION — A bunt single kept Columbia’s Jen Solanics from a perfect game in  a 10-0 Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division win Monday over Clearview. Solanics (7-2) struck out 11 and had two of the Raiders’ (17-4, 7-1) five extra-base hits.
Clearview    000    00    —    0    1    0
Columbia    234    01    —    10    8    0
PITCHING: (Columbia) [...]

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