Random facts: Division IV state baseball

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Lincolnview is gearing up to face Lucasville Valley in the Division IV state semifinals and ahead of Friday’s schedule game, here are some random facts and figures about the two schools, along the two other state semifinalists, Fort Loramie and Warren JFK.

By the numbers – random

Four of Lincolnview’s eight losses came to MAC teams – Delphos St. John’s, Coldwater, Parkway and Minster. However, the Lancers beat MAC member St. Henry to win the district tournament.

11 of Lincolnview’s wins were shutout victories and the Lancers allowed just one run in four other games.

By comparison, eight of Lucasville Valley’s losses came via shutout, and the Indians allowed just one run in five other games.

Each team has one a state championship. Lincolnview’s came in 1962 and Valley won it in 1975. This is the third state appearance for the Lancers and the fifth for the Indians, with the last one coming in 1977.

Scouting report

Lucasville Valley plays in the Southern Ohio Conference, made up of 16 teams divided into two divisions – larger schools and smaller schools.

The Indians are in SOC II and finished in fourth place in the division with a 9-6 conference record.

Sophomores George Arnett (8-5, 1.54 ERA) and Carter Nickel (5-1, .961 ERA) are Valley’s top two pitchers. Overall, the team has an ERA of 1.99.

Arnett has given up a total of eight earned runs in his five losses and is expected to start against Lincolnview.

Final poll

Among the final four teams in Division IV, three were ranked in the final Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association poll of the season. Lincolnview and Fort Loramie finished tied for No. 6 and Valley was tied for No. 18 with Norwalk St. Paul.

Record vs. ranked opponents

Note: this has been corrected to reflect an additional loss to state-ranked Van Wert.

Lincolnview is 7-2 against teams ranked in the final OHSBCA poll – Ayersville, Antwerp (twice), Montpelier, Kalida, St. Henry and Leipsic.

The only losses came to Division II Van Wert 15-0 and Division III Coldwater, 6-5.

Valley is 2-4 against ranked teams, but those four losses came to a pair of Division III programs in a round-robin conference format – Minford and Wheelersburg.

The wins came over Portsmouth Clay and No. 2 Berlin-Hiland in the regional finals.

Canal Park

This will be the second year that the OHSAA state baseball tournament will be played at Canal Park in Akron. Games were played there in 2019, when Van Wert advanced to the Division II semifinals, then last year’s season was wiped out by COVID-19.

Canal Park is home to the AA RubberDucks and it seats 7,630 fans.

It’s a nice venue for a state tournament but there’s no doubt it’s a haul from this area.

Gas up

Depending on which of three routes is used, The distance from Lincolnview High School to Canal Park is between 175 to 210 miles. From Valley High School it’s between 206 and 248 miles.

Fort Loramie must travel between 187 and 196 miles and Warren JFK will have the shortest drive, between 45 and 55 miles.