Correction
Jonathan Stokes’ volleyball teaching document at Wellsville was 54-3 over two seasons. The mark was incorrect in Friday’s editions.
South Vary makes state
CANTON — South Vary’s softball group earned a state match berth with an 8-4 win in eight innings over Champion within the Div. III regional closing on Friday at Willig Park.
Gretchen Bartels had two doubles and an RBI for the winners. Juli Stachowicz was the profitable pitcher with 10 strikeouts, one stroll and two earned runs.
Gabby Gradishar took the loss for champion with 10 strikeouts, a stroll and 4 earned runs.
South Vary (26-3) will meet Wheelersburg at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Firestone Stadium in Akron within the state semifinal.
Hiram fall in opener
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — No. 21 Coe Faculty scored 4 runs within the fifth inning and Ellie Thurow took over from there in beating Hiram, 5-0, within the opening sport of an NCAA Division III Tremendous Regional on Friday.
The 2 groups will meet once more at Clark Area at 2 p.m. right this moment within the best-of-three sequence.
Thurow gave up solely a single to Angel Santellan main off the fourth inning. Thurow improved to 14-4 on the season with a 1.13 ERA
Coe (36-9) is coming off its first NCAA Regional championship since 2009.
Hiram (27-15), taking part in in its first tremendous regional, misplaced for the second time in its final 12 video games.
The sequence winner advances to the NCAA Championships in Marshall, Texas.
SEC debates schedule
(AP) — Southeastern Convention leaders have been debating what to do with their soccer schedule for greater than a 12 months.
Play eight convention video games every season together with one rival or go to 9 league video games with three?
Whether or not ESPN is prepared to pay to broadcast extra SEC video games will issue into the choice, although it’s unclear how a lot. As SEC officers head to the Florida Panhandle for spring conferences subsequent week, there may be nonetheless no deadline to make a name on a format that goes into impact subsequent 12 months.
“We’ve to decide and if we don’t decide is that the be all, finish all? No,” Commissioner Greg Sankey mentioned in an interview. “However sooner or later we now have to land the proverbial airplane. I feel we’re prepared to do this.”
Among the many different agenda objects for the conferences in Destin, Florida: playing, approaching the heels of Alabama firing its baseball coach amid an investigation of suspicious bets on a Crimson Tide sport; the right way to higher stop — or at the very least discourage — area and courtroom storming by followers after video games; and, in fact, title, picture and likeness compensation for athletes.
The soccer schedule is the headliner.
The SEC at the moment performs an eight-game convention schedule with 14 members in two divisions. Every group has one annual cross-division rival. In 2024, Texas and Oklahoma arrive to make the SEC a 16-team convention, and there might be no extra divisions.
Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M and Florida, faculties that count on to perennially contend for playoff spots and compete for nationwide championships, choose 9 league video games every season.
“We wish 9 for positive at A&M,” Aggies athletic director Ross Bjork mentioned. “We expanded for a cause. And folks need extra SEC content material, proper? Clearly, there’s a requirement for it, particularly soccer.”
For some faculties with extra modest targets, the place nationwide titles are aspirational however not anticipated, taking part in an additional sport contained in the nation’s hardest soccer convention will not be splendid.
Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart has publicly supported eight. Auburn AD John Cohen signaled help for eight whereas he was at Mississippi State; it’s unclear if switching jobs has modified his opinion.
There are considerations within the convention about taking part in 5 highway league video games each different season as a substitute of the present 4 yearly. Residence video games are value hundreds of thousands in income.
ESPN might conceivably assist make up for that. The SEC’s newest media rights cope with ESPN/ABC begins in 2024 and makes the community the unique residence of the convention. Changing nonconference video games with SEC vs. SEC video games ought to present the community extra worth.
Sankey mentioned the choice doesn’t come all the way down to how a lot the community would possibly spend to make it worthwhile for SEC faculties to play extra sport in opposition to each other: “That’s method, method oversimplifying the matter.”
Considered one of Sankey’s bosses had just a little completely different message this week.
“I could also be saying greater than Commissioner Sankey would need me to say, however clearly should you go to a nine-game schedule, it’s important to be compensated for going to a nine-game schedule,” Georgia President Jere Morehead informed The Athletic this week. “There’s nonetheless some dynamics that need to play out with our media companions.”
The SEC does have extra readability on the schedule than it did a 12 months in the past, when it was working underneath the belief Texas and Oklahoma could be becoming a member of in 2025. Texas and Oklahoma officers will attend subsequent week’s conferences, however they don’t but have voting privileges.
Faculty Soccer Playoff enlargement was additionally up within the air a 12 months in the past. That’s now settled: The CFP will develop from 4 to 12 groups in 2024.
How to decide on annual rivals gained’t be a simple dialogue with a nine-team format, both.
“I’ve at all times been an advocate for taking part in extra (convention) video games,” Alabama coach Nick Saban informed Sports activities Illustrated earlier this 12 months. “However should you play extra video games, I feel it’s important to get the three mounted (opponents), proper? They’re giving us Tennessee, Auburn and LSU. I don’t know the way they arrive to that?”
There is no such thing as a assure a vote on a brand new schedule mannequin might be taken in Destin, Sankey mentioned. A majority vote is all that’s wanted to determine on a mannequin, however, ideally, the SEC want to have everyone on board with the ultimate determination.
Sankey recalled former Tennessee AD Doug Dickey as soon as telling Sankey’s predecessor, the late Mike Slive, that within the SEC even shut votes wanted to be unanimous after they left the room.
“Individuals are going to air their perspective, share their factors of distinction after which we’re going to take a vote and life’s going to maneuver on and we’re going to schedule soccer video games and play them,” Sankey mentioned.
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