BELLVILLE — Clear Fork coach Jeff Gottfried wouldn’t object if history repeated itself.
The last time the Colts were in Division III, they reached the Final Four.
Clear Fork, which has been in Division II for the past six seasons, dipped to Division III this spring for the first time since 2011. The ’11 Colts reeled off 31 straight wins before falling to eventual state champ Warren Champion in the state semifinals.
Clear Fork, which won a Division II district title last year, earned the No. 1 seed in the Division III Lexington district tournament and will host either No. 10 Plymouth or No. 8 Edison in a sectional championship game at 5 p.m. May 11. The Big Red and Chargers meet at 5 p.m. May 8 in Milan.
No. 2 seed Crestview, No. 3 Colonel Crawford and No. 4 Galion all took first-round byes. The Cougars will host either No. 5 Bucyrus or No. 12 Western Reserve at 5 p.m. May 11. Bucyrus hosts Western Reserve at 5 p.m. May 8. Colonel Crawford will host either No. 7 Margaretta or No. 9 Huron at 5 p.m. May 11. Galion will host either No. 6 New London or No. 11 Fostoria at 5 p.m. May 11.
Division I
Ashland is the lone Division I team in the area. The 16th-seeded Arrows will visit No. 3 Springfield at 5 p.m. May 9.
Division II
State-ranked Madison earned the No. 1 seed in the Edison district tournament and took a first-round bye. The Rams will host either No. 7 Shelby or No. 11 Mansfield Senior at 5 p.m. May 11. The Whippets host the Tygers at 5 p.m. May 8.
Third-seeded Ontario has a bye in the first round and will host either No. 6 Upper Sandusky or No. 10 Norwalk at 5 p.m. May 8. No. 9 seed Lexington will visit No. 8 Vermilion at 5 p.m. May 8.
Division IV
Defending regional champ Lucas got the No. 2 seed at the Shelby district and will host either No. 7 Norwalk St. Paul or No. 9 Buckeye Central at 5 p.m. May 10. Buckeye Central visits St. Paul at 5 p.m. May 7.
No. 6 Crestline will visit No. 5 Wynford at 5 p.m. May 7, while No. 10 St. Peter’s is at No. 8 South Central at 5 p.m. May 7. No. 11 Mansfield Christian is at No. 4 Mohawk at 5 p.m. May 10.
Hillsdale, the top-ranked team in Division IV in the most recent Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association state poll, earned the No. 1 seed in the Richfield district tournament and will host either No. 8 Cornerstone Christian or No. 9 Mapleton at 5 p.m. May 9. The Mounties visit Cornerstone at 5 p.m. May 8.
