BELLVILLE — The postseason brings out the best in Clear Fork.
No program in north central Ohio has enjoyed more tournament success in the past decade than the Colts. In the past 10 years alone Clear Fork has one state championship, three regional titles and four district crowns to its credit.
During that same time span, the Colts managed only two conference championships.
First-year skipper Joe Staab has witnessed Clear Fork’s playoff magic as both a player and a coach. He was the second baseman on the 2010 Division III state championship team and assisted his father, Rusty, as the Colts reached the Division III state tournament for a second straight season last spring.
So what’s in the water down in the Clear Fork Valley?
“I don’t think there’s any secret formula,” Staab said after the Colts fell to Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference and cross-county rival Ontario last week. “Our guys have had some success in the tournament the past couple of years, but that doesn’t guarantee anything. You’ve still got to go out and play the game.
“Winning the conference was one of our goals, but we weren’t able to reach that. But we’ve still got other goals we’re trying to obtain this year.”
Clear Fork achieved the first of those goals last week, winning a Division II sectional championship. The seventh-seeded Colts (19-6) went on the road to upset No. 6 Vermilion and No. 3 Clyde 5-1.
Next up is a date with second-seeded Bellevue in the nightcap of a Division II district semifinal doubleheader at Heidelberg University — Joe Staab’s alma mater — on Thursday. Fourth-seeded Ontario takes on No. 9 Tiffin Columbian in the lid-lifter at 2 p.m.
The jump to Division II hasn’t seemed to bother the Colts, who have played the entire season without ace Mitch Dulin. The junior right-hander, who was the hard-luck loser in each of Clear Fork’s state semifinal losses the past two years, had Tommy John surgery before the season.
Even without their ace, the Colts are a postseason force to be reckoned with. Ontario coach Jeff Fisher, whose Warriors twice beat Clear Fork in the regular season, said as much after last week’s victory.
“To beat a program that is elite in our area, it’s an added bonus,” Fisher said.
Ontario (22-3) boasts an impressive postseason résumé of its own. The Warriors won Division III district titles in 2011 and 2013 and reached the Division II district tournament in 2014 and 2015, falling to Sandusky Perkins in the district final in 2014.
“We feel like we’re continuing to improve,” Fisher said. “It’s not necessarily a (secret) formula.”
Division III
The Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference is well-represented in the postseason. In addition to Clear Fork and Ontario, Galion is the No. 1 seed in the Shelby district tournament and will play No. 10 Wynford in the district semifinals at 2 p.m. Thursday.
A pair of Ashland County schools, Hillsdale and Loudonville, are still alive in the Division III Creston district tournament. The top-seeded Falcons will play No. 4 Chippewa at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Norwayne High School. No. 3 Loudonville takes on No. 2 Waynedale in the late game Wednesday.
Division IV
No. 4 seed Plymouth will take on top-seeded Seneca East at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Gaion.
