Ashland County Softball Power Rankings: Several teams continue high level of play

With the postseason about two weeks around the corner, seven of the nine teams in Ashland County have won double-digit games. That makes putting these rankings together even more difficult. No matter, here they are.

Note: The Power Rankings reflect performances from April 22-27.

More: Ashland County Softball Power Rankings: Hillsdale stay No. 1, Mapleton keep climbing

9. Ashland (2-15)

Ashland went 0-4 last week and continue their struggles. They meet Madison Comprehensive for a doubleheader and Ontario this week.

8. Black River (8-5)

Black River went 2-2 on the week, including rolling to an 20-0 win over Lorain County conference opponent Clearview on Thursday.

7. South Central (10-7)

The Trojans find themselves still very much in the Firelands Conference race, as they currently sit in fourth place. They had a rough week going 1-4, with the one highlight being a 16-0 win at Plymouth on Friday.

6. Northwestern (11-6)

The Huskies might be too far behind in the Wayne County Conference to catch league-leading Hillsdale, but they're still pushing out worthy outings, such as their two-game sweep of Rittman where they outscored the Indians 15-0 across the two games.

5. New London (11-4)

With a sizeable number of teams in Ashland County playing well, it might be easy to forget about New London, especially as they battle it out in a top-heavy Firelands Conference. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-0 week, where they were led by Madison Rowland and Gracie Thomas at the plate, and Emilee Rowland in the circle.

4. Crestview (12-5)

Crestview find themselves right in the thick of the Firelands Conference race, as the Cougars pulled off an important league win over Mapleton 3-2 on Wednesday. The next day, they followed it up with a 15-1 victory over Western Reserve. Don't be surprised if the Cougars jump up in next week's rankings as they play a struggling Plymouth and Lucas squads.

More: Inside Mapleton softball's torrid start to the season

3. Loudonville (13-5)

Loudonville rolled against South Central on Monday 19-3, as Karena Burgess had five RBIs and Carlee Young drove in four. After losing a one-run game to Fredericktown on Tuesday, the Redbirds nailed a bigtime nonconference win over Clear Fork 8-1 at home. The Redbirds look like a safe bet for another Mid-Buckeye Conference title and will look to finish on a high note in preparation for the postseason.

2. Hillsdale (15-3)

This was a close call. Hillsdale (currently ranked ninth in Division III according to MaxPreps) had their way with Waynedale, as they defeated the Golden Bears 17-1 on Tuesday and 21-2 on Wednesday. A key win over a 12-4 Mogadore team on Friday showed just the level of non-league foes the Falcons have been matching up with and beating throughout the season. They just missed the No. 1 spot this week, although you could argue they belong there.

1. Mapleton (15-2)

Mapleton had a huge league game against Crestview last week and loss a tight one 3-2. However, that didn't discourage the Mounties at all. The Firelands Conference leaders came back and put together three straight nonconference wins over Columbia (14-3), Elyria (7-3) and Norwayne (8-6). The league title race should go down to the wire, as the Mounties face stern tests against Keystone, Monroeville, Crestview and South Central twice in the next two weeks.

jsimpson@gannett.com

Twitter/X@JamesSimpsonII

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland County Softball Power Rankings: Several teams continue high level of play