Ashland County Baseball Power Rankings: Top four teams keep steady as postseason looms

There wasn't much movement in this week's baseball power rankings, with the top four teams remaining the same, but the order flipped just a little bit. With one more week until the postseason starts, let's look and see where each team in Ashland County stands.

Note: The Power Rankings reflect performances from April 29-May 4.

More: Karena Burgess, Olyvia Fenton, Payton VanSickle form Loudonville's daunting hitting trio

9. New London (3-14-1)

The Wildcats have struggled for the majority of the season but after dropping a 10-5 loss at home to South Central on Monday, they came back the next day to pull off a key win over the Trojans 8-5 on the road.

8. Northwestern (7-10)

Northwestern had a rough week, going 0-3, and head into this week with four straight losses. A doubleheader with Wayne County Athletic Conference leaders Norwayne will be a challenge.

7. Loudonville (10-9)

Loudonville had a fine week, going 4-0, including a convincing 26-8 win over Crestline on Tuesday.

6. Crestview (8-8)

Crestview find itself creeping up the Firelands Conference standings (tied for third), as the Cougars come into this week having won five in a row.

5. Mapleton (9-6)

Just like last week, Mapleton and Crestview are not far apart. Both teams split their two games and both are tied for third in league play. The Mounties are currently on a four-game winning streak.

4. South Central (11-6)

Hanging on in second place in league play, the Trojans are currently on a three-game skid. They'll need to pick it up this week with games against Monroeville, Mapleton and Loudonville before closing out the regular season.

3. Ashland (13-6)

The Arrows are battling to close the gap on the top two teams (Mount Vernon, New Philadelphia) in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, as they sit in third place, but they might not be able to catch both by season's end. Still, Ashland went 3-2 last week, that involved defeating last year's Division II state runner-ups in Ontario at home 8-7.

2. Black River (12-6)

Black River is getting going right as the postseason approaches, as the Pirates have won six of their last eight games and are in first place (9-1) in the Lorain County Conference, just ahead of Columbia. We'll see if the Pirates can hold them off for the league title.

1. Hillsdale (13-5)

Hillsdale moves back into the top spot after going 3-0 last week, and having won five in a row, including six of their last seven games. The Falcons sit two games back of first-place Norwayne in the WCAL, but even if they don't catch the Bobcats, Hillsdale is looking to set itself up come tournament time.

jsimpson@gannett.com

Twitter/X:@JamesSimpsonII

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland County Baseball Power Rankings: Top four teams keep steady as postseason looms