Clear Fork Colts take home 2024 Richland County Baseball Power Poll Championship

MANSFIELD — There was a question asked last week if the race for the Richland County Baseball Power Poll championship was already over.

And there was one team that answered that question loud and clear. The 20-win Clear Fork Colts are the 2024 Richland County Baseball Power Poll champions, an honor that could have been crowned two weeks ago, but a four-win week last week put it all on ice.

Let's see why they deserve the top spot and where everyone else lands in the final poll of the season.

GETTING ANSWERS: Division expansion still a fluid situation heading into 2024-25 school year

10. Mansfield Christian (4-14)

The Flames seemed to battle Mother Nature more than a different baseball team this year, but still managed to come away with four wins beating Harvest Prep (11-0), Monroeville (10-9) and Northside Christian twice (11-1 and 11-1). When the Flames scored double-digit runs, they were pretty successful. They head into the sectional tournament at New London with some momentum and hope of making the most of a second season.

9. Mansfield Senior (5-18)

The Tygers had a nice year with five victories including a 20-0 win over Crestline on Monday. They are still on the hunt for that first Ohio Cardinal Conference victory that has eluded them the last several years, but this year, they were as close as ever with two one-run losses to Madison. They head to Bellevue on Wednesday with a chance to really throw the district tournament into a frenzy and after how they played against Crestline, the Tygers could be a dangerous team.

8. Madison (6-19)

The Rams completed the regular season 6-19 with one of their wins being over Sandusky last week in a 6-4 decision. It has been a roller coaster year for Madison with impressive wins over Perkins, Shelby and Ontario but two losses to Lexington set the Rams back a bit. Still, Madison is a scary team in the Division II tournament. The Rams didn’t have a single run-rule loss this season, so they have been in every single game and in the tournament, all it takes is one game to catch fire and make a run. They head to Clyde on Wednesday to see if they can do just that.

7. Lexington (9-17)

Lexington is one of those teams that might just surprise everyone the way Ontario did last year. After an up-and-down regular season saw them finish eight games under .500, Lexington went 3-3 last week with wins over West Holmes, Hillsdale and Madison so don’t think the Minutemen are going to be an easy out in the tournament by any means. Lex started the year 1-9 and went .500 the rest of the way so if they can get everything to click on Wednesday at home against Kenton, watch out because the Minutemen could get on a hot streak.

6. Lucas (9-13)

The Cubs finished the year with nine wins but head into the postseason with four straight losses against some pretty darn good teams like Danville, Centerburg, Cardington and Wynford. The Cubs are as good as anyone when Jack DiBartolomeo is on the mound, and that is what they will have in the postseason as they host Plymouth on Thursday in a sectional championship matchup. If the Cubs can give DiBartolomeo some run support, there is no reason to think they can’t make a run to a district tournament.

5. Plymouth (9-12)

The Big Red made a nice jump thanks to three straight wins last week sweeping Western Reserve before knocking off Margaretta in what might be their signature win of the year. Plymouth is loaded with seniors who have played a lot of baseball in their careers, which makes the postseason a potential for something special. They head to Lucas on Thursday for a sectional championship and with a win could match up with a familiar foe in South Central, a team that beat Plymouth 9-8 and 15-6 during the regular season. But in the postseason, anything can, and will, happen.

4. Crestview (11-11)

It wasn’t exactly the season they had in mind, but the Cougars finish the year right at .500 and in third in the Firelands Conference. It wasn’t the 20-win season of last year, but you have to give it to the Cougars, they played such a tough schedule. Outside of the FC, Crestview played Black River, Willard, Shelby, Galion twice, River Valley and Clear Fork. Mix that with very good St. Paul, Mapleton and South Central squads and that is one tough road to take. Needless to say, the Cougars will be battle-tested heading into Wednesday’s sectional semifinal game against Colonel Crawford.

T2. Ontario (14-9)

The Warriors finish tied for second in the final power poll. They made the race for the MOAC championship very interesting by splitting with Highland last week giving Shelby and Clear Fork a chance to grab a piece of the league title if Harding can knock off the Scots for the second time this year. Ontario had a much better regular season this time around, but the expectations as postseason play begins this week remain just as high. They will host the winner of Madison and Clyde on Friday for a sectional championship. They have some unfinished business with both teams, so motivation shouldn’t be a factor.

T2. Shelby (14-7)

The Whippets also earn a No. 2 spot after splitting with Ontario a couple of weeks ago. The Whippets are playing exceptionally right now with four straight wins and six victories in their last seven games. Last week, they beat Harding, Pleasant twice and Galion and those are some quality teams that should have them ready for postseason play on Friday when the Whippets host Huron for a sectional championship.

1. Clear Fork (20-4)

After taking third in last year’s power poll, the Clear Fork Colts are the 2024 Richland County Baseball Power Poll champions. Winning 20 games for the first time in six years, the Colts have been the most consistent team in Richland County all season long. Last week, they won four straight games pushing their winning streak to six games giving them 19 wins in their last 21 games after starting the year 1-2. The Colts sported a .345 team batting average this season with two guys, Jay Jackson and Nate Lind, rocking averages of .430 or better. Of their 198 runs scored, 160 have been by RBI so the Colts knew how to take advantage of scoring situations and capitalized on them all year long. They were also patient at the plate drawing 92 walks to their 117 strikeouts and only 36 of those were looking so they made sure to get their monies worth at the dish.

But it was on the mound where they shined. A team earned run average of 2.35 is something special with four guys with 10 or more innings of sub-2 ERAs including Luke Schlosser who worked 45 innings this season and allowed just nine earned runs. The Colts were 7-for-7 in save opportunities so their relievers are just as good as the starters and that is what makes them dangerous in the tournament and what gives them their rightful spot at the top of this year’s power poll.

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

X: @JakeFurr11

Last Week’s Rankings

10. Mansfield Christian

9. Mansfield Senior

8. Madison

7. Plymouth

6. Lexington

5. Lucas

T3. Ontario

T3. Shelby

2. Crestview

1. Clear Fork

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Clear Fork Colts take home 2024 Richland County Baseball Power Poll Championship