The Week Ahead | PTC softball heats up with Rootstown-Mogadore, Mogadore-Southeast

After a week of rainy weather, it appears some sunshine might be headed Portage County's way, and with that, the potential for games.

Here are a few things to watch out for this week, with a reminder that all of these dates could change with the weather:

Portage Trail Conference softball heats up

Southeast softball pulled off arguably the biggest win of this past week when it upset Rootstown Tuesday behind a big-time pitching performance from Miranda Timko and hitting performance from Morgan Muncy. The win made clear that after Mogadore and Rootstown controlled the Portage Trail Conference the last two years, this season's title chase will most certainly involve the Pirates as well. This week brings more big PTC showdowns, with the Rovers and Wildcats meeting for their first of two matchups Monday, followed by Mogadore visiting Southeast on Thursday.

Rootstown swept last year's season series against Mogadore, though both games were very competitive (7-5 and 4-0). While the Rovers won the league title, the Wildcats bounced back to win their first district championship in over a decade. Both teams brought back the bulk of their rosters from a year ago, and the pitching should be strong as always with two longstanding batteries in Mogadore P Katie Gardner and C Olivia Kidd and Rootstown P Shelbie Krieger and C Natalie Hammerschmidt.

Then comes Pirates-Wildcats. Mogadore knows first-hand how talented Southeast is, not just from Tuesday's result, but the fact that the Pirates took the Wildcats to extra innings last year in Palmyra Township. Led by Ava Stephens, Morgan Muncy and Addie Goldstein, Southeast's lineup is capable of wreaking havoc.

A Suburban showdown

The state champs versus the league champs.

For a Tuesday in mid-April, it doesn't get much better than that.

A year ago, Aurora softball finished a game ahead of Tallmadge for the Suburban American title, then the Blue Devils found glory in the postseason, capturing the Division II state championship.

Both teams return plenty of talent, including their aces in Aurora's McKennah Metzger and Tallmadge's Riley Jackson, and their respective catchers in Sophie Schecterman and Lexi Gray.

Expect a great contest in Tallmadge, with the teams set to meet again a week later in Aurora.

Can Field baseball, softball remain undefeated?

Both Falcons teams are off to blazing starts on the diamond.

Field baseball, after sweeping another leading Metro Athletic Conference contender in Norton this past week (including coach Joe Peterson's 200th career win), has a big trip to rival Woodridge Thursday. The 6-0 Falcons won their first meeting with the Bulldogs, 7-6, with Grady Eader and Kayden Smith knocking in two runs apiece. Indeed, Field has scored at least seven runs in its first six games of the season.

Field softball, also 6-0 and also coming off a huge league win (over another leading MAC contender in Coventry), has a huge showdown with Springfield slated for Monday. A year ago, the Spartans and Comets finished a game ahead of the Falcons for the MAC title. Springfield boasts two of the league's most electric players in Ohio Northern commit Alyssa Hochstetler and Cleveland State commit Destiny Ruggiero while Field boasts an incredibly deep lineup led by Maddie Burge and Tia Ulrich as well as slugger Delilah Rahe. The Falcons will be further tested at the George Duhon Memorial Tournament later in the week.

Around Portage County

Among this week's other highlights:

• Softball rivals are slated to meet Saturday for a nonleague doubleheader in Garrettsville, including a pair of big-time pitchers in Crestwood's Bella Hunter and Garfield's Lizzy Moore with the Red Devils' Kayleigh Helm and the G-Men's Kolby Fresch off to huge starts at the plate.
• Portage County's MAC tennis teams square off Monday when Ravenna faces host Field at Wingfoot Lake State Park. The Ravens won their first clash, 3-2, sweeping singles play, including straight-set wins by Preston Hatcher and Lily Schofield at first and second singles, respectively.
• After dominating its first three opponents (all MAC foes) by a combined margin of 57-10, Streetsboro baseball has its biggest test yet when it takes on Woodridge in a two-game series Monday and Tuesday.
• Portage County's Suburban American baseball teams, Aurora and Roosevelt, face off at Roosevelt Park Tuesday. Last year, they split their season series with the Greenmen ultimately tying for the league title and the Rough Riders finishing one game back. Aurora's Dom Trivisonno and Roosevelt's Teddy Maccarone are among the league's top position players.