Author: Tim Miller

Jonathan Alder pitcher Marlee Jacobs prepares to release the ball to an Indian Lake batter on friday. The game was halted in the top of the second due to inclement weather. The Lady Pioneers have won all five of their games so far this season. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) Team has 5-0 record after Friday’s rainout Jonathan Alder’s softball team has picked up where it left off in 2019. That year, the Lady Pioneers won 29 of their 30 games en route to capturing the Division II state championship. The only blemish on that record was a setback at…

Marysville’s Chloe Heminger slides safely into third base against Gahanna earlier this week. The Lady Monarchs have started the 2021 season with a 6-0 record. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) The 2021 high school baseball and softball season is still in its very early stages. I was curious to see how things would go for our local teams due to the fact the 2020 campaign was shut down with the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 is still here, but spring sports have been able to begin despite pandemic requirements. One of the local diamond squads that has gotten off to a very…

Ashton Schmutz of Marysville slides safely into second base ahead of the throw for a stolen base. The Monarchs defeated Westerville North, 8-2, on Wednesday. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) Marysville pitcher Jack Christian scattered three of Westerville North’s four hits and kept the Warriors off the scoreboard for five innings on Wednesday. The visitors plated two runs off the MHS senior in the top portion of the sixth inning. That was too little, too late, however, as the Monarchs (3-2) rolled to an 8-2 victory. Christian walked four batters during that stretch, but left six stranded on base. He…

Tareyn Born of MHS pitches to a batter during a game from earlier this spring. She was the winning hurler against Hilliard Bradley on Wednesday. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) Marysville’s Lady Monarch softball team plated five runs in the visitors’ portion of the eighth inning on Wednesday. In doing so, MHS beat Hilliard Bradley, 11-7. It was the third straight game this season the Lady Monarchs rallied for a victory. Tareyn Born was the winning pitcher as Marysville kept its record unblemished at 6-0. She yielded seven hits, fanned six and issued one free pass. Bradley took a 3-0…

Lady Monarch shortstop Lexi Williams can’t get the tag down on a Gahanna base runner who stole second on Tuesday. Also pictured for MHS is Ashley Dunn (13). Marysville rallied for a 7-5 victory. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) If there is one quality the Marysville High School softball team has exhibited so far this season, it’s a sense of calm under fire. “This is the second straight game we’ve come back to win,” said head coach Jennifer Segner-Maxwell. “These girls don’t panic.” The coach spoke those words after Tuesday’s 7-5 victory over Gahanna. MHS rallied from a 4-1 deficit…

Marysville’s Sean Richardson sends the ball back toward his opponent during Tuesday’s varsity tennis match against Grove City. The Monarchs fell, 3-2. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) Marysville’s boys tennis squad dropped a 3-2 verdict to Grove City on Tuesday. Singles -Hougland (G) defeated Sean Richardson (M) 6-0, 6-0; -Stevens (G) downed Carson Kane (M) 6-0, 6-0; -Miller (G) topped Cory Cordell (M) 6-4, 6-3. Doubles -Aidan Johantges-Kyrell Stauffer (M) beat Wassmuth-Lehman (G) 6-2, 6-2; -Donovin Natividad-Mason Ice (M) downed McDougle-Hix (G) 6-2, 6-0. — Alder triumphs Jonathan Alder’s netters scored a 4-1 victory over Northwestern. Singles -Riley Woods (J)…

Riley Woods, Jonathan Alder’s No. 1 singles player, returns the ball over the net on Monday. Woods helped the Pioneers blank London, 5-0. Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) Jonathan Alder’s boys tennis squad won the battle of Madison County on Monday. The Pioneers shut out London by a 5-0 count. Singles -Riley Woods (JA) topped Hochstetler 6-3, 6-2; -Dominic Gantz (JA) downed Dailey 6-2, 6-3; -Jacob Zang (JA) defeated Homan 6-1, 6-1. Doubles -Owen Hecht-Grant Welsch (JA) beat Duvall-Wall 6-0, 6-0; Ben Haskins-Reed Van Kirk (JA) defeated Kerry-Cappell 6-0, 6-2. — Monarchs fall Marysville’s boys netters dropped a 5-0 verdict…

Fairbanks’ boys track team won the Ohio Heritage Conference Preview meet on Monday. The event was held at Mechanicsburg. The Panthers claimed the title with 147 points. The Lady Panthers scored 119 and finished as runners-up to West Liberty-Salem’s 155.5. Rachael Hoover of FHS won the girls 1600 with a new school record time of 5:30.97. She broke Becky Burns’ 1980 mark of 5:36.7. Other first place finishes for Fairbanks were as follows: -Macy Miller, girls 100 hurdles, 15.87; 300 hurdles, 49.07; long jump, tied for first, 15-11. -Trey Good, boys 100 dash, 11.61; 200 dash, 23.42. -Boys 4 x…

A 10-0 victory over Delaware Hayes on Monday evened Marysville High School’s baseball record at 2-2. Aiden Kersten went the distance on the hill for the Monarchs. He scattered four hits, fanned four and issued one free pass. Ashton Schmutz and Christian Colvin both had two of the Monarchs’ 12 hits. Colvin drove in four runs, while Jack Christian and Chase Storr both had a pair of RBIs. The Monarchs will host Hilliard Bradley on Wednesday. — Lady Cats triumph The North Union softball team worked past Central Buckeye Conference opponent Graham with ease with a 12-2 win. The Lady…

Marysville’s Haley Winans doubles in the second inning on Saturday at Upper Arlington. Winans later scored the winning run as MHS topped the Golden Bears, 3-2. (Photo submitted) Abby Christian scattered two hits on Saturday as Marysville’s softball squad edged Upper Arlington, 3-2. Christian fanned eight and walked one batter as MHS upped its record to 4-0. She allowed only two runners on base over the final five frames. The Golden Bears led, 2-0, after two innings. The Lady Monarchs tied the game with a pair of runs in the third. Haley Winans singled and advanced on a double by…

Fairbanks High School head football coach Patrick Cotter, left, speaks with an official during a 2020 game. Cotter has taken over as the Panthers’ head coach in the track and field program. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) Fairbanks High School officials went looking over the winter for a new head track and field coach. They found one in perhaps one of the most unlikely of candidates, based on his sports background. Patrick Cotter, who has been the Panthers’ head football coach for several seasons, has taken over the top of the FHS track program. That might not seem unusual at…

Marysville’s boys and girls track and field teams competed during the Upper Arlington Invitational on Friday. Westerville South won the boys meet with 148 points. South was followed by Upper Arlington-117.5, Marysville-107, Newark-86 and Dublin Coffman-79 to round up the top five. There were 12 teams in the meet. Upper Arlington captured top honors during the girls meet with 181 points, followed by Coffman-92.5, Newark-89, Westerville South-87.5 and Teays Valley-74 in the top five. The Lady Monarchs were sixth with 79. Brynn Rychlik of MHS raised her own school record in the pole vault. Her effort of 12-0 won the…

Jonathan Alder junior Mary Ferrito goes up for a reverse layup during a game from the 2020-21 season. Ferrito has been named to the Division II All-Ohio special mention list. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) The top player on the Jonathan Alder girls basketball team has earned all-state honors. Junior Mary Ferrito was named this week to Division II All-Ohio accolades. She was named to the division’s special mention list. She earned the honor through the Ohio High School sports writers association. Ferrito helped lead the Lady Pioneers to a district runner-up finish to conclude the 2020-21 campaign. She was…

Fairbanks shortstop Julia Cheney (left) comes up with the ball as Marysville’s Abri Schmutz pops up from her slide at second base on Wednesday. The Lady Monarchs won, 16-3. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) There were no surprises awaiting Fairbanks High School softball coach Amy Sines Wednesday afternoon. “We knew Marysville had great hitters and pitching,” she said after a 16-3 loss to the Lady Monarchs. “They hit both Julia (starting pitcher Cheney) and Sarah (reliever Writesel) pretty well.” Marysville rapped the Panther pitchers for a total of 18 hits to win its third game in as many outings this…

In the photo to the left, Marysville’s Ava Zwiezinski (right) leads a Worthington opponent in the 1600 meter run. In the right photo, MHS’ Logan McSwords goes over the high jump bar. McSwords cleared 6-0, which is his personal record. He placed second in the event. (Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller) Marysville High School’s track and field program celebrated its first meet in its new stadium on Tuesday. The Monarchs hosted Delaware Hayes and Thomas Worthington on a sunny, but windy day. The MHS squads would have hosted a home meet in the new facility at some point last year.…