Mar. 28—Fairmont got off to a hot start in its baseball season opener, taking down the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association preseason poll's top-ranked team Massillon Jackson in a 3-1 final on Friday.

Skyler Slifer, Brayden Feltner and Owen Wolgemuth each contributed for the Birds in the win.

Baseball

Beavercreek 2, Fort Payne (AL) 1: 'Creek split a doubleheader to open the season, picking up a win against the 12th ranked team in Alabama but falling to 7-6 to Siegel (TN).

Arcanum 4, Versailles 1: Regan Christ swatted a two-run double and also earned the win on the mound, striking out seven over five innings in the season opener for Arcanum.

St. Henry 5, Covington 0: Max Delzeith struck out seven in a one-hitter to open the season with a victory.

Softball

Talawanda 11, Ursuline Academy 0: Maddy Cox went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI to lead Talawanda.

Arcanum 19, Brookville 15: Jordyn Garbig blasted a walk-off grand slam to lead Arcanum to its first win of the season.

PREP RESULTS

Baseball

Friday's Results

Arcanum 4, Versailles 1: A: Christ W 7 K, 2B 2 RBI, Stephens 2 RBI. V: Deland RBI.

Beavercreek 2, Fort Payne (AL) 1

Collierville (TN) 4, Mason 3

Fairmont 3, Massillon Jackson 1

Highlands (KY) 6, Sycamore 2

Mason 10, James Clemens (AL) 4

Siegel (TN) 7, Beavercreek 6

South Elgin (IL) 15, Tippecanoe 0

Tol. St. Francis 7, Badin 0

St. Henry 5, Covington 0: SH: Delzeith W 7 K, Zimmerman 1-3 2B 2 RBI.

Softball

Friday's Results

Arcanum 19, Brookville 15: A: Garbig GS-HR.

Fort Recovery 11, Bradford 6: FR: Gaerke W, Grisez 3-4.

London 13, Bishop Ready 0

St. Marys 4, New Bremen 2

Talawanda 11, Ursuline Academy 0: T: Hilbert 2-3 3 RBI, Cox 3-3 2B 2 RBI, Cheatham 2-2 2 RBI.

Thursday's Results

Badin 6, Harrison 4

Beavercreek 19, Butler 1

Bellefontaine 15, Graham 11

Botkins 14, Kalida 0: B: Platfoot 4 RBI, Loy W 11 K.

Celina 12, Russia 2

Covington 17, Ansonia 7: C: Palsgrove 3-4 HR 6 RBI, McClure 3-3 2 HR 4 RBI, Ouellette 1-3 HR 2 RBI.

Edgewood 8, Waynesville 4: E: Ferrell 2-4 2B 3 RBI, Jarvis 2-3 2B 3 RBI.

Fairbanks 10, Kenston 0

Fort Loramie 15, Riverside 5: R: Robinson 1-2 HR 2 RBI.

Greeneview 19, East Clinton 4: G: Burkett 2-5 3 RBI, Christian 3-5 2 2B 3 RBI, B. Sutton 2-3 2 2B 2 RBI.

Hamilton 18, Colerain 0: H: Eversole 1-2 HR 3 RBI, Thieken 2-2 HR 4 RBI, Schappacher W 10 K.

Houston 6, Sidney 5

Kankakee (IN) 7, Mason 4

Lakota East 5, Springboro 1: LE: Crawford W 10 K, RBI.

Lebanon 3, Milford 0

Lima Bath 6, Coldwater 5

London 14, Bishop Watterson 1

Loveland 14, Fairfield 11

Middletown 20, Dayton Christian 5

McAuley 10, Princeton 9

Reading 18, Cin. Christian 8

Ross 5, Taylor 0: R: Alvis 2-3 3B RBI, Gorsuch 2-3 RBI, Baker W 10 K.

Southeastern 8, Benjamin Logan 1: BL: Harner 2-3 RBI.

Springfield Shawnee 6, Tri-Village 1: SS: Hannan W 4 K, Beach 4-4 2 2B RBI, Plummer 2-4 HR 3 RBI.

St. Marys 20, Fort Recovery 2

Stebbins 4, Miamisburg 3: S: Neria 1-3 2 RBI, Spencer 1-2 RBI, Rinehart W 12 K.

Stivers 35, Northridge 23

Versailles 19, Milton-Union 9

West Clermont 9, Sycamore 3

West Liberty-Salem 10, Jackson Center 3

Boys Tennis

Friday's Results

St. Marys 5, Lehman Catholic 0

Wapakoneta 3, Piqua 2

Boys Volleyball

Thursday's Results

Beavercreek 3, Northmont 0

Fenwick 3, Carroll 0

Lebanon 3, West Clermont 0

Milford 3, Middletown 2

Thurgood 3, Dunbar 1

Boys Lacrosse

Friday's Results

Fenwick 15, Chaminade Julienne 1

Thursday's Results

Beavercreek 13, Hilliard Darby 5

Girls Lacrosse

Thursday's Results

Mason 15, Lakota East 11

Milford 14, Lebanon 10

REPORTING RESULTS

Contact Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal-News with scores and results as soon as possible after varsity high school athletic contests by email only at COPSports@coxincn.com. Please include any details from your contest that you would like published along with a contact name and phone number.

My column may be a few days late, but as the saying goes, better late than never. There is no more time to delay the hockey schedule does not wait so let us jump in.

The first two to fall

In my season predictions I picked four teams that missed the playoffs last year to make it this year. So far, two of the four teams I picked are already eliminated.

Vancouver was the first team to be eliminated. The Canucks came into this season with all the drama of last season behind them. Thatcher Demko was healthy, they made some questionable moves but, overall the team seemed to be in a good spot. Not one single thing went right.

The team has no player with 50 points, no 20-goal scorer, they have scored the least amount of goals in the league and have the most goals against by a wide margin.

The Canucks have tried Band-Aid after Band-Aid and none of it worked. Lukas Reichel (14 GP, 0 G, 1A), David Kampf (38 GP, 2 G, 4 A), Mackenzie MacEachern (8 GP, 1 G, 3 A) and 2016-17 Canucks “legend” Joseph LaBate for a game.

It has been ridiculous. From the line deployment, to coaching decisions, to not trading Evander Kane, all of it is the problem.

This season is a culmination of not doing a proper rebuild after the Sedin twins retired. Vancouver was promising, with Elias Pettersson (the forward), Brock Boeser, Demko and of course, Quinn Hughes.

Hughes has been the story of the team this year. Hughes was the first causality of the so-called rebuild and everything spiraled after that.

Hopefully the Canucks stick to their words and actually start a rebuild. Either way, it is a dark time in Vancouver.

On the other side of the continent, is a very similar story.

Like the Canucks, I picked the New York Rangers to get back to the playoffs. Like Vancouver, it all fell down.

Ironically, the Rangers acquired two Canucks last year in JT Miller and Carson Soucy.

Miller has been a disaster and has been bad on the ice only scoring 42 points, compared to his 103-point season just two years ago.

The rest of the offense has been a letdown too, mostly on account of the team not developing Alexis Lafreniere properly.

The team has gone through so much turnover the last few seasons and that has led to a product on the ice that just does not mesh.

The Rangers sent a letter to fans earlier this season announcing a retool. What that means with the makeup of the team and not selling at the deadline? Who knows?

Ovi continues to make history

Alex Ovechkin has hit another goal. He becomes the second player in NHL history to score 1,000 playoff and regular season goals.

His 1,000th goal came in non-other-than typical Ovi fashion. In the third period of a game between the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, the Capitals got a power play. Ovechkin placed himself in his office (the top of the left face-off dot) and fired a slap shot home for the goal.

With this milestone checked off, there is only one more for Ovechkin to look toward, 1,000 regular season goals. As of March 27, he is 74 away so conceivably, he would have to play another two season to get it.

Knowing Ovechkin, there might be a chance he continues to play to chase the record. Ovi is 40 and he is slowing down, so the cards are not in his favor.

The question also is, does hitting 1,000 regular season goals do anything for his legacy? He is already the greatest goal scorer in NHL history, he has a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smyth, the Calder and a litany of other trophies.

Personally, there is nothing Ovechkin can do to increase his standing all-time other than another Cup. He is already a top 10-15 player all-time so, another goal-scoring record does not move the needle too far.

Nonetheless, you have to wonder if his career does not get sidetracked by shortened seasons and lockouts, if he would have hit the 1,000 mark by now.

Pacific Division is the worst division

Historically, the Pacific Division has been one of the most competitive. In the 2010s, the division was home to some of the top NHL teams. Now the division is by far the worst in the league, with only one team having more wins than total losses.

The division is in this mess because of several factors. For one, half of the division is in some point of a rebuild. Anaheim, the only team that has more wins than losses, has just finished its rebuild, Calgary began its rebuild this year, San Jose is on the precipice of breaking out of its rebuild and the Canucks, well you read about them earlier.

Two teams, Seattle and Los Angeles, are stuck in the middle. Not bad enough to be a bottom feeder, but not good enough to be a playoff team.

Finally there is Vegas and Edmonton. Both are paying their dues after years of playoff runs. They both are playoff contenders, but not Cup contenders anymore.

With all of that, the division pulled of a historic feat last week. The division became the first division to have six-plus teams play on the same day and have all of them lose by multiple goals, twice.

Most divisions have had a day where all of its teams lose in on one day, but never twice in one season (or week for that matter) and never by multi-goal deficits.

It really is a testament to how bad this division has become. It is a “boys club” situation. Everyone is fine being mediocre, or bad because at the end of the day, they get to enjoy it all with their buddies that manage the other teams.

It is what has led the the Canucks’ and Flames’ demise, the Kraken being a middling team since their inception and why the Oilers are slowly fading.

It will be interesting to see how this mess of a division performs in the playoffs. With my luck, one of these teams will go on to win the Stanley Cup after saying how bad they are.

Mar. 25—Rhianna Pigman smacked three doubles in three at bats and drove in seven runs to lead Miamisburg softball Tuesday in a 15-14 win against Middletown Madison.

Miamisburg plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth for the rally win.

Pigman struck out seven in six innings.

Softball

Springboro 17, Edgewood 5: Bella Miller went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and five RBIs for Springboro (2-0). Riley Lucas and Ava Palcic each added a home run in the win.

Lakota West 10, Talawanda 6: Jordan Beimesche and Paige Kopp plated a pair of runs apiece to lead Lakota West.

Badin 9, Monroe 4: Phebe Kiefer struck out 10 over seven innings and went 2-for-3 with a double and triple for Badin (3-0).

Ross 12, Butler 1: Paige Baker smacked two doubles and drove in five to lead Ross. Taylor Bertram picked up the win with eight strikeouts.

Troy 11, Wayne 1: Troy picked up a second win in as many days, each over a GWOC opponent.

Ben Logan 7, Sidney 2: Nevaeh Fogle and Brielle Kline batted in two runs apiece to help Ben Logan win its season opener.

Urbana 4, Tri-County North 3: Urbana rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win in walk-off fashion.

Greeneview 13, Hillsboro 3: Gabbie Burkett struck out seven for the win and helped her cause by driving in two runs. Greeneview improved to 2-0.

Covington 12, Northmont 5: Whitney Burns, Emalyn Johnson, Jayda McClure and Kylie Palsgrove each swatted a home run for Covington.

Twin Valley South 17, New Miami 2: Paityn Cross hit for the cycle for Twin Valley South, going 4-for-4 and driving in six runs.

PREP RESULTS

Boys Basketball

STATE TOURNAMENT

Finals

Division I

Princeton 59, Hilliard Bradley 28

Division II

Massillon Washington 68, Westerville North 63, OT

Division III

Trotwood 48, Steubenville 47: T: Dennis 17, Reaves 10, Taylor 9, Shumate 6, Dawson 2, Trigg 2, Arnold 2.

Division IV

Wyoming 73, Cle. Glenville 48

Division V

Lutheran East 50, Col. Academy 36

Division VI

Berlin Hiland 54, Marion Local 51, 2OT: ML: Kremer 22, Moeller 9, Hess 7, Ahrens 7, Mescher 6.

Division VII

Delphos St. John's 56, Kalida 47: DSJ: C. Elwer 28, A. Elwer 9, E. Elwer 6, Klaus 5, McClain 4, Kroeger 2, Wiechart 2.

Softball

Tuesday's Results

Badin 9, Monroe 4: B: Kiefer W 10 K, 2-3 2B 3B RBI, Ponatoski 1-2 HR 2 RBI, Canupp 2-4 2B 2 RBI.

Bellefontaine 10, Riverside 8: R: Robinson 2-3 3 RBI.

Ben Logan 7, Sidney 2: BL: Fogle 1-2 2 RBI, Kline 2-4 2 RBI, Gregg W 7 K.

Celina 3, Marion Local 2

Covington 12, Northmont 5: C: Palsgrove 3-3 2B HR 4 RBI, Burns 3-4 2B HR 2 RBI, Johnson 2-3 HR RBI, McClure 2-3 3B HR 2 RBI.

Eaton 5, Dixie 4

Fairbanks 10, Elgin 0

Fort Loramie 6, Coldwater 3

Greeneview 13, Hillsboro 3: G: Burkett W 7 K, 1-3 2 RBI, Sutton 2-3 3 RBI, Christian 1-4 2B 2 RBI.

Greenville 13, Stebbins 0

Houston 9, Lehman Catholic 0

Indian Lake 6, Minster 5: M: Schmiesing HR. IL: Miller 3-4 2B 3 RBI, Rapp 2-3 2B RBI.

Kenton Ridge 4, Miami East 0: KR: Cammon 1-3 HR 2 RBI, Fincham 1-3 RBI, Fyffe 2-4 RBI.

Lakota East 7, Little Miami 4: LE: Offner 1-4 2B 2 RBI, Sudnik 1-2 RBI, Damen 1-3 RBI.

Lakota West 10, Talawanda 6: T: Cobb 2B 2 RBI, Porchowsky 2B 2 RBI.

London 14, Miami Trace 4

Miamisburg 15, Middletown Madison 14: Mia: Pigman 3-3 3 2B 7 RBI, Johnson 2-3 3 RBI, Siney 1-3 2 RBI.

North Union 23, Mechanicsburg 1

Ross 12, Butler 1: R: Bertram W 8 K, Baker 4-4 2 2B 5 RBI, Webb 1-2 3 RBI.

Southeastern 13, Xenia 0

Spencerville 5, New Knoxville 4

Springboro 17, Edgewood 5: S: Miller 4-5 2 2B 5 RBI, Lucas 1-4 HR 2 RBI, Palcic 2-5 2B HR 3 RBI. E: Clemmons 2-3 2B 3B 4 RBI.

St. Henry 3, Anna 2: A: McClain HR.

Tri-Village 20, Russia 1

Troy 11, Wayne 1

Twin Valley South 17, New Miami 2: TVS: Cross 4-4 2B 3B HR 6 RBI, Suggs 4-4 5 RBI.

Urbana 4, Tri-County North 3: U: Fox 1-2 2B RBI, Packer 1-2 3B RBI, Wooten W 11 K.

Valley View 11, National Trail 1

Versailles 11, Mississinawa Valley 5

Waynesfield-Goshen 12, Jackson Center 2

Monday's Results

Badin 15, Middletown 0: B: Kent 3-4 2B 3B 6 RBI, Albrinck 2-3 RBI, Canupp 2-3 RBI.

Belmont 23, Trotwood 3

Brookville 17, Dixie 2: B: Eagle W 5 K, 3-4 3 2B 5 RBI, Hemmerich 1-3 2 RBI, Brooks 2-4 2B 2 RBI.

Clinton Massie 13, Cin. Christian 3: CM: Sandlin 3-4 HR 6 RBI, Penewit 2-3 3 RBI, Jodrey W 7 K.

Covington 8, Arcanum 5: A: Hein 2-3 RBI, Laux 2-3 RBI. C: Hartwig 2-5 2B 3 RBI, Johnson 3-5 HR 3 RBI, McClure 2-5 2 2B 2 RBI.

Greeneview 7, Fairfield Leesburg 6: G: Burkett W 3 K, Sutton 2-3 3 RBI, Christian 2-4 RBI.

Lakota East 8, Western Brown 2: LE: Crawford W 3 K, 2-3 HR RBI, Damen 1-4 HR 2 RBI, Morath 1-4 HR RBI.

Lakota West 7, Colerain 2: LW: Gilbert W 15 K, 2-2 3B RBI, Anderson 3-3 RBI, Guth 1-1 2B RBI.

Minster 8, Elida 7: M: Wolf HR, Schmiesing HR.

New Miami 28, Deer Park 15

Riverside 11, West Liberty-Salem 6: R: Manahan W 4 K, Robinson 3-3 2B 2 RBI, Carman 1-3 2B 2 RBI.

Ross 5, Fairfield 4: R: Commins 1-1 HR 2 RBI, Gorsuch 2-2 RBI, Baker W 3 K.

Springboro 26, Butler 0

Stivers 23, Meadowdale 17

Talawanda 9, Sycamore 2: T: Hilbert 2-4 2B HR 4 RBI, Cox 2-4 2 2B 3 RBI, Griffin 2-3 2 RBI.

Troy 10, Northmont 6

Boys Volleyball

Tuesday's Results

Carroll 3, Chaminade Julienne 1

McNicholas 3, Badin 2

Monday's Results

Badin 3, Lakota West 0

Boys Lacrosse

Tuesday's Results

Lakota East 15, Sycamore 6

Lakota West 10, Oak Hills 5

Monday's Results

Xenia 16, Monroe 6: X: Kerschbaum 8 goals, Janowiecki 4 goals.

REPORTING RESULTS

Contact Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal-News with scores and results as soon as possible after varsity high school athletic contests by email only at COPSports@coxincn.com. Please include any details from your contest that you would like published along with a contact name and phone number.