(7) Columbia vs. (10) McDonald

Columbia’s path: Def. Andrew Osborne 23-1, def. Atwater Waterloo 6-1, def. Independence 4-3.

McDonald’s path: Def. Kirtland 10-0, def. Hanoverton United 6-3, def. Mogadore 7-5.

Up next: Winner advances to the Division VI, Region 21 final and will play Jeromesville Hillsdale or Dalton.

Outlook: The road to Akron is through Akron? The Raiders and Blue Devils prematurely punched their tickets to play in Akron Firestone Stadium at the Sweet 16. Columbia grew this year, as it lost to Independence in the regular season, but gutted out an eight-inning victory in the district championship game. This was against an elite pitcher in Independence’s Lila Manfredonia, who struck out 21 Columbia batters. McDonald won its first district championship since 2019, as it knocked off No. 1 seed Mogadore in Leavittsburg. Its victory was set in motion with a six-run first inning. Mogadore slowly inched closer, but McDonald never gave in. Miley Titus was its top batter with two hits, but seven different players came up with hits. Addison Grewell (20 RBI, three home runs) drove in three runs. Pitcher Aubrey Evans struck out 13 batters and gave up three earned runs. Columbia played in more games, but its offense has Bre Heidecker and Grace Anderson, who combined for 80 RBI. For a Division VI program, Columbia has the luxury of having two pitchers, Schulke (12-4 record) and sophomore Alina Jones (5-3 record). Jones showed the ability to close out big games, as she did against Independence and Schulke started every Raider playoff game this year. They each have at least 80 strikeouts.