Softball
1: (5) Gilmour 6-1
2: (4) Mentor 11-6
3: (3) Riverside 11-8
4: (1) North 11-5
5: (2) Chardon 9-5
6: (6) Perry 13-3
7: (7) South 8-4
8: (9) Wicklife 6-1
9: (NR) Kenston 6-7
10: (9) Madison 4-3
Dropped out: NDCL
Crop comments: The unquestioned top team in the Top of the Crop? Uh, we don’t know. If there’s anything certain about the Top of the Crop, it’s that nothing is certain. For instance, North lost to Riverside last week, bounced back to beat Chardon, then lost to Gilmour. Riverside defeated North and Kenston, but in between lost to Fitch, Mentor, Walsh Jesuit and North Canton Hoover, a Who’s Who in Northeast Ohio softball. Mentor beat Riverside in come-from-behind fashion, but has a loss to North on its slate, not to mention back-to back weekend losses to Aurora. And Chardon just lost to North last week. Gilmour only has one loss — to Perry — and the Pirates just lost to Jefferson to start the week. … So that leaves us in a conundrum: Who to go with as the No. 1 team this week. Keep in mind that in virtually every week, whoever is No. 1 has lost the spot as soon as the Crop comes out, so beware. … The Lancers have been the most consistent team, so they get the top slot, especially with a convincing win over previous No. 1 North on April 22. … Mentor knocked off Riverside and is unbeaten in the GCC, so the Cardinals get the No. 2 slot. … Riverside is No. 3. Yes, the Beavers have eight losses, but no team is close to the Beavers’ strength of schedule. … North holds down the No. 4 slot after the loss to Gilmour on April 22, with Chardon checking in at No. 5 via two head-to-head losses to the Rangers… Perry gets the nod over South for No. 6, but that’s a snug fit. Wickliffe, Kenston and Madison round out the top 10.
