Belmont County rivals Barton and Maynard will square off for the United Dairy Ohio Valley Baseball League title.

The Braves (18-3) and Reds (16-5) will begin the best-of-5 championship series Monday night at Henning Field in Crescent. Game 2 will be played Wednesday at Community Park in Maynard, while Game 3 will be back in Crescent Friday night.

Should Games 4 or 5 be needed, they would be played Sunday at Maynard and Monday, July 27 at Crescent, respectively. All contests will start at 6 p.m., with the exception of the Sunday game, which will begin at 1 p.m., according to OVBL Commissioner Cory Delguzzo.

Barton finished the regular season as the top seed, while Maynard was right behind. The two rivals have met three times this season, with the Reds claiming two of those contests. The Braves' lone victory was on the final Sunday of the regular season when George Laase cranked a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 3-1 triumph. Maynard's wins came by scores of 4-3 and 2-0.

"We are 0-0 against them right now," said Maynard manager Laney Simone Sr. "It should be a great series."

Barton manager Mike Kolvek agrees.

"With the rivalry these two teams have established over the past few seasons, this might be the most anticipated set of games the league has had in quite some time," he said. "Hopefully there will be some large crowds to take in some of the best baseball the Ohio Valley has to offer. This series should have some intensity to it."

While the Braves are no strangers to the OVBL championship series - they've advanced this far six straight seasons now - the Reds haven't been to the 'big dance' since 1999. However, Barton hasn't prevailed in any of those series, their only crown coming in 1996 under the coaching of Bill Timko.

"Barton has always been good," said Simone Sr. "We've always seem to hang around, but this year we tied up some loose ends and we've made it this far. So, hopefully, we can come out on top."

Both teams hit the recruiting trail hard following last season, with Maynard maybe getting the better of the deal with Mark Cisar and little-known Bill Rockwell. However, Barton landed some young pitchers in Zach Fairbanks, Zac Campbell and Chris McIntyre.

Simone Sr. credited his son, Laney Jr., with the recruiting success.

"He recruited Roger Herbert from Lafferty last season and Roger works with Mark on the Union Local football team," Simone Sr. noted. "So, Roger brings Mark with him.

"My son also got Derek Sadlowski to come play from Shadyside, so he brings along B.A. Holloway. Then Cody McCormick finds out and he decides to come play for us. Those are all big pickups."

Kolvek thinks the addition of the Braves' 'young guns' should get Barton over the hump this season.

"All five years that we've lost in the finals, we've been beaten by teams with young and deep pitching," he said. "This year we have the perfect blend of youth and veterans with a deep pitching staff."

Kolvek wouldn't say what his rotation would be, but Campbell and Fairbanks are sure-fire bets for the first two contests. Campbell, a former John Marshall and Fairmont State University standout righthander, checks in with a spotless 5-0 mark, a microscopic 0.87 earned-run average, and 45 strikeouts in 31 innings, while Fairbanks, a lefty from Martins Ferry and Ohio University, is a deceiving 2-2 with a 1.44 ERA and 40 Ks in just 25 innings.

"We haven't scored too many runs for Zach," Kolvek said in defense of Fairbanks. "I think we got shutout twice in his losses."

Kolvek, a former St. John Central and West Liberty mound ace, is 4-0 with a save in 31.1 innings of work. His ERA is 2.01. McIntyre, meanwhile, has pitched 18 innings, striking out 21 batters and notching three saves as the Braves' closer.

Maynard can answer with a talented pitching staff of its own in Cisar, Travis Boyle, Aubrey Neuhart and Tony Yarnell, with the latter three being former Muskingum College standouts.

Cisar is 6-0, while he and Neuhart own victories over the Braves this season.

"We matchup well with Barton," Simone Sr. explained. "We've both got good pitching, play good defense and hit the ball pretty well."

Shortstop Bill Rockwell, another Muskie standout, is the Reds' leading hitter despite playing in just over 10 games. He went 5-for-5 with a trio of doubles, two singles, four runs scored and one RBI in Maynard's elimination of rival St. Clairsville last week.

"I understand that Bill was recruited by some other teams, but he decided to play at Maynard with his friends," Simone Sr. continued. "Like I've said all along, friends play with friends, and that pretty much sums up our team. I've got a good bunch that are team-oriented and not crying about their playing time."

Other starters for Maynard include Holloway (second base), Jarryd Ridgeway (third base) Nuehart (designated hitter for Cisar when not on the mound), R.J. Faldoski (left field), Simone Jr. (right field), McCormick (center field), Herbert (catcher) and Layne Mehl (first base). The remaining team members are Kenny Bennington, Bryce Allen, Andy Goletz and Kirk Hood.

Barton is led at the plate by Buckeye Local baseball coach George Laase's sizzling .469 mark. The second baseman also has team-highs of 30 hits, 15 doubles and 21 RBI. Newcomer Chris Leasure, of Monroe Central and Bethany College, is hitting .367 with a team-high two home runs, while veteran Joel Atkinson is at .339. He has only struck out twice in 62 at-bats.

Other Barton players include Nick Rocchio (shortstop), Ryan Kreiter (left field), Matt King (center field), Darrin Young (catcher), Jonathan Duncan (infield), Kirk Smolnek (outfield), Charlie Bishop (outfield0, Mike Muklewicz (pitcher/designated hitter), Eddie McDonald (outfield) and Chad Stevens (utility).

North can be reached at knorth@timesleaderonline.com