CRESCENT - Fourth-seeded Barton knocked off No. 1 Maynard by a 9-3 score Sunday on Henning Field inside Pramesa Park as the rain-plagued Ohio Valley Baseball League semifinal playoffs got underway.
The defending champion Braves (7-12) led 2-1 after one inning and broke a 3-all deadlock with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. They tacked on two more in the sixth.
Zach Smith led Barton's 11-hit attack with a single, double and home run that accounted for three runs. Winning pitcher Nolan Blackburn and Jack Selmon each singled twice and knocked in two runs each, while Dillon Romanyak singled three times and Gage Drummond added a two-run single.
Blackburn struck out eight and walked three. He scattered five hits, two coming off the bat of Rhys Francis.
Game 2 of the best-of-3 format is at 6 Monday night on Firemen's Field inside the Community Park in Maynard. Should there be a Game 3, it would also be played in Maynard, also at 6.
Colerain 10, Bethany 9
MARTINS FERRY - The third-seeded Hitmen took down the second-seeded Brewers in Game 2 of their best-of-3 semifinals series Sunday on the Martins Ferry High School diamond.
Game 3 is Tuesday at 6 p.m. on the campus of Bethany College.
Colerain trailed 9-3 before storming back.