You can’t ask for better high school baseball weather than today. Sunny and 70 today. Get out there and enjoy.
Here are some good games:
Conrad (11-5) @ Mtown (9-7). Literally two teams on the bubble going at it for a playoff spot. If Wilm Christian beats DMA, Conrad should win the head to head tiebreaker for the conference title. If DMA wins, there will be a three way conference tie and Archmere would win the tiebreaker which is total playoff pts I do believe. So the only fate Conrad can control is keeping themselves in a good spot for an at large spot if they don’t get the title. Conrad is #17 in playoff pts right now and leads Mtown by ONE playoff pt. The loser of this game could very likely end their playoff run after things shake out with today’s games. The winner isn’t assured of anything but would at least keep themselves on pace right around the bubble. Both teams have one game remaining after this and play an opponent who is fighting to get into the playoffs themselves, Conrad versus St E and Mtown versus Polytech. This should be a great game with a playoff atmosphere. Conrad is 5-2 in their last seven games, but those two losses were against Concord (2-13) and Glasgow (5-11) and may very well just keep them out of the playoffs. Mtown is all over the board barely beating Delcastle and Ai, getting beat bad by St E and Newark while crushing DMA. Conrad is just as inconsistent with a win over St Marks but losses to Concord and Glasgow. It will be interesting to see who wants it more. Conrad beat Mtown last year by walkoff fashion scoring a run in the 7th .
Hodgson (13-3) @ CR (8-8). Hodgson has pretty much locked up a spot in the playoffs either by winning its conference which it could be in a three way tie for the title depending on Mt P winning or not…or with all the points they have already accumulated (currently #5 in pts at 55). CR on the other hand is on the outside looking in. First off they have to win at least one of their last two games (Hodgson, Concord), just to qualify for the playoffs with a .500 record. But more importantly they are 4 pts behind the #16 team at the moment with 41 playoff pts. A lot of things can still happen with pts but it seems that if CR doesn’t win both, they are probably out of the playoffs. Hodgson has CR and Archmere to finish the season, no easy task. Hodgson was rolling along, but got beat up by Mt Pleasant last week 11-4 which could of cost them the conference title. Walter just threw a complete game on Monday, so I’m assuming that he won’t pitch today. (Good news for CR). Hodgson beat CR last year 3-2 by scoring 2 in the bottom of the 7th (with Walter on the mound).
Archmere (13-3) @ Tower Hill (14-2). This is a good match up for both teams. Tower Hill has already punched their ticket for the playoffs, but it’s a great test and warmup for the playoffs. If Voge is on the mound, they will see one of the top pitchers in the state as well. TH finishes with Charter after this, so they will get a little battle tested before the playoffs. Archmere hasn’t locked anything up yet, even with 13 wins. Archmere got upset by Conrad last week in their conference matchup, now Archmere is waiting on DMA to see who gets the conference. If DMA wins its game, it will cause a 3 way tie which Archmere will win on pts total. If DMA loses, Archmere will lose the tie breaker to Conrad based on head to head. I would think that if Archmere wins one of its two remaining games (TH & Hodgson), it would probably get in anyway. But it could be close. Win two…and they are a lock. Tower Hill lost 2 games to Archmere last year, including a playoff game (6-1) which knocked TH out of the playoffs.
St Georges (12-5) @ Charter (9-6). This is St Georges final game. St G is currently tied with Hodgson for the Conference title, but Hodgson beat St G so it would lose the tie breaker. BUT, if Mt P beats Bwine, then it would cause a 3 way tie where there is no head to head clear winner. Not sure if St G would win the tie breakers for the title though. So St G must win this game. They currently have 49 pts and are in the #11 spot in points. But several teams below them are only a couple of points back and have 2 or 3 games remaining. So ST G could easily get passed by and miss the playoffs. A win would put them in a much better position for the final spot. But they haven’t locked anything up yet. Charter is right on the edge. Currenlty in the #15 spot with 46 pts. Charter does have 3 games remaining which puts their destiny mostly in their own hands. 3 wins and I would think that should clinch them a spot. 2 wins would put them right on the bubble with everyone else. The problem, they play St G and St E, both teams clawing for a spot themselves. They also play TH, so no easy wins here. Charter is no stranger to last minute, down to the wire action, as they have won 6 of their 9 games by 1 run, most comebacks in the final innings.
Milford (10-6) @ St Elizabeth (8-7). Milford has locked up their conference, so the pressure is off for the most part. Currently they are the #16 seed by way of points, so I’m sure they would like to win 1 or both of their final games (St E, DMA) to get a better playoff draw. Milford got a little shaky in the middle of the season with 4 straight losses, but they have won 4 of their last 5 including a win over Tech. St E is right smack on the bubble, currently on the outside at the #18 spot, with 43 pts directly behind Milford, Conrad and Charter. Guess who St E plays in its final three games; you guessed it…Milford, Conrad and Charter. St E has its destiny mostly in its own hands. Win those three games and they will probably get in, knocking out possibly two of the teams right ahead of them. If they lose one, they will possibly miss out.
Sussex Tech (13-4) @ Mt Pleasant (10-5). Tech is in the mystery three way tie for their conference, but should have enough playoff pts to make it regardless of a conference title. Tech has been stumbling here at the end, losing 2 of its last 3 games and barely beating Poly 7-6. Mt P is looking to jump into a 3 way for its conference title as well, but if they don’t get the nod in the conference their playoff hopes will be seriously in doubt. They are on the outside looking in for the playoff points race and they have two top ten teams to face in their last three game (Tech and Appo). Fortunately for Mt P, Appo is in and Tech is probably in, so one or both might let its guard down. But I wouldn’t count on it because both are looking for a higher seed closer to the top.
Other less competitive games but with playoff implications:
DMA @ Wilm Christian. DMA looking to join a 3 way tie for the conference title (but one they will lose the tie breaker for), but more importantly they are hanging by a thread for playoff points. 3 games remaining, but down 5 pts from the final spot right now.
NCS @ DEPSS. Both are in the playoff hunt by default with winning records, but mathematically won’t be able to get there I don’t believe. Kudos to good seasons of two new schools.
Concord @ Appo. Appo is hoping for a win and pts to get a foothold on one of the top seeds.
Laurel @ Lake. Lake has two winnable games (Laurel, DEPSS) to get to 10-8 but they don’t have enough pts to get into the discussion. A late season collapse losing 3 of its last 4, all of which were 11-1 losses including one to IR.
Sallies (12-3) @ Sanford (6-10). Sallies have been in stealth mode all season. Never really in the discussion of top teams. Floating around the ten spot in the rankings all season up until recently. But they have reeled off 8 straight wins and winning 11 of their last 12 games which includes wins over a slew of potential playoff teams: Central, St E, Cape, St Marks, St Georges, Tower Hill, Charter and Smyrna. Their defense has played well most of the season, now their offense is playing well. In their first 7 games they only scored 1 time over 5 runs. In their last games (all wins), they have only scored UNDER 6 runs once. Sallies has probably mathematically secured a spot in the playoffs already. But Sallies finishes up with 3 winnable games (Sanford, IR, RLCA) to not only lock up a spot, but the opportunity to secure themselves a top spot in the playoffs. Short of a collapse, they should get a home game and top spot.
Howard @ Penn. Penn should win this one relatively easy. Howard has lost 23 straight games, including a game to Penn last year 8-4. Howard has been shut out 7 times this season and have been 10-runned 13 of their 15 games. Only once this season has a team NOT scored 10 runs against them. Hint to Penn, skip the cage before the game…spend all of warmups on defense. Howard has this game and one against DEPSS on Friday to break the losing streak this season. Penn's playoff hopes are on life support. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games and are currenlty in the #25 spot for playoff points. They are 8 pts back from the #16 spot and have only two games while others ahead of them have 3. I haven't done the math, but they are probably out even if they win their final two games (Howard & Bwine).
Here are some good games:
Conrad (11-5) @ Mtown (9-7). Literally two teams on the bubble going at it for a playoff spot. If Wilm Christian beats DMA, Conrad should win the head to head tiebreaker for the conference title. If DMA wins, there will be a three way conference tie and Archmere would win the tiebreaker which is total playoff pts I do believe. So the only fate Conrad can control is keeping themselves in a good spot for an at large spot if they don’t get the title. Conrad is #17 in playoff pts right now and leads Mtown by ONE playoff pt. The loser of this game could very likely end their playoff run after things shake out with today’s games. The winner isn’t assured of anything but would at least keep themselves on pace right around the bubble. Both teams have one game remaining after this and play an opponent who is fighting to get into the playoffs themselves, Conrad versus St E and Mtown versus Polytech. This should be a great game with a playoff atmosphere. Conrad is 5-2 in their last seven games, but those two losses were against Concord (2-13) and Glasgow (5-11) and may very well just keep them out of the playoffs. Mtown is all over the board barely beating Delcastle and Ai, getting beat bad by St E and Newark while crushing DMA. Conrad is just as inconsistent with a win over St Marks but losses to Concord and Glasgow. It will be interesting to see who wants it more. Conrad beat Mtown last year by walkoff fashion scoring a run in the 7th .
Hodgson (13-3) @ CR (8-8). Hodgson has pretty much locked up a spot in the playoffs either by winning its conference which it could be in a three way tie for the title depending on Mt P winning or not…or with all the points they have already accumulated (currently #5 in pts at 55). CR on the other hand is on the outside looking in. First off they have to win at least one of their last two games (Hodgson, Concord), just to qualify for the playoffs with a .500 record. But more importantly they are 4 pts behind the #16 team at the moment with 41 playoff pts. A lot of things can still happen with pts but it seems that if CR doesn’t win both, they are probably out of the playoffs. Hodgson has CR and Archmere to finish the season, no easy task. Hodgson was rolling along, but got beat up by Mt Pleasant last week 11-4 which could of cost them the conference title. Walter just threw a complete game on Monday, so I’m assuming that he won’t pitch today. (Good news for CR). Hodgson beat CR last year 3-2 by scoring 2 in the bottom of the 7th (with Walter on the mound).
Archmere (13-3) @ Tower Hill (14-2). This is a good match up for both teams. Tower Hill has already punched their ticket for the playoffs, but it’s a great test and warmup for the playoffs. If Voge is on the mound, they will see one of the top pitchers in the state as well. TH finishes with Charter after this, so they will get a little battle tested before the playoffs. Archmere hasn’t locked anything up yet, even with 13 wins. Archmere got upset by Conrad last week in their conference matchup, now Archmere is waiting on DMA to see who gets the conference. If DMA wins its game, it will cause a 3 way tie which Archmere will win on pts total. If DMA loses, Archmere will lose the tie breaker to Conrad based on head to head. I would think that if Archmere wins one of its two remaining games (TH & Hodgson), it would probably get in anyway. But it could be close. Win two…and they are a lock. Tower Hill lost 2 games to Archmere last year, including a playoff game (6-1) which knocked TH out of the playoffs.
St Georges (12-5) @ Charter (9-6). This is St Georges final game. St G is currently tied with Hodgson for the Conference title, but Hodgson beat St G so it would lose the tie breaker. BUT, if Mt P beats Bwine, then it would cause a 3 way tie where there is no head to head clear winner. Not sure if St G would win the tie breakers for the title though. So St G must win this game. They currently have 49 pts and are in the #11 spot in points. But several teams below them are only a couple of points back and have 2 or 3 games remaining. So ST G could easily get passed by and miss the playoffs. A win would put them in a much better position for the final spot. But they haven’t locked anything up yet. Charter is right on the edge. Currenlty in the #15 spot with 46 pts. Charter does have 3 games remaining which puts their destiny mostly in their own hands. 3 wins and I would think that should clinch them a spot. 2 wins would put them right on the bubble with everyone else. The problem, they play St G and St E, both teams clawing for a spot themselves. They also play TH, so no easy wins here. Charter is no stranger to last minute, down to the wire action, as they have won 6 of their 9 games by 1 run, most comebacks in the final innings.
Milford (10-6) @ St Elizabeth (8-7). Milford has locked up their conference, so the pressure is off for the most part. Currently they are the #16 seed by way of points, so I’m sure they would like to win 1 or both of their final games (St E, DMA) to get a better playoff draw. Milford got a little shaky in the middle of the season with 4 straight losses, but they have won 4 of their last 5 including a win over Tech. St E is right smack on the bubble, currently on the outside at the #18 spot, with 43 pts directly behind Milford, Conrad and Charter. Guess who St E plays in its final three games; you guessed it…Milford, Conrad and Charter. St E has its destiny mostly in its own hands. Win those three games and they will probably get in, knocking out possibly two of the teams right ahead of them. If they lose one, they will possibly miss out.
Sussex Tech (13-4) @ Mt Pleasant (10-5). Tech is in the mystery three way tie for their conference, but should have enough playoff pts to make it regardless of a conference title. Tech has been stumbling here at the end, losing 2 of its last 3 games and barely beating Poly 7-6. Mt P is looking to jump into a 3 way for its conference title as well, but if they don’t get the nod in the conference their playoff hopes will be seriously in doubt. They are on the outside looking in for the playoff points race and they have two top ten teams to face in their last three game (Tech and Appo). Fortunately for Mt P, Appo is in and Tech is probably in, so one or both might let its guard down. But I wouldn’t count on it because both are looking for a higher seed closer to the top.
Other less competitive games but with playoff implications:
DMA @ Wilm Christian. DMA looking to join a 3 way tie for the conference title (but one they will lose the tie breaker for), but more importantly they are hanging by a thread for playoff points. 3 games remaining, but down 5 pts from the final spot right now.
NCS @ DEPSS. Both are in the playoff hunt by default with winning records, but mathematically won’t be able to get there I don’t believe. Kudos to good seasons of two new schools.
Concord @ Appo. Appo is hoping for a win and pts to get a foothold on one of the top seeds.
Laurel @ Lake. Lake has two winnable games (Laurel, DEPSS) to get to 10-8 but they don’t have enough pts to get into the discussion. A late season collapse losing 3 of its last 4, all of which were 11-1 losses including one to IR.
Sallies (12-3) @ Sanford (6-10). Sallies have been in stealth mode all season. Never really in the discussion of top teams. Floating around the ten spot in the rankings all season up until recently. But they have reeled off 8 straight wins and winning 11 of their last 12 games which includes wins over a slew of potential playoff teams: Central, St E, Cape, St Marks, St Georges, Tower Hill, Charter and Smyrna. Their defense has played well most of the season, now their offense is playing well. In their first 7 games they only scored 1 time over 5 runs. In their last games (all wins), they have only scored UNDER 6 runs once. Sallies has probably mathematically secured a spot in the playoffs already. But Sallies finishes up with 3 winnable games (Sanford, IR, RLCA) to not only lock up a spot, but the opportunity to secure themselves a top spot in the playoffs. Short of a collapse, they should get a home game and top spot.
Howard @ Penn. Penn should win this one relatively easy. Howard has lost 23 straight games, including a game to Penn last year 8-4. Howard has been shut out 7 times this season and have been 10-runned 13 of their 15 games. Only once this season has a team NOT scored 10 runs against them. Hint to Penn, skip the cage before the game…spend all of warmups on defense. Howard has this game and one against DEPSS on Friday to break the losing streak this season. Penn's playoff hopes are on life support. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games and are currenlty in the #25 spot for playoff points. They are 8 pts back from the #16 spot and have only two games while others ahead of them have 3. I haven't done the math, but they are probably out even if they win their final two games (Howard & Bwine).
