Down The Stretch Neck And Neck

The final week of Big East baseball starts tonight with the rainout makeup game between Hunt and Southern Nash.  After tonight all Big East teams will be down to two games each to finish the regular season.

I say regular season because I just found out Sunday that next week the Big East will have a conference tournament.  The only thing that hasn't been decided yet as exactly how are they going to do the tournament?  It has been discussed that one plays six, two plays five and three meets four with the top team left standing get a bye in the second.  All first round games would be Monday.

If they do try this new formula and all three top seeds win then one would get a bye in the second round and two and three would play Tuesday.  The winner would play  the top seed  Thursday.  There is of course the old system one and two get a bye and three plays six and four plays five.  What ever way they decide it will start Monday May 5th.

The big question is who will make the top three spots and will make the playoffs?  Northern as they say has control of their own destiny.  If they beat both Fike and Rocky Mount they are the champs of the regular season.  Hunt becomes the first team that is still in the running for the title that must beat Southern Nash this week.   Any team including Rocky Mount Tuesday and Nash Central Friday that would lose to the winless Firebirds would eliminate themselves from any chance of still tying for the title but they would hurt their playoff hopes of finishing in the top three.

So for Nash Central and Rocky Mount both needing plenty of outside help but they have got to win both of their games this week to stay alive for the playoffs.  The best scenario for all three Rocky Mount teams getting the top three spots would be for Northern to beat Fike at home Tuesday.  Nash Central knock off Hunt Tuesday and it wouldn't matter who won the Fike-Hunt game Friday because the loser would have five losses.  The final straw to get all three in would be Rocky Mount beating Northern Friday.

The way this season has unfolded here is about how this playoff picture will be decided. I can see Northern and one of the Wilson County schools who start the week with three losses.  One of them will not lose  this week and there will be a three way tie for third and the third spot will be decided by next week's tournament.