BB/SB: Local teams shift gears for playoffs
playoff series beginning Friday at home when they face Mount
Enterprise. The first game will be played at 4:30 p.m. followed
immediately by Game 2. (Photo by John Krueger)
Three Shelby County diamond teams will be at different stages of their seasons this weekend, but they will each have one thing in common: they are all a part of the postseason fun.
The Joaquin Lady Ram softball team will be opening the playoffs on Friday in bi-district action. The Shelbyville Dragon baseball team will participate in a one-game playoff to see who will represent District 22-2A as the top team and who comes in at No.2. And the Joaquin baseball team will be looking to secure the runner-up spot in District 22-1A when the Rams travel to Martinsville for its regular season finale.
Here's a look at the three teams, where they've been and where they are headed:
Joaquin Lady Rams
After finishing third in the District 19-1A race, No.25-ranked Joaquin will open bi-district action Friday when they begin a best 2-out-of-3 series against the runner-up from District 20-1A, the No.23-ranked Mount Enterprise Lady Cats.
The opening round series will begin with two games on Friday at Lady Ram Field in Joaquin starting at 4:30 p.m. The second contest will be played immediately after the opener. A third game, if necessary, will take place on Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. at Douglass High School.
The winner of the series will move on to face District 17-1A Champion Maud in an Area round that must be completed by Saturday, May 8.
In other bi-district action involving District 19-1A schools, league champion and No.2-ranked Beckville will receive a first-round bye and await the survivor of Martin's Mill, the runner-up in District 18-1A, and Detroit, the third-place team in District 17-1A. District 19-1A runner-up and No.13-ranked Waskom will face Cushing, the third-place team in District 20-1A.
The Lady Rams are currently 13-12 on the season and finished the District 19-1A race with a 7-4 mark. Joaquin only dropped one district game to an unranked team, which was an 8-3 setback to Overton. The Lady Rams fell to Beckville twice, 10-1 and 13-1, and to Waskom once, 6-1. JHS also defeated Waskom once, 6-2, in 10 innings.
Class 1A Softball Playoff Bracket
Shelbyville Dragons
The Shelbyville Dragons streaked to the District 22-2A Co-Championship after finishing non-league play with a dismal 2-11-1 record. Despite having already clinched a playoff spot, the Dragons will be playing a district playoff game on Friday to see if they represent the league at the No.1 team or the No.2 squad.
Shelbyville will take on Hemphill at 8 p.m. at Central High School in Pollock in a one-game playoff. Both teams posted an 8-2 record during district play and they split their contests with each other. The Dragons won the matchup at home, 7-4, while the Hornets captured the victory in Hemphill, 14-2.
Both teams, along with third-place Kirbyville, have already clinched playoff spots. The winner of the Shelbyville-Hemphill matchup will have an advantage heading into postseason play because it will receive a first-round bye and take on the survivor of first-round action between the runner-up in District 23-2A and the third-place team in third-place team in District 24-2A. The loser will take on the third-place team in District 21-2A in the opening round of the playoffs in a series or game that must be decided by May 8.
The Dragons, who have won five of their last six and eight of their last 10, will take a 10-13-1 record into Friday's one-game playoff.
Class 2A Baseball Playoff Bracket
Joaquin Rams
The high-powered Joaquin Ram baseball team will wrap up the regular season on Friday when they hit the road to face Martinsville. Although they've already clinched a playoff spot, the Rams will be looking for a possible second-place finish in the District 22-1A race.
The contest between the Pirates (2-9 in district) and the Rams will get underway at 6 p.m.
Douglass (21-5-1) has already clinched the district title and a first round playoff bye, but could play a key role of where the Rams will finish. The Indians, who stand at 11-0 in league play, will take on Mount Enterprise at 4:30 p.m. in Mount Enterprise. The Wildcats are 13-8 on the season and tied with the Rams at 8-3 in league play.
Joaquin holds the tie-breaker over Mount Enterprise because the Rams defeated the Wildcats twice during the regular season, 15-10 and 8-3.
In the other District 22-1A finals on Friday, Gary (3-12, 1-10) will visit Timpson (9-11, 3-8). Cushing has a bye.
The first round of the playoffs must be completed by Saturday, May 8.
While Douglass will receive a first-round bye, the second place team in the district will face the third-place team from District 21-1A, while the third-place team will battle the runner-up from district 21-1A.