Want a playoff spot? Bevy of area baseball and softball teams have work to do

With only five teams in Region VII-4A, St. James baseball coach Robbie Centracchio figured his team’s opportunities would be rather limited.

“With only five teams in the league, you can’t give away games,” he said. “There is little margin for error. It’s almost as if every game counts twice.”

An obvious result of the S.C. High School League’s (SCHSL) reclassification last year, the league’s clubs — Marlboro County, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, St. James and Wilson — find themselves in the final stages of an eight-game sprint to the postseason. And yet, very little has been resolved.

The lone undefeated club in Region VII-4A, Myrtle Beach is locked in to one of the league’s top two spots. It can put a bow on a region title with a win in either of its final two games (at Marlboro County; vs. North Myrtle Beach).

North Myrtle Beach and Marlboro County have also secured playoff spots. How things transpire in the final week of play will decide where each of them will start the postseason.

Playing for a state title a mere year ago, St. James is fighting for its playoff life. Sitting at 1-6 in Region VII-4A, the Sharks must defeat Wilson on Tuesday night and hope the Tigers — who also have only one win in conference play to their record — falls in both their final league contests.

In Region VI-3A, Waccamaw (7-3) sits a game back of league-leading Lake City (6-2). The Warriors have locked up at worst second place in the conference, having completed it with a come-from-behind win over Dillon on Thursday night.

As for Lake City, it still has two more games remaining in Region VI-3A play, both of which are on the road. The Panthers will travel Tuesday to Loris, with them closing out their season Friday evening at Aynor.

Speaking of the Blue Jackets, they need only a win in either of their final league contests to settle into its third spot. Loris, Georgetown and Dillon are jockeying for the last playoff berth offered by Region VI-3A.

With Region VI-5A’s top three spots already spoken for, the league’s final playoff spot will be decided in Carolina Forest, where the Panthers will host Conway. Sumter has already secured the region crown, while rivals West Florence and South Florence are jockeying for its No. 2 position.

Carvers Bay and Green Sea Floyds are also playoff bound, having secured postseason berths in Region VII-2A and Region VI-A, respectively.

Softball

The stretch run promises to be rather anticlimactic for a few of the area’s top softball clubs.

Last week, Conway sewed up the Region VI-5A title. Other than that, little else is settled in the league as three teams have a legitimate shot at claiming its No. 2 spot.

Socastee and South Florence both went into last week’s break tied for second with identical 5-4 records. South Florence holds the tiebreaker, however, taking both games between the teams.

The Braves can finish as high as second place or as low as fourth in the conference. They travel to West Florence on Tuesday, the Knights also hoping to improve their playoff positioning.

At 3-6 in Region VI-3A play, Sumter still has an outside shot at making the postseason.

Much like Conway, St. James also has put a bow on a league title, claiming Region VII-4A.

Undefeated in the conference, St. James looks to complete a perfect run through the league Tuesday against Wilson.

Region VII-4A’s other three playoff spots are spoken for as well, with Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Wilson having already punched their tickets to the postseason. Where these clubs will start the district playoffs, now that’s another question.

Myrtle Beach has a 1/2-game lead over North Myrtle Beach, and a full-game advantage over Wilson. The Chiefs are off Tuesday night before heading to Myrtle Beach on Friday. Myrtle Beach will take on winless Marlboro County on Tuesday, while Wilson travels to St. James.

Last season, Aynor’s pursuit of a region title fell just short to Dillon in a tiebreaker. With two wins over the hated Wildcats under their belt, the Blue Jackets need only a win in either of their final two league contests to win the Region VI-3A title.

Georgetown is locked into the No. 3 spot in the conference, while Waccamaw is awaiting results from Loris’ final two games. The Lions could force a tiebreaker for the final playoff berth allotted to Region VI-3A with wins against Lake City and Aynor.

Green Sea Floyds has clinched a playoff berth in Region VI-A, while Carvers Bay finds itself in the hunt for one of Region VII-2A’s five guaranteed spots.

This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Want a playoff spot? Bevy of area baseball and softball teams have work to do."