Focus to secure 2nd place.

With six games to go, the Railroaders remain in 2nd place five games behind the Hoppers.  Taking first seed in the Playoffs should no longer be a concern for Fulton.  Not impossible, but highly improbable at this juncture of the season.  The focus now is "just win, baby" to secure the second seed.  The Railroaders are only 2 1/2 games ahead of the Pirates who have just 5 games remaining.

The Railroaders are looking at the 2 more games with the Bobcats and 1 game each with the Hoppers, Pirates, Oilers and Bombers (who are at the Yard tonight).  The win against the Pirates last night gives the Railroaders a 5-3 season series lead and a tie breaker in the standings (if it comes to that) with 1 game to go. All that boils down to any combination of 3 Railroader wins or 3 Pirate losses, the magic number to secure the 2nd Playoff seed.

The five games remaining for the Pirates consist of 1 games each of the other OVL teams.  Tonight they face the Hoppers in Hoptown.  The Bucs end the regular season at home next Wednesday with the Railroaders. As for the 1st place Hoppers, I doubt they will lose hold of their standing.  The Railroaders will at least get a chance tomorrow to gain a game on them in Hopkinsville. It is likely we'll see them again in post season play. It's shaping up and appearing to look just like last year's finish, but the final outcome has yet to be seen.

All well and good, but for the moment the focus should be on the next game ahead.  Tonight is the 4th place Bombers at the Yard who are in a battle with the Oilers for a 4th place seed.  The Bombers added a couple of new guys (pitchers I think) before the cutoff on Monday.  They have won 2 straight games and are feeling pretty good about themselves.  However, the Railroaders have the bats and pitching is overall stronger. It is a good time to get a win tonight and 1 of the 3 games needed.  If the Hoppers beat the Pirates tonight, and I think they will, we could pick up 2 of the three needed. Boilerstoker and I will be calling the game tonight so Fire it UP!