Post Season Playoffs loom before final Home game

Little Jayce helps press box during rain delay

The unfortunate loss last night precludes any chance the Railroaders had to take the season pennant. Hats off the to the Bombers who were able to sit at home last night and win their first regular season OVL title. 

Where’s that leave the Railroaders?  They must fight to beat the Hoppers tonight at the Yard and hope the Bombers take out the Miners in Madisonville at the same time.  Question is, will the Bombers play a good enough or slack off knowing they are already set as the #1 seed for Post-Season play. 

The Miners need only to tie season records with the Railroaders to gain the #2 spot for the playoffs. That leaves the Railroaders in #3 seed. In the last 5 seasons (including pre-OVL play) the Railroaders have secured the #2 mark to finish the season.  That distinction is in jeopardy tonight.

The #2 seed in the playoffs is significant for home field advantage in Round Two.  The second round Best of Three series will start with a game at #3 seed’s home field.  The second and third (if needed) games will be played at the #2 seed’s home park. In the first 4 years of the OVL the Railroaders have won the Post-Season Playoff title twice from the #2 position. Only the Hoppers have taken the post-season award one time starting from the #3 spot.

We’ll find out tonight at the Yard if the Fulton can take care of half the solution while monitoring the other half in Madisonville, and cheer for the Railroaders and Bombers to win.

We hope everyone can make the game for the final regular season home game in 2015.  Our new TeamLine commentator; Jayce will be there with a couple of uplifting thoughts I'm sure, to urge the Railroaders towards a victory.  See you at the Yard or online TeamLine.

Oilers and Railroaders tonight

Although the rain has come through the Yard this morning, the heat of the afternoon will dry things out for the Railroaders and Oilers for tonight’s game. With two games left, the task before the Railroaders is simple. Winning today and tomorrow ensures Fulton at least the second standing for the regular season.

Tomorrow the Railroaders will finish the season at home with the Hoppers and the Miners will host the Bombers to complete the regular season. If the Railroaders win their final two and the Miners beat the Bombers, Fulton will take the regular season pennant.  The Railroaders and Miners would tie with the same 26-14 record and are also tied with the first tiebreaker with a head-to-head 5-5 record.  However, the second tiebreaker would come into play with the Railroaders taking the title having scored 53 runs against the Bombers who have scored 43 against the Railroaders.

It is possible for the Railroaders to tie with the Miners in second place. Should that occur the Miners would take second having beaten the Railroaders 6-4 head-to-head during the season. The Railroaders magic number to secure the second seed is 2, any combination of 2 Railroader wins and/or Miners losses.

Tight race no doubt and the action at the Yard for tonight and tomorrow will be intense.  If you’re in the area we hope you can make it to both games as the Railroaders dash towards the finish line.  Time to “Fire it Up” and go into the Post Season on a high note.  See you at the Yard or online TeamLine.

Home stretch run begins with Hoppers

Heading into the final season stretch with 4 games left, the 22-14 Railroaders find themselves wedged between the 1st place Bombers and 3rd place Miners. The Post-Season Playoff seeding is becoming clearer with each game played.

The 24-12 Bombers are trying to hold on with a 2 game lead, and have 4 games remaining to play. Should the Railroaders catch and tie the records with the Bombers, the Railroaders would win the first seed. How? The first tiebreaker would be best head-to-head record, and after last night’s Railroader defeat of the Bombers that stands and ends at 5-5. The second tiebreaker is total runs scored between the two teams, the Railroaders with 53 to the Bombers 43 runs. 

The 20-15 Miners aren’t out of the mix either. They are only 1½ games behind the Railroaders and have their best chance in taking the 2nd seed from the Railroaders.  If these two tie in the standings, the Miners win out with a better 6-4 record against the Railroaders.  With 5 games left the Miners have a long shot to catch the Bombers, and the teams meet tonight for the first of two games remaining together.

For the Railroaders to take the regular season pennant the task is simple, keep winning and hope the Bombers drop 2 or more games of 4 remaining.  The Railroaders play a doubleheader tonight with the 14-20 Hoppers who still have 6 games left to play. The Railroaders will finish their final two games at home on Monday against the Oilers and Tuesday with the Hoppers one more time. Then everyone head to the Post-Season Playoff Championship rounds.

The Railroader bats have been hot lately in winning 6 of their last 7 games, the only loss coming from final inning errors on the defense.  If the boys can play well in the field, the Railroaders have a reasonable chance (with help) to take 1st seed.  Focus on that and we at least should secure the 2nd seed soon.

First game tonight is at 5 pm, each game scheduled for 7 innings.  It will be hot both on and off the field.  See you at the Yard or online Teamline.

Must win scenario

With the loss to the Miners last night, the Railroaders must win their final 5 games to even have a chance at the regular season title. The quest begins tonight in Dubois County as they play the #1 Bombers who they trail by 3 games. They would also need help from Miners, Oilers and Hoppers to take out the Bombers a couple of games in order to tie up the first spot in the standings.  Should all this occur, the Railroaders and Bombers would also be tied Head-to-Head, and a tie breaking game might occur (the OVL will have to make that call.

Meanwhile, the Miners victory over the Railroaders last night has them in good position only a game behind the Railroaders and could to unseat Fulton's 2nd place standing.  Should the two teams tie for 2nd, the Miners would take the second seed with a now 6-4 record head-to-head with the Railroaders. So the Railroaders must win to keep ahead of the Miners if they want to secure 2nd place.

After tonight's most important game in Dubois, the Railroaders will have 4 games left, 3 with the Hoppers (2 on Friday and one next Tuesday), and one game with the Oilers on Monday.  For now, we wait for the results in today contest.

Pennant Race heats up with the Hoppers

The Railroaders are firing up to make their sprint in the final quarter of the season winning two straight games over the Miners and Bombers.  The victory over DC last night moved Fulton into second place and picked up a game on the Bombers who are now 2½ games in the lead.  The Miners, who were idle Saturday, take the third spot now just a ½ game behind the Railroaders.  The Railroaders will see the Bombers and Miners just one more time each at their houses before post season playoffs begin. 

With 9 games left in the regular season, there are still plenty of games remaining for the Railroaders to move ahead on.  Tonight the race for season pennant continues at the Yard with Hoptown Hoppers coming to town.  The fourth place Hoppers split a doubleheader with the fifth place Oilers last night.  Hoptown is 8 games out of first and 5½ games behind the Railroaders, but they should not be taken lightly. 

The Railroaders and Hoppers have met for 6 games so far with the Railroaders winning 4 of them.  That trend will need to continue tonight.  The four remaining games the Railroaders have with the Hopper will be played at the Yard also.  After tonight’s game the next meeting between the two will be this coming Friday with a doubleheader in Fulton.

The Miners will be playing the Bombers tonight also.  We’ll be keeping an eye on that outcome.  Tonight’s league results will certainly affect the positioning for the current top 3 teams in the OVL. 

We need to keep the heat on and the steam pressure high to finish off the season.  Come on out to the Yard for some Sunday night baseball with the Railroaders.  Should be another great game.  See you there or on TeamLine.

Miner Meditation

Three days the Railroaders have been idle, two rainouts and one scheduled day off, plenty of time for rest and reflection. There are eleven games remaining in the season with the Railroaders in third place, 4 games behind the Bombers and trailing the Miners by one game. 

There 2 games each left with both the Miners and Bombers, the first with the Miners is tonight at the Yard. The remaining 3 regular season games with these two teams will be on the road.  

Needless to say tonight’s game with the Miners is an important one for the Railroaders. They a have 3-5 record head-to-head with the Miners.  The same 3-5 record holds true with the Bombers, whom the Railroaders travel to DC on Saturday to play a game. It is time this weekend for the Railroaders to begin to even the score with both teams.

The task of winning the regular season will be a difficult one and requires the very best of the Railroaders.  The Bombers and Miners are not the only teams to dominate, the Railroaders must also control the remaining 7 games left with the Oilers (3 games) and Hoppers (4 games).  All but two of these 7 games will be played at the Yard in Fulton; a doubleheader in Owensboro accounts for remainder.

We’re asking everyone who can make to come out to Yard tonight and help get the Railroaders engine fired up.  See you there, or on TeamLine.

Hoppers return to the Yard tonight, maybe

After last night’s loss to the Bombers, preceded by the beat down from the Miners the night before, maybe it’s time for a little shock treatment before the Hoppers arrive for a in Fulton, weather permitting of course.

The Railroaders have dropped four of their last five games and appear to be struggling.  All four losses were with the Bombers and Miners who are clearly on the up swing heading towards the final season stretch.  In the four defeats, our opponents combine batting average was .336 with 28 RBI and scored 31 runs.  The Railroaders could only manage a .207 batting average for 8 RBI runs total, well below their overall season team average.  On base averages were .421 for the Miners and Bombers together, the Railroaders only managing a .262 OBA.
Pitching ERA has suffered as well; while the Miners and Bombers had a healthy 1.50 ERA against us, the Railroaders had a 6.09 ERA, over double their season team average of 2.67. 

Do we have the spirit for the task ahead?  With only 11 games left for the Railroaders, it’s time to get off the stick and use it to produce some offense.  Four of the 11 games left are with the Miners and Bombers, two each.  The Railroaders need to win these games to stay with the top two teams.  The five remaining game with the lower standing Hoppers and Oilers won’t be a sure thing either.  No time left to continue a slump, time for hits and more RBI.  Let’s tighten up more on defense and support the pitching to help.  Fulton is trailing 4 ½ games behind the Bombers and ½ game back of the Miners. We need to fire it up and move up.

The Hoppers are due in the Yard tonight, but the weather at this point remains questionable.  Hopefully the Railroaders will be able to play the game and get back to their winning ways. We’ll be eyeing the weather and post any new information as we get it, but as for now we’ll see you at the Yard or online TeamLine.