Panthers, Dragons in playoff chase

Isaiah Sachez (pictured) and his Central High teammates have four regular-season games remaining, including two against Dallas. The Polk County teams are in the hunt for a postseason berth. Photo by Lance Masterson.

Playoff positioning is far from settled heading into the final four games of Mid-Willamette Conference varsity baseball play.

One game separates first-place West Albany from second-place Crescent Valley, with the frontrunners beginning a two-game series Wednesday.

Of greater concern locally is which team ends up in third place. In that battle, Central (8-6, 14-8 overall), Corvallis (8-6, 11-11) and Lebanon (8-8, 11-11) are tied for third. Dallas (7-7, 10-12) is sixth, just one game back.

Also of local interest, the Polk County rivals meet Wednesday at Central, and then Friday at Dallas. Both games begin at 5 p.m.

Much is at stake in those games.

“Obviously, it’s a rival game,” Central catcher Joe Mendazona said. “And obviously we’re both fighting for a playoff spot.”

Wins are always crucial, but especially as the season winds down to a precious few games.

“We’re at a point in the season where we kind of know where everybody is at, and getting a couple of wins would be huge. We’ve really got to focus,” Barlow said. “Getting a couple of wins will put us in a really good spot in terms of going to the playoffs and extending our season.”

Barlow didn’t expect the Panthers to be one of four teams fighting for what could be two playoff spots.

“Our expectations were a bit higher (coming into the season). We kind of thought we’d be in that top couple of teams at the top,” the coach said. “We didn’t play well for a couple of weeks there, and that can catch up to you real quick. But I’m proud of how we responded yesterday. In a double-header, you never know how that’s going to go in high school baseball.”

The Panthers halted a six-game slide by sweeping McKay in a double-header. Central routed the Scots, 25-1, 8-1, on Monday.

“It feels really good. We have a little momentum after winning those games,” Central senior Andrew Eames said. “We got to see some all right pitching. But we really just got back to hitting the ball, and that’s what we needed to do.”

Pitching has been the team’s strength throughout the season, and that was true again Monday. The Scots scored two runs in two games.

A deep run is possible for Central, given the team’s talent.

“Expectations are still high for us,” Mendazona said. “We obviously want to go far in the playoffs.”

As for this week, there’s no secret as to what Central must do.

“We just need to hit the ball and play good defense,” Eames said. “We have the guys to do it.”

All four teams contesting third place are seeded 15th or higher in the OSAA rankings, including the Panthers at 12th, and the Dragons at 15th. Sixteen teams advance to the playoffs.

During the six-game losing streak, Central was swept by West Albany, Corvallis and Crescent Valley.

The Panthers are at Woodburn Monday and hosts the Bulldogs May15th in the regular-season finale.

The Dragons take on Silverton. Dallas won six straight games before losing to Lebanon twice last week.

Parkrose is at Central on Friday, May 17th, for a non-league OSAA endowment game. Admission will be charged.