Midlands baseball Top 10 rankings and first look at playoff picture for local teams
The high school baseball season across South Carolina is winding down. To help you keep up everything, The State is offering its weekly Midlands Top 10 power rankings. Records are as of April 16.
1. Blythewood (20-1)
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
Bengals looked like the best team in 5A this past week as they won their second straight SC Diamond Invitational.
2. River Bluff (15-4)
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
Gators started the week by losing to Westminster Christian (Fla.) but won the next three to win their second straight Forest Acres Classic championship.
3. Lexington (13-4-1)
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
The Wildcats lost their first game of Diamond Invitational but finished up with two wins.
4. AC Flora (13-3)
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
Falcons went 3-1 to finish third at its own Forest Acres Classic. Big news was that Flora will be without pitcher Davis Rivers for the rest of year because of injury.
5. Brookland-Cayce (12-3)
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
The Bearcats went 3-0 at Diamond Invitational with wins over 5A ranked teams Lexington and Berkeley.
6. Gray Collegiate (19-4)
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
War Eagles had a good run at Forest Acres Classic before losing to River Bluff in the championship game.
7. Airport (14-4)
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
The Eagles clinched the Region 5-4A championship with a pair of wins over South Aiken.
8. Cardinal Newman (11-6)
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
The Cardinals went 2-2 last week at the Sandlapper Classic at Gilbert High School.
9. Hammond (12-3)
Last Week’s Ranking: 10
The Skyhawks lost their first two games at Forest Acres Classic but finished strong with wins over Westminster Christian (Fla.) and Miller School (Va.).
10. Lugoff-Elgin (14-4)
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
Demons went 1-3 at Mingo Bay Invitational but three losses were to out-of-state teams by a combined four runs. Big week ahead with two games against A.C. Flora
Dropped Out: None
Others to consider: Chapin, Dreher, Gilbert, Lugoff-Elgin, Mid-Carolina
Playoff picture for Midlands teams
A look at the playoff picture for area teams. Top 4 teams makes the playoffs in SCHSL playoffs. Region record in parentheses:
——Class 5A——
Region 4: Blythewood (9-0) has clinched the region championship and Spring Valley has wrapped up the second spot. The third spot will be between Rock Hill and Northwestern.
Region 5: Lexington (7-1), River Bluff (6-2), Dutch Fork (5-5) and Chapin (3-5) have clinched playoff spots. It’s now just a matter of who finishes in what spot. Lexington has a three-game series this week with Dutch Fork and finishes up with Chapin. River Bluff plays Chapin and then White Knoll.
——Class 4A——
Region 4: Lugoff-Elgin (6-1) and AC Flora (6-0) are battling it out for first place and play each other Tuesday and Thursday this week. A.C. Flora also has a region game left against Irmo on Friday. Dreher (5-2) is in third place with the final spot from the region will be between Irmo (1-6), Richland Northeast (1-6) and Westwood (1-6).
Region 5: Airport has clinched the region and will be No. 1 seed from Region 5-4A.
——Class 3A——
Region 4: Mid-Carolina (6-0) has clinched the region. Chester (3-2) is next followed by Fairfield Central (2-3), Lower Richland (1-4) and Keenan (0-4).
Region 5: Brookland-Cayce (8-0) can clinch the region with a win over Orangeburg-Wilkinson. Strom Thurmond (4-2) third and Gilbert (4-2) are tied for second starting the week. Fox Creek (2-4) is fourth. Gilbert and Strom Thurmond play each other twice next week.
Region 6: Lakewood (7-2) leads the region over Lake City (7-3), which has finished region play and Camden (6-3). The Bulldogs have two games with Marlboro County (6-2) left. Camden split season series with Lakewood.
——Class 2A——
Region 3: Gray Collegiate (8-0) has clinched the region and has two games left with Newberry (5-2). The Bulldogs, Saluda (5-3) and Batesburg-Leesville (4-3) also have clinched playoff spots. Newberry plays GC twice this week, plus a makeup with Columbia. BL plays Saluda twice and has make-up game with Eau Claire.
Region 5: Pelion (2-2) is fighting for a playoff spot with two games left against Edisto, one against Barnwell and one with Wade Hampton. Edisto (4-2) leads the region followed by Barnwell (3-2), Silver Bluff (4-3), Pelion and Wade Hampton (1-4).
——SCISA——
Class 3A: Cardinal Newman leads Hammond for region lead and can win region with a victory over Skyhawks next Tuesday. If Hammond wins, the region will be decided by tiebreaker. Ben Lippen also will be in the playoffs.
Class 2A: Northside Christian is in the mix for a postseason spot.
Class A: Richard Winn can wrap up region title this week.
This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 4:21 PM.
