So, get this. It’s May, already.
And that means the spring season postseason gets started this week as baseball and soccer teams wrap up league play.
There’s a lot to cover as teams jostle for playoff position, so let’s get to it, starting with the 4A Greater St. Helens League.
4A GSHL
BASEBALL: The top six teams advance to the modified stepladder bracket of the district tournament. The tourney begins Wednesday at Propstra Stadium with two loser-out games.
Skyview will face Union in one game, and Heritage will play Battle Ground, unless Battle Ground beats Evergreen on Monday and Camas loses to Mountain View. If that happens, Heritage faces Camas.
The two winners of Wednesday’s games play in a loser-out game Thursday. The winner of Thursday’s game plays another loser-out game Friday against the league’s No. 2 team. Again, that will be Camas, barring a Battle Ground win coupled with a Camas loss on Monday.
Friday’s winner will play Mountain View in the district title game on Saturday with both teams advancing to next week’s bi-district playoffs.
SOCCER: The district format for soccer is different than it is for baseball, following the format used in other team sports earlier this school year.
There are still two rounds of league matches to be played this week, so things are a bit unsettled. We can tell you that Camas will clinch the league title and No. 1 seed to district with a win or a tie against Union on Tuesday. If Union wins, then a tiebreaker between Camas and Union may be needed to decide the top two seeds to district.
Heritage (2-7-1) appears headed to the No. 6 seed with Skyview (5-4-1), Evergreen ( 4-5-1) and Mountain View (4-6) battling for seeds No 3. to 5.
The district tournament opens Saturday with loser out games between the No. 6 and No. 3 seeds, and No. 5 vs. No. 4. The winners of Saturday’s games will play Camas and Union on May 9 in loser-out games, except for the No. 1 seed which is protected.
If the No. 1 seed wins on May 9, that team will play the winner of the other May 9 game on May 10 for the district title. If No. 1 loses on May 9, then the May 9 winners will play a loser-out game on May 10. The May 10 winner would face the No. 1 team on May 11 for the district title.
3A GSHL
BASEBALL: Columbia River plays at Kelso today. The winner will take the No. 1 seed to the bi-district tournament, which starts Saturday. The loser will be No. 2 seed and Prairie is locked in as the No. 3 seed.
The No. 1 seed will face Hazen on Saturday in Kelso. The No. 2 seed will face Wilson or North Thurston in Auburn. Prairie will play Kennedy in Kent.
SOCCER: Each team still has two league games left. Columbia River (3-1) is in good position to claim the league title with Kelso (1-1-2), Prairie (1-2-1) and Fort Vancouver (1-2-1) battling for the second playoff berth.
The league champion is assured a berth to state, while the No. 2 seed would have to win two loser-out games in the bi-district tournament to reach state.
2A GSHL
BASEBALL: Still a lot to be settled this week.
We can tell you that if Ridgefield beats R.A. Long on Tuesday, the Spudders are the league champs. But if Hockinson beats R.A. Long on Monday, and Ridgefield loses Tuesday, then the Hawks would claim the No. 1 seed to district.
It’s also possible that Ridgefield and R.A. Long tie for the league title. Mark Morris (5-5) is assured of a district berth, and Hudson’s Bay (4-6) is in good position. But neither Washougal (2-8) nor Woodland (1-8) have been eliminated from postseason play.
The top four teams earn spots in the double-elimination bracket at district, while the fifth-place team can reach district through a play-in game.
SOCCER: Ridgefield is the league champion and No. 1 seed to district. R.A. Long is the No. 2 seed. Mark Morris will be No. 3 if R.A. Long beats Woodland on Tuesday.
If Woodland wins, then a tiebreaker will be needed to decide the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. If Woodland loses and Hockinson beats Ridgefield Tuesday, then a tiebreaker will be between Woodland and Hockinson to decide the No. 4 and 5 seeds.
If Hockinson loses, the Hawks will play a pigtail game against No. 4 on Thursday to reach the double-elimination portion of the district tournament, which starts Saturday. Ridgefield will host the winner of that play-in game. R.A. Long hosts Black Hills.
1A Trico League
BASEBALL: Every team in the league plays three games this week, so a lot can change. But we can tell you that King’s Way Christian and La Center will take the top two seeds.
If King’s Way beats Stevenson twice this week, the Knights will take the No. 1 seed. Kalama (6-6), Castle Rock (4-8), Stevenson (4-8) and Columbia-White Salmon (3-9) remain in the mix for the other two berths to district.
SOCCER: Three teams advance to district, and those three teams will be Columbia-White Salmon, Toledo-Winlock and La Center. This week will determine seeding.
Columbia can lock up the league title with a win over King’s Way Christian today, or Castle Rock on Tuesday. La Center (7-2-1) can lock up the No. 2 seed with wins over both Stevenson on Tuesday and Seton Catholic on Thursday. But a loss or tie would open the door for Toledo-Winlock (8-2-1).
Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep coordinator for The Columbian. He can be reached at (360) 735-4538 or tim.martinez@columbian.com, or follow his Twitter handle @360TMart.
