Burke County, Hickory open on the road;
Caldwell County home versus Mint Hill
By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
The pairings are set for the 2022 Area IV playoffs in American Legion baseball with opening best-of-5 series scheduled to begin Saturday night.
Area IV ended up with 12 teams still fielding teams by the end of the regular season – five in the East Division and seven in the West Division.
Lincolnton and Statesville did not complete the season in the East and Asheville dropped out in the West.
Those drops generated a need for four first-round series byes: West No. 1 Cherryville, West No. 2 Rutherford County, West No. 3 Cleveland County and East champion Queen City.
Burke County, Caldwell County and Hickory earned West seeds No. 6, No. 4 and No. 7 respectively.
Caldwell County got a home Game 1 on Saturday (7 p.m.) against East No. 5 Mint Hill with Game 2 on Sunday at Mint Hill (for the full schedule see below).
Burke County begins the postseason at East No. 3 Gastonia, playing on the road on Saturday.
Hickory faces the Gaston Braves (East No. 2), starting the series on Saturday night in Gaston County.
If Caldwell County advances, it would face Queen City in a best-of-5 second round series scheduled to start July 8.
If Burke County advances, it would begin July 8 with a second-round best-of-5 series at Rutherford County.
Hickory would battles Cleveland County if Post 48 gets out of the first round. The second-round best-of-5 series start July 8.
The semifinal rounds are best-of-7 and scheduled July 14-20 and the championships are July 21-23 with a format to be determined.
The state tournament is set July 26-30 at Campbell and the Southeast Regional is scheduled Aug. 3-7 in Asheboro.
The American Legion World Series returns to Shelby on Aug. 11-16.
FINAL AREA IV STANDINGS: https://carolinassportshub.com/legion-baseball-update-through-june-30/
AREA IV AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
FIRST ROUND (Best-of-5)
(All games 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
BYES
West No. 1 Cherryville (17-9, 12-2)
West No. 2 Rutherford County (14-3, 12-2)
West No. 3 Cleveland County (15-13, 9-5)
West No. 5 HENDERSON COUNTY (6-10, 6-8)
vs. East No. 4 MATTHEWS (7-11, 6-6)
Game 1: Saturday at Matthews
Game 2: Sunday at Henderson County
Game 3: Monday at Matthews
Game 4, if needed: Tuesday at Henderson County
Game 5, if needed: Wednesday at Matthews
West No. 7 HICKORY (6-12, 3-11)
vs. East No. 2 GASTON BRAVES (12-3, 10-2)
Game 1: Saturday at Gaston Braves
Game 2: Sunday at Hickory
Game 3: Monday at Gaston Braves
Game 4, if needed: Tuesday at Hickory
Game 5, if needed: Wednesday at Gaston Braves
East No. 5 MINT HILL (5-7, 5-7)
vs. West No. 4 CALDWELL COUNTY (8-9, 6-8)
Game 1: Saturday at M.S. Deal Stadium, Granite Falls
Game 2: Sunday at Mint Hill
Game 3: Monday at M.S. Deal Stadium, Granite Falls
Game 4, if needed: Tuesday at Mint Hill
Game 5, if needed: Wednesday at M.S. Deal Stadium, Granite Falls
West No. 6 BURKE COUNTY (6-10, 6-8)
vs. East No. 3 GASTONIA (8-7, 8-4)
Game 1: Saturday at Gastonia
Game 2: Sunday at Shuey Field, Morganton
Game 3: Monday at Gastonia
Game 4, if needed: Tuesday at Shuey Field, Morganton
Game 5, if needed: Wednesday at Gastonia
SECOND ROUND (Best-of-5, July 8-12)
(All games 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
West No. 1 CHERRYVILLE (17-9) vs.
East No. 4 MATTHEWS-West No. 5 HENDERSON COUNTY
Game 1: Friday, July 8 at Cherryville
Game 2: Saturday, July 9 at Matthews or Henderson County
Game 3: Sunday, July 10 at Cherryville
Game 4, if needed: Monday, July 11 at Matthews or Henderson County
Game 5, if needed: Tuesday, July 12 at Cherryville
West No. 3 CLEVELAND COUNTY (15-13) vs.
East No. 2 GASTON BRAVES-West No. 7 HICKORY
Game 1: Friday, July 8 at site TBD
Game 2: Saturday, July 9 at site TBD
Game 3: Sunday, July 10 at site TBD
Game 4, if needed: Monday, July 11 at site TBD
Game 5, if needed: Tuesday, July 12 at site TBD
East No. 1 QUEEN CITY (13-1) vs.
East No. 5 MINT HILL-West No. 4 CALDWELL COUNTY
Game 1: Friday, July 8 at Queen City
Game 2: Saturday, July 9 at Mint Hill or Caldwell County
Game 3: Sunday, July 10 at Queen City
Game 4, if needed: Monday, July 11 at Mint Hill or Caldwell County
Game 5, if needed: Tuesday, July 12 at Queen City
West No. 2 RUTHERFORD COUNTY (14-3) vs.
West No. 6 BURKE-COUNTY-East No. 3 GASTONIA
Game 1: Friday, July 8 at Rutherford County
Game 2: Saturday, July 9 at Burke County or Gastonia
Game 3: Sunday, July 10 at Rutherford County
Game 4, if needed: Monday, July 11 Burke County or Gastonia
Game 5, if needed: Tuesday, July 12 at Rutherford County
SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7, July 14-20)
Cherryville-Matthews/Henderson County winner vs. Cleveland County-Gaston Braves-Hickory winner
Queen City-Mint Hill/Caldwell County winner vs. Rutherford County-Burke County/Gastonia winner
CHAMPIONSHIP (July 21-23)
Format to be announced
