HobbsDailyReport.com
Rutherford County Post 423 and Shelby Post 82 will be the top seeds when the Area IV American Legion baseball playoffs begin on Saturday.
Rutherford County (16-0) closed its East Division schedule unbeaten with a victory on Thursday night at Burnsville and should be pitted against West No. 8 Mint Hill (9-12) in the first round.
The Area IV regular season ended Thursday night – finishing off a 16-game schedule for West teams and an 18-game schedule for East teams – and a meeting on Friday night will determine the official pairings.
Shelby (18-1, 17-1) was idle on Thursday and as the West No. 1 seed faces West No. 8 Taylorsville (4-12).
Higher-seeded teams will have home games on Saturday, starting best-of-3 series in the first round.
There are two ties — one in each division — that must be broke to determine the pairings.
In the East, Gastonia Post 23 and Gaston Post 144-266 each went 9-9 to tie for fourth place behind Shelby, Union County and Maiden. Gastonia and Gaston split their regular season games, and Gastonia should gain the East No. 4 seed by comparative records – neither beat Shelby or Union County but Gastonia swept Maiden.
In the West, Hickory and Asheville each went 8-8, splitting their regular season games. They were both winless against Rutherford County, Cherryville and Caldwell and have the same records against the teams (Burke County, Hendersonville, Taylorsville and Burnsville), meaning a draw will determine the West No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.
PROBABLE AREA IV LEGION PLAYOFF SEEDS
(Unofficial, official pairings to be announced Friday night)
West No. 8 Taylorsville (4-12) vs. East No. 1 Shelby (18-1)
West No. 7 Henderson County (7-11) vs. East No. 2 Union County (13-5)
West No. 6 Burke County (6-11) vs. East No. 3 Maiden (15-8)
West No. 5 Asheville (7-9) or Hickory (11-17) vs. East No. 4 Gastonia (10-10)
East No. 5 Gaston (10-9) vs. West No. 4 Asheville (7-9) or Hickory (11-17)
East No. 6 Pineville (8-11) vs. West No. 3 Caldwell County (12-7)
East No. 7 Huntersville (7-12) vs. West No. 2 Cherryville (22-6)
East No. 8 Mint Hill (9-12) vs. West No. 1 Shelby (18-1)
AREA IV FINAL LEGION STANDINGS
EAST
Div. All
Shelby 17-1 18-1
Union County 13-5 13-5
Maiden 12-6 15-8
Gastonia 9-9 10-10
Gaston 9-9 10-9
Pineville 8-10 8-11
Huntersville 7-11 7-12
Mint Hill 7-11 9-12
Lincoln County 6-12 7-13
Kings Mountain 1-17 1-18
WEST
Div. All
Rutherford County 16-0 16-0
Cherryville 14-2 22-6
Caldwell County 10-6 12-7
Asheville 7-9 7-9
Hickory 7-9 11-17
Burke County 6-10 6-11
Henderson County 5-11 7-11
Taylorsville 4-12 4-12
Burnsville 3-13 3-15