By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
STATE PLAYOFF SEEDS
Seeds for the state baseball playoffs, based on if no lower seeded team wins the conference tournament:
SOUTH FORK 2A: 1. N. Lincoln; 2. Bandys; *3. Lincolnton; *4. W. Lincoln.
NORTHWESTERN FOOTHILLS 2A: 1. Bunker Hill; 2. Hibriten; *3. Fred T. Foard; *4. W. Iredell.
NORTHWESTERN 3A-4A (3A): 1. Alexander Central; 2. St. Stephens; 3. Hickory.
NORTHWESTERN 3A-4A (4A): 1. S. Caldwell; 2. McDowell.
*–based on if also meets all other criteria/MaxPrep rankings.
The result from the fifth-seeded Freedom at fourth-seeded Hickory game in the Northwestern 3A-4A baseball tournament on Tuesday night (7 p.m.) won’t impact the seeds for the state playoffs.
Although three teams tied for fourth place in the regular season at 6-8 – McDowell was the other – Hickory (12-8) does not have to beat Freedom (12-11, 6-8) to lock up the third 3A bid from the league, a North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) official clarified on Tuesday morning.
The conference has two automatic 3A bids – secured by Alexander Central (second place) and St. Stephens (third place) – and a third would be the Red Tornadoes unless a lower seeded team ended up winning the conference tournament. Void of that, whether Hickory actually gets into the state 3A playoffs will be determined, as MaxPreps rankings now also play a role in how the bracket is filled.
The question arose about whether Hickory needed to win on Tuesday after the conference broke the three-way tie.
Following NCHSAA guidelines, the head-to-head records of Hickory, Freedom and McDowell (4A) were compared – Hickory was 3-1, Freedom was 2-2 and McDowell was 1-3.
That left McDowell (10-13) as the No. 6 conference tournament seed.
At that point, the league reverted to head-to-head comparisons between Hickory and Freedom, who split in the regular season. Because both had not beaten first-place South Caldwell or second-place Alexander Central, the next comparison was league game records against St. Stephens. Freedom split with St. Stephens, and St. Stephens swept Hickory, so Freedom was announced as the No. 4 seed with a home first-round game against No. 5 Hickory.
But head-to-head between two teams is the formula only when it is a two-team tie. In a three-team tie, the overall comparison is used, thus Hickory got the best seed (No. 4), Freedom the next (No. 5) and McDowell got No. 6.
By NCHSAA tiebreaking guidelines, once a three-way tie is broken, it is broken for good (for conference tournament and state playoff seeding).
The only way Hickory would have faced a game with Freedom that would determine a postseason spot would have been if both teams had 2-2 records in the three-team comparisons, the NCHSAA official said. If that had been the case, Tuesday’s game would have determined who got the third 3A playoff bid.
McDowell and South Caldwell are the league’s 4A schools, so the Titans’ situation doesn’t impact on Hickory or Freedom.
The only other factor in the postseason mix would be if a 3A team seeded No. 7 or No. 8 won the tournament, as tournament winners are automatically in the state playoffs.
Hickory, if it does get in, will earn its 21st postseason bid, dating back to 1984, under head coach David Craft. He is in his 28th season guiding his alma mater, and Tuesday’s game is his 714th (442-271) in that role. Craft’s overall coaching record, in 30 years, is 462-290.
West Lincoln, West Iredell also in
In the South Fork 2A tournament, West Lincoln (9-14, 6-8) is in the same situation as Hickory as the Rebels open against East Lincoln (10-12, 6-8) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at North Lincoln.
West Lincoln, East Lincoln and Lake Norman Charter each went 6-8 in league games and tied for fourth place.
In the three-way comparison of conference records, West Lincoln was 3-1, East Lincoln 2-2 and Lake Norman Charter 1-3.
That means West Lincoln — if it meets all other postseason criteria — will be the fourth South Fork 2A team in the state playoffs even if it loses to East Lincoln on Tuesday unless a lower seeded team was to win the tournament title.
In the Northwestern Foothills 2A, East Burke, West Iredell and Patton each went 5-7 and tied for fourth place. The comparison of records: West Iredell 3-1, East Burke 2-2 and Patton 1-3.
East Burke is at West Iredell on Tuesday night in a tournament opener, but the outcome won’t have any impact on a fourth seed into the postseason unless East Burke wins and goes on to win the tournament title (or No. 6 Patton or No. 7 Draughn win the title).