Dixie Enters Final Week
DIXIE LEAGUE – Just one week of regular season play remains in the Dixie League, and with double-header scheduling, that means two games remain. There are six teams – all AF Registered Coaches – with 3 from either League, all contending for the chance to make it into the Eastern and Western League Championship Series. The remaining 4 teams have been mathematically eliminated from the post season and can do nothing more than play spoiler. Week 11 is for all the marbles.
In the Western League, the Andalusia Arrows are still on top, boasting a 14-6-0 record for a .700 win percentage. But going into the final week, both New Orleans and Little Rock have closed to within striking distance of the Alabama archers. The 2015 Dixie runner-up and 2016 Pro Bowler New Orleans Black Hats are just a half game back from first place thanks to a 12-5-3 record, despite having just suffered a 13-8 loss to Andalusia. The Radio Flyers are a game back from New Orleans, 1 and a half back from Andalusia, with an 11-6-6 record. None of these teams will be playing each other in any of their double-header matches, so straight-up wins and losses (and possibly tiebreakers) will determine the semi finalists. The Arrows will be facing Carolina and Houston, the 7th and 9th ranked teams in the league, and if they win either of those matches, they will secure their place in the Western League Championship Series. If New Orleans wins both of their matches, they advance, regardless of the outcome of Little Rock’s games, but if they should lose one of them, and the Radio Flyers win both of theirs, Little Rock will pass them up; if they both, or all three split, New Orleans will play Andalusia in the Series. For Little Rock to advance, they must sweep their double-header and hope that either New Orleans drops a game, or Andalusia loses both.
If it’s possible, the Eastern League Finale may be even more exciting. The Westfield Bombers still have control of the League, but the Florida Jesters have closed to within just half a game, and the Sanford Celeryfeds are just a game back from the Bombers, half a game back from Florida. The various scenarios for advancing to the Eastern League Championship Series are much the same as in the West, with one very important distinction: The Jesters and Celeryfeds will be facing each other in a Week 11 head-to-head match, the results of which are likely to knock the loser out of contention. The Bombers have the easy route because of the Battle of Florida going on in the standings, but nothing is a sure thing. There are actually too many possible outcomes to list all the scenarios. The race is so close, that if you consider tie games, it’s mathematically possible for a three-way standings tie, in which case, league tiebreakers would come into play, and even some of those are currently tied. Fans of the Dixie will just have to stay tuned to all the excitement as the regular season comes down to the wire, exciting to the end.
