PL Jays receive four seed in 3B playoffs, will open postseason Friday at Chanhassen

By Taylor Smith

The 2018 Section 3B playoffs start Friday August 3 as the fourth-seeded Prior Lake Jays travel to Chanhassen Red Bird Stadium to take on the third-seeded Redbirds in the opening game of a three-game series at 7:30pm. Game two of the series will take place at “The Vet” in Prior Lake on Sunday, August 5, at 6pm. Game three would be Tuesday August 7 back in Chanhassen at 7:30pm if necessary.

Four of the six teams will qualify for the state tournament beginning August 17 at New Prague, Shakopee and Jordan.

The Seeds

Section 3B standings/playoff seeds
1. Chaska 9-2
Eagan 8-4*
2. Shakopee 8-4
3. Chanhassen 8-4
4. Prior Lake 4-8
5. Victoria 3-9
6. Burnsville 1-10
*Eagan finished 8-4 but was ruled ineligible for the playoffs due to a roster issue.

The Path to State

The winner of the Prior Lake vs. Chanhassen series as well as the other two series’, sixth-seeded Burnsville vs. top-seeded Chaska and fifth-seeded Victoria vs. second-seeded Shakopee will automatically qualify for the state tournament. Those winners will then play to determine state seeding at the highest winning seed Saturday August 11th.

The three teams who lose their playoff series will then battle for the final state spot, with the bottom two losing seeds facing off on Thursday, August 9. The winner of that game will then take on the highest seeded team who lost their opening series in a “winner-take-all” game Friday, August 10th with the victor claiming the fourth and final state spot.

State tournament brackets will be released August 12th.

The matchup

Friday’s matchup against Chanhassen will be the third battle of the birds this season with the Redbirds winning both match-ups 6-2 on July 10th and 4-1 on July 27th.

The first game, played at “The Vet”, saw its share of fireworks with a pair of Chanhassen outfielders ejected in the middle innings and a tie game into the eighth inning before the Redbirds scored four runs to secure the victory. The Redbirds led throughout the second match-up, but the Jays had a chance to come back in the late innings before a runner was called out at the plate.

First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7:30pm at Red Bird Stadium in Chanhassen.

 

Taylor Smith can be reached at taylor.smith@3.14.36.174.