'Hounds split with Labette, unable to improve playoff position

PARSONS -- Despite holding Labette to a total of one hit here Sunday, Fort Scott Community College's baseball team did not improve its playoff position in its bid to overtake the Cardinals for eighth place in the Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division in a four-game series that concluded Monday.

The top eight teams qualify for the Region VI Tournament along with all eight Division I teams playing in the Western Division.

Fort Scott swept Labette Sunday, taking game one 4-0 and the second game 2-0 in eight innings. According to the Jayhawk Conference web site, Greyhound pitcher John Means threw a 1-hitter in game one after allowing no hits through 6 innings. Tim Koons and Aaron Snow combined to throw a no-hitter in game two as Koons went the first seven innings and Snow took the mound in the eighth after Fort Scott took the lead and preserved the victory.

Labette swept Fort Scott on Monday (The KJCCC website reported the sweep but did not have scores). Meanwhile, Independence was swept by Kansas City over the weekend, dropping 4-0 and 9-3 decisions Saturday and 4-1 and 7-3 verdicts on Sunday.

The Pirates went into the weekend in eighth place while Labette was ninth and Fort Scott was tenth, two games out of eighth.

With the weekend results in, Labette has moved into eighth place while Fort Scott is now in ninth ahead of Independence on tie-breakers. But the Greyhounds are also one game farther back of eighth than they were going into the weekend.

It's possible for sixth-place Highland and seventh-place Allen to drop down depending on this weekend's results. In fact, it's possible for Highland, Allen, Labette, Fort Scott and Independence to all end up tied at 13-23.

As simply as possible, considering mostly head-to-head tie-breakers:

* -- Fort Scott (9-23 East, 26-24 overall) plays at Highland this weekend. The 'Hounds hold a tie-breaker over Independence. Who would win the Fort Scott-Highland tie-breaker depends on the result of the series. The Greyhounds lose tie-breakers to Labette and Allen. But they would win a 3-way tie-breaker with Labette and Indy.

* -- Highland (13-19, 23-24) holds a tie-breaker over Allen. The Scotties split with the Red Devils over the weekend but have a better record versus Johnson County, so they are currently in sixth place.

* -- Allen (13-19, 20-28) plays at third-place Neosho County this weekend. They hold tie-breakers over Fort Scott and Independence but not over Highland or Labette.

* -- Labette (12-20, 20-23) faces Kansas City this weekend. The Cardinals have tie-breakers over Fort Scott, and Allen but not over Highland or Independence.

* -- Independence (9-23, 14-34) is in last place because they lost the season series against Fort Scott, 3-1. They have to play second-place Johnson County this weekend at Indy. The Pirates hold a tie-breaker over Labette but not over Highland or Allen.

The eighth-place team will play in a Sub-Regional hosted by the top seed from the Western Division. The seventh-place team has to travel to play in a Sub-Regional hosted by the West runner-up.

The team that finishes sixth will still have to go on the road, but will be in a Sub-Regional hosted by the East runner-up. Johnson County is currently in that position but the top of the East is as tight as the bottom and it's possible that this Sub-Regional could be at Cowley, Neosho, Coffeyville or Kansas City.

For those fans who can not go to Highland, there will be a webcast provided by ScottieSports. The link to the broadcasts are available by going to the Jayhawk Conference website, going to the baseball page, then clicking on the "ScottieSports" link on the left side of the page.