N.C. Area IV Legion baseball playoff pairings set
By Richard Walker
Cherryville and Queen City are the top seeds for the N.C. Area IV playoffs that will begin on Saturday.
Cherryville Post 100 won its Area IV-record 24th regular season title when it shared the West Division title with Rutherford County; Both teams had 12-2 divisional records. Cherryville gets the top seed by virtue of its two-game regular season sweep of Rutherford County.
Queen City won its first regular season title since it went by Charlotte Post 262 in 2007. The Mustangs went 11-1 in divisional play.
Due to Lincoln County and Statesville dropping out of the 7-team Eastern Division race and Asheville dropping out of the 8-team Western Division race during the season, four teams will receive byes in the first round – Cherryville, Rutherford County and Cleveland County from the West and Queen City from the East.
The two Area IV playoff finalists advance to the July 26-30 N.C. state tournament at Campbell University. The N.C. champion advances to the Aug. 3-7 Southeast Regional in Asheboro and the regional champion advances to the Aug. 11-16 American Legion World Series in Shelby.
Here are the Area IV playoff pairings:
July 2-6 Area IV first round (best-of-5)
West-1 Cherryville – bye
East-4 Matthews vs. West-5 Henderson County
East-2 Gaston Braves vs. West-7 Hickory
West-3 Cleveland County-bye
East-1 Queen City – bye
West-4 Caldwell County vs. East-5 Mint Hill
West-2 Rutherford County – bye
East-3 Gastonia vs. West-6 Burke County
July 8-12 Area IV quarterfinals (best-of-5)
Cherryville vs. Matthews-Henderson County winner
Gaston Braves-Hickory winner vs. Cleveland County
Queen City vs. Caldwell County-Mint Hill winner
Rutherford County vs. Gastonia-Burke County winner
July 14-20 Area IV semifinals (best-of-7)
Cherryille-Matthews-Henderson County winner vs. Gaston Braves-Hickory-Cleveland County winner
Queen City-Caldwell-County-Mint Hill winner vs. Rutherford County-Gastonia Burke County winner
July 21-23 Area IV final
Format to be determined