Regular season title, playoff seeding up for grabs in final week

Less than a week remains in the regular season, and nothing has been decided.

St. Joseph and Clarinda are still battling for the MINK League regular season title, none of the six playoff seeds have been solidified, and there's a dogfight just to reach the postseason between Sedalia and Nevada. Let's take a look at what's at stake over the next six days.

Chasing a championship

The ultimate bragging rights come with a pair of wins in the MINK League Championship Series. Claiming a regular season league title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs is a big first step toward that goal.

The Mustangs are in the driver's seat with a 24-5 MINK record. But the A's don't plan to go quietly.

Clarinda's 21-11 in league play with six wins in their last seven contests. The A's are still in the hunt, but the window is closing. The magic number for St. Joseph to earn the top spot in the postseason is down to just two. To add to the postseason drama, the Mustangs and A's play twice this week. St. Joseph only needs to win one of those matchups to decide it.

The late-season drama is fitting for the MINK League rivals. The Mustangs and A's went toe-to-toe in the MINK League Championship Series just last summer, with St. Joseph earning the title in a winner-take-all game three victory at Phil Welch Stadium.

Log jam in the standings

While St. Joe and Clarinda are comfortably into the playoffs and onto a first round bye, Chillicothe, Jefferson City and Carroll are still elbowing for position in the standings.

The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the postseason will receive home games in the opening round. Currently the Mudcats and Renegades hold those spots, with the Merchants not far behind.

Chillicothe climbed the standings and briefly moved into second thanks to a mid-season hot streak, but the Mudcats have cooled off down the stretch with losses in five of their last seven games.

Jefferson City sits two games back of Chilli, and Carroll three and a half back with five games remaining.

The Renegades and Mudcats will battle head-to-head twice over the next four days. The Merchants final five are more favorable. Carroll plays four straight at home – three against Sedalia, then one against St. Joe on the final day of the regular season in what could be a meaningless game for the Mustangs if they've already wrapped up the No. 1 seed.

Fighting to get in

Only six teams make the playoffs, meaning one will be left out in the cold.

Sedalia and Nevada have identical 8-23 MINK League marks as they approach the final five games of the regular season.

The Griffons schedule through July has been brutal. Nevada completed a string of eight straight on the road Monday night. They lost all eight of those games with six of them decided by six runs or more. Overall, the Griffons have lost 11 straight road contests dating back to mid-June.

After the extended swing away from home, Nevada will play its final five at Lyons Stadium with doubleheaders against St. Joe and Chillicothe, with a single game against Jefferson City sandwiched in between.

The Bombers showed promise out of the gates posting a 4-1 record through the first week of the season, but an 11-game losing streak followed.

Sedalia hasn't won back-to-back games since that opening week, and have three of their final four games on the schedule on the road.

Upcoming playoff schedule