Charleston hopes to hold off Virginia and win their first divisional crown.

With Charleston’s and Virginia’s wins on Monday, the race for the Southern Division remains conspicuously close. The Windjammers (24-11) have a one game lead on the Virginia Opossums (23-12). And yet, Virginia is riding high on a late season swell, amassing an 8-2 record in their last ten games. Charleston, by comparison, is only 5-5. The remaining schedule, however, favors Charleston. They open a three game series with Baltimore (15-20), while Virginia will tangle with Eastern-leading Montreal (19-16).

In the opening series, Boulder will face Virginia, and San Antonio takes on Manchester. The winners of the best-of-seven series advance to the Blue House Series and a chance to capture the Jeff Goldblum Memorial Trophy, which signifies the inaugural BH Baseball champions.

Here’s a look at the playoff schedule:

The Virginia Opossums become the first divisional champions in league history.

NORFOLK, VA – Although they’ve lost two straight games to Montreal, the Virginia Opossums clinched BH Baseball’s Central Division on Tuesday. This was possible due to consecutive losses by Wichita and Johnson City. Virginia (20-17) becomes the first team to seal a playoff position in league history.

The Eastern Division is still a tight race. With three games to go, Manchester holds a two game lead over Baltimore. Many experts thought that with Baltimore’s injury problems in the middle of the season Manchester would have an easy road to the playoffs. Baltimore’s perseverance, however, has kept them in the thick of the race.

The Western Division is even tighter. In fact, following Tuesday’s contests, Boulder earned sole possession of the divisional lead, as they top San Antonio by one game. Both teams, however, should make the playoffs, as one of them will win the division, and the other will garner a wild-card berth. Their battle for the divisional crown, though, should be a spectacle to witness.

“It’s a big win,” Brandon Caldwell, the Sleeper’s manager said. “When two heavyweights collide on the field us and them did, it always provides fireworks. Today, most of the fireworks were defensive, and luckily, we have a pretty good defense.”

San Antonio ranks first in the league in runs allowed per game. The two teams meet again on Saturday.

NORFOLK, VA – The Virginia Opossums (17-13) notched a crucial victory over divisional foe Wichita (13-17), 12-4, on Tuesday evening. Harvey Simon proved the hero by jacking three home runs and six RBIs. His performance puts him right back into an already tight MVP race. He has 8 home runs and 24 RBIs on the season.

For Virginia, the win extends their Central Division lead to four games. If they can sweep the three-game series with the Somethings, the division might prove a runaway, and Opossums fans can go ahead and starting ordering playoff tickets.

In other scores:

Baltimore Ninjas (15-15) 1, Tacoma Aroma (15-15) 2

Hawai’i Kats (15-15) 6, Charleston Windjammers (14-16) 11

Montreal Flatliners (14-16) 5, Johnson City Fuckhectors (12-18) 6

Boulder Bunions (18-12) 1, Whisker City Fighting Lionelles (12-18) 2

The Virginia Opossums have dropped their last three games, but, all in all, they don’t have much to worry about. They still hold a two game lead over Wichita in the Central Division, and they look poised to secure a playoff spot as the last quarter of the season begins. Virginia is the second-best pitching team in the league with William Ecklund holding a 1.89 ERA, and Joel Wingard earning 8 saves. Virginia only allows 3.3 runs per game while batting in 3.7 themselves. This statistic usually adds up to a winning franchise.

The Eastern Division is still up for grabs. The Baltimore Ninjas are still hanging around despite injuries to their best hitter (Kenneth Donaldson) and their best pitcher (Rex Rivera). They are currently two games back of the Manchester Monarchs, but Manchester has to open a three game series at San Antonio on Tuesday. Baltimore, conversely, travels to Tacoma to face an Aroma team who ranks last in the Western Division. It appears that the Eastern race will not render a decision until the season wanes to a close.

With the playoffs approaching, here’s a look at the all-important playoff picture and wildcard race:

Virginia (2-4) lost their second straight game for the first time this season. Their offense failed to produce, and only tallied six hits for the entire game. Their only highlight was a double by Jeffrey Hansen. Virginia heads home to play Whisker City on Saturday. That same day, Wichita stays in their own ballpark to play Johnson City.

The two teams finish up their three-game series on Tuesday.

For Johnson City, the day proved intensely frustrating. The Fuckhectors got caught in two double-plays. Alfred Thomas, their starting pitcher, only made it one-third of an inning, as the Opossums chalked up three runs early.

“It’s rare to see four runs on just four hits,” Jeff L. Horner, the Opossums’ manager stated, “but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. I wish the guys would have hit the ball better, but I can’t argue with a win.” The Virginia victory marks the first home win for any team in league history. In the opening days of play, the visiting teams went 6-0. These two teams will meet again on Saturday to wrap up their three game series.

Virginia (0-1) struggled to find any offense for the first 5 innings. Then, they chalked up three runs to cut the Fuckhectors’ lead to 4-3. In the 7^th, Virginia tied it up at 4, but Johnson City reclaimed the lead for good with a run in the top of the 8^th.

“That’s the type of games you have to win to be good in this league,” Mike Huie, Johnson City’s manager said. “We did work. They did work. In the end, it was our work that counted.” The two teams meet again on Tuesday in Norfolk for game two of a three game series.