2002 Playoff Preview| News | Valley League Baseball

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2002 Playoff Preview

HARRISONBURG, Va. (7/31/02) - The 2002 Valley League Playoffs are set to begin this evening. In Covington, the Southern Division Champion Lumberjacks will host the Harrisonburg Turks at 7:30pm in game one. Winchester, the Northern Division Champions, will host New Market in game one of that series also scheduled to start at 7:30pm. Both opening rounds series are best-of-five format with the top seeds hosting games one and three, and then five if necessary. The lower seeds will host game two, and also game four if necessary. The championship round will begin as soon as both division series are completed.

Winchester comes into the playoffs having won nine of its last 10 games including four straight. The Royals, who were under .500 most of the season, used the recent surge to take over the division lead from a slumping New Market team. Winchester clinched at least a tie for the division pennant Monday night with a win at Front Royal. It was the first time the Royals were over the .500 mark since opening night. However, the Royals' lone loss in their last 10 games did come at New Market on July 24. The Rebels 2-1 win that night is just one of three wins in their last 10 games. The two teams split the season series 4-4, with each team winning twice at home and away.

Covington locked up the top seed in the Southern Division by defeating a depleated Waynesboro team 3-1 last night on the road. The Jacks took a one-game lead in the division Sunday night with another road victory, 1-0, over Harrisonburg. Covington comes into the series with the Turks having won seven of their last eight games after a seven game losing streak that ended on July 18 in Harrisonburg. Covington has handed Harrisonburg three of the Turks' five losses at home this season. Another reason the Turks might not mind the lower seed, they've beaten the Jacks three straight times in Covington.