After an unwelcomed, two-week vacation away from the diamond, the first-place Milton Junction Pub Crescents face a challenging gambit to close out the Rock River League regular season with five games over the next two weekends.
That challenge begins with three games this weekend, two at Schilberg Park. The Crescents will host Ashippun Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a make-up game from July 10.
Then, in the Crescents’ most important game of the remaining season, the team travels to Neosho on Saturday for another makeup game to take on the second-place Rockets in a 2:30 p.m. contest.
The Crescents close out the busy weekend with Fan Appreciation Day at Schilberg Park when they’ll host Helenville. Special food and beverage prices will highlight Sunday’s game with first pitch at 1:30 p.m.
“We thought we were in pretty good shape a couple of weeks ago when we were coming down this stretch with a 9-2 record,” Crescents general manager Doug Welch said. “Then we had back-to-back postponements the last two Sundays and now we’re in the scheduling soup.
“We’re still in good shape record-wise but playing three league games on a weekend is a challenge for any team protecting a half-game lead because you can’t afford to just sacrifice one of the games,” Welch added. “You have to win all three.”
The three-game weekend was set up by postponements each of the last two Sundays.
Saturday’s make-up at Neosho will have a dramatic impact on the RRL’s South Division race. The Crescents are atop the division standings with a 9-2 record, followed by Neosho and Clyman, each at 10-3. Neosho beat Milton in a matchup in May and it’s a Crescent priority to win Saturday’s game. A weekend sweep of the three games would all but clinch first place for the Crescents. The sweep would leave the Crescents with a 12-2 record with two games left on their RRL schedule. On Sunday, Neosho travels to Clyman in another big RRL showdown.
Should Milton beat Ashippun and Helenville but lose at Neosho Saturday, the Crescents would likely come out of the weekend in a tie for first place with the winner of Sunday’s Clyman-Neosho game.
“That’s a scenario we want to avoid,” Welch said of winning just two of three games this weekend. “A sweep would give us some breathing room.
“But the other thing is the fact that here in the middle of July we haven’t played on consecutive weekends,” Welch added. “This is the time of year where you’re on the diamond every week and the team gets into rhythm. It’ll be interesting to see how our guys deal with that.”
The Crescents close out the RRL regular season the following weekend with yet another scheduling quirk—two games against Rubicon. On Friday, August 5, the Crescents host the Red Sox, who, at 8-5 are in a fight with Lebanon for the fourth and final RRL South playoff spot. Then on Sunday, August 7, the Crescents travel to Rubicon to close out the regular season.
The RRL South playoffs begin August 13 & 14 with the first weekend of a four-team double-elimination format.
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