Mill Rats on doorstep to make playoffs
By Riley Holsinger
For The Johnstown Mill Rats
There is a play at the plate to make the playoffs in the East Ohio River Valley division as we enter the final week of the regular season.
Heading into the weekend, the Johnstown Mill Rats had an opportunity to clinch a spot in their inaugural season as a franchise but ultimately couldn’t capitalize.
Johnstown entered the weekend matchup against Chillicothe with a 2.5 game division lead over the Paints. Chillicothe won both games to stay in the race and only give Johnstown a half game division lead. Paints won on Saturday 12-11 and again on Sunday with a 8-3 comeback win.
The Mill Rats have three games this week to finish off the regular season in Champion City against the Kings. Chillicothe plays West Virginia in a two-game series.
Scenarios for Johnstown to make playoffs
- Win final three games against Champion City.
- Win two out of three against Champion City even if Chillicothe wins its remaining games.
- If Chillicothe splits with West Virginia, Johnstown only needs to win one in the Champion City series.
If any of the above scenarios happen, Johnstown will play at Champion City on Thursday for a playoff game since the Kings won the first half of the division. The Mill Rats would make a worst to first transition since being the bottom team in the division in the first half to becoming the top team in the second half.
Johnstown plays a double header on Tuesday against Champion City with the first game starting at 5:35 pm. The second game will start 30 minutes after the first one concludes.
