With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the playoff races in high school baseball and softball have taken an interesting twist.
In baseball, Norwalk reeled off six straight victories to jump squarely into the race. St. Joseph (11-1 in the league) is currently the No. 1 seed. Brien McMahon (10-2 in the league) is seeded second, while Staples and Fairfield Warde (10-3) look like playoff locks. Wilton (9-4) and Norwalk have four losses, while New Canaan and Trinity Catholic each have five losses.
Greenwich (7-6), Fairfield Ludlowe (6-7) and Darien (5-7) need to make a move this week to climb back into contention. Darien plays at McMahon on Wednesday in a key game. Norwalk meets Trinity Monday and faces St. Joseph on Wednesday. Another big matchup this week is Thursday's game (6 p.m.) between Wilton and McMahon. The regular season ends May 20 and playoffs begin May 23.
In softball, Westhill (11-0), Darien (11-1) and St. Joseph (10-2) hold down the top three seeds. Staples and Danbury (9-3) are in good shape, and New Canaan (9-4) and Stamford (8-4) are also strong. Fairfield Warde (6-5) holds down the No. 8 seed while Wilton (7-6), Fairfield Ludlowe (6-6) and Norwalk (5-7) are still in the race. Norwalk has won three of its last four games, including a 4-2 upset of Stamford last Friday.
St. Joseph plays at Darien on Monday in a battle of league leaders. In other important games this week, Staples meets Stamford on Monday, while Warde travels to play New Canaan at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Stamford and Westhill meet in an intriguing intra-city game Friday at Westhill.
Westhill will also face Staples on Saturday. The game is a makeup from earlier in the season. Staples played the original game under protest, which was approved. The protest centers on a pitch thrown by a Staples pitcher in that game. She inadvertently dropped the ball while on the mound and the umpire correctly called a ball. He also called a balk, allowing a runner to advance from third to score. That decision was incorrect, causing the protest and the subsequent approval.
Which teams do you think will make the FCIAC playoffs? Start the discussion below!