With the schedule winding down to a close, the standings of the Ashe County Parks and Recreation Men’s Industrial Softball League are as close as they were the first two weeks of the season. Two teams are battling for first place, while four teams are in a heated contest for fourth place.

Eight games into the schedule; the Dr Pepper squad has tallied up a 8-0 unblemished record, but had a tough game last night against the second ranked Mountain Advantage team. Mountain Advantage is one game off of Dr Pepper with an 8-1 record after a 10-0 victory over UPM Tuesday night at Ashe Park.

Trailing Dr Pepper and Mountain Advantage is the Dirty South Fishing Team that has a 7-3 record, with one game remaining in their schedule (Dirty South Fishing Team faced UPM on Thursday night and results of the game was unavailable at press time). The Dirty South Fishing Team’s final game of the schedule is slated to be against Dr Pepper on Monday evening in the night cap game, scheduled to get underway at 9 p.m. Unfortunately for the Dirty South Fishing Team, the highest they can finish the regular season is in second place, and that is with the help of other teams.

With a record of 7-3, the Dirty South Fishing Team had to defeat UPM on Thursday evening and then defeat Dr Pepper this upcoming Monday to have a chance at placing second going into the tournament. Even if they do win both games, Dr Pepper would have to lose all four of their remaining games, or Mountain Advantage to lose all three of their remaining games. Dr Pepper’s remaining schedule included Mountain Advantage on Thursday evening, and then the Dirty South Fishing Team on Monday evening, Diamondbacks on Tuesday, and concludes with Mountain Advantage again on Thursday, July 31.

Coming into the home stretch of games, Dr Pepper is ultimately in the driver’s seat to see which teams grab the first, second, and third seeding heading into the double elimination tournament. If Dr Pepper wins three of their final four games, they will have sole possession of first place, guaranteeing a first round bye in the tournament.

However, for Dr Pepper to lose the first place seed, they would have to lose both games to Mountain Advantage, and then Mountain Advantage defeat Liddle’s Plumbing on Monday evening. In that scenario, Mountain Advantage would claim first with a 11-1 record, and depending on if Dr Peppers other two games. If Dr Pepper finishes out with one win and three losses, and Dirty South Fishing Team wins both of their games, then Dr Pepper and Dirty South Fishing Team would be tied at 9-3.

The journey through the final four nights of games is guaranteed to be exciting all around the league. Besides the league leaders, the bottom pack of the league will be an exciting race too. After Tuesday’s games, the bottom four teams were packed within a two-game separation. UPM was seeded in fourth place with a 3-6 record, while Steve Johnson Auto World/Miller’s Insurance and Liddle’s Plumbing was tied for fifth place at 2-7, and then Diamondbacks rounded out the league with a 2-8 record.

Keep reading the Jefferson Post to keep up with the league and to find upcoming games, and also the tournament bracket.