After a little over two months of competitive high school baseball in Chatham County, the postseason has finally arrived.
This week, Chatham County teams are playing in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A and Central Tar Heel 1A conference tournaments, competing for the final spots in the state playoffs.
For the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference, a new champion and automatic state qualifier in Seaforth was named Friday, while in the Central Tar Heel 1A conference, Chatham Charter defended its conference crown.
Although the conference tournaments won’t be completed until the end of the week, the NCHSAA’s RPI standings can help determine what teams can still make the state tournament and where the automatic qualifiers can be seeded. RPI, or ratings percentage index, considers the winning percentage of a team, its opponents and its opponents’ opponents when determining how a team will be seeded.
The state playoffs will begin on May 7.
Here’s a playoff outlook for Chatham County’s baseball teams based on the RPI standings updated Monday afternoon:
Seaforth (2A East, automatic bid)
Conference record/finish: 12-2, First place (Mid-Carolina 1A/2A)
RPI: 0.585270
Projected seed: 6
After taking care of business in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference and winning its first conference title, Seaforth is entering the state playoffs for the first time in program history. Based on Monday’s RPI standings amongst the conference champions, the Hawks can be as high as the sixth seed. That placing can be of benefit for them as Seaforth’s young roster doesn’t have any state playoff experience. Seaforth has done pretty well against non-conference opponents this year, going 5-3 against them. However, against non-conference opponents that have a winning percentage of at least .500, Seaforth is 1-3. A high seed for the Hawks, combined with playing tough competition in the regular season, could help with easing them into the stakes of a playoff game.
Northwood (2A East)
Conference record/finish: 10-4, Second place (Mid-Carolina 1A/2A)
RPI: 0.512668
Projected seed: 23
Northwood didn’t have much trouble within the conference, finishing conference play with four straight wins to climb into the second place spot in the conference standings. The Chargers’ losing overall record of 10-11 has a lot to do with who they played in non-conference play, as they went 0-7 against a tough slate of unfamiliar opponents. Northwood played above its classification a lot this year which may prepare the team for the fate of a 23 seed on the 2A level. The Chargers will likely have to travel to a tough opponent in the first round, and even though they haven’t won many games like that this year, anything can happen in a one-game, do or die situation.
Jordan-Matthews (2A East)
Conference record/finish: 7-7, Fifth place (Mid-Carolina 1A/2A)
RPI: 0.483518
Projected seed: 28
Jordan-Matthews hasn’t had the season it hoped for, considering it returned the 2023 Mid-Carolina 1A/2A player of the year in Ian McMillan and some other members of last year’s team that won the conference. The Jets have to talent to be a good team, which showed in wins over Seaforth and Northwood, but they haven’t been able to consistently play at a high level. On a good night, a 28 seed might not exactly describe the Jets’ ability, yet regardless of how well they play, if they make the state tournament, upsetting one of the best teams in 2A East on the road will be a tall task.
Chatham Central (1A East)
Conference record/finish: 6-8, Sixth place (Mid-Carolina 1A/2A)
RPI: 0.476399
Projected seed: 26
For a good part of the season, Chatham Central kept itself in the running for a higher finish in the conference standings and a possible automatic bid over 1A foe North Moore. Yet, five straight conference losses to end the season, including two each to North Moore and Northwood, only hurt the Bears’ fate. Chatham Central is facing a tough first round matchup on the road in the state playoffs, and it can help its situation by putting together a good run in the conference tournament.
Chatham Charter (1A East, automatic bid)
Conference record/finish: 14-1, First place (Central Tar Heel 1A)
RPI: 0.554152
Projected seed: 5
Chatham Charter hasn’t played in the toughest conference this season, but they’ve dominated in grand fashion, filling up the stat sheets and demolishing opponents in a way that can’t be ignored. As a first-place automatic bid, the Knights should enjoy a high seed in the state tournament, setting them up to advance well beyond the first round.