Thunder Bay won on Canada Day today at Port Arthur Stadium 5-3 over Alexandria to stay in the race in the North Division. With that game in the books, here are the up to date playoff scenarios for teams to clinch their respective division with three days remaining. (Note: Rain outs could affect the scenarios but will not be considered below.)
North Division
Mankato MoonDogs (1 vs. Madison, 2 at Thunder Bay) — Mankato currently holds a 1/2 game lead over Rochester for first place in the North Division. They still control their destiny so three wins clinch the title. Mankato will clinch as long as they win at least one game and win as many or more of their final three games than Rochester.
Rochester Honkers (1 vs. Waterloo, 2 vs. St. Cloud) — Rochester will need to win one or more games than Mankato in their final three to win the title. If this happens and St. Cloud loses one game, Rochester will clinch.
St. Cloud River Bats (1 vs. Duluth, 2 at Rochester) — St. Cloud is currently 2 1/2 games behind Mankato. If St. Cloud wins their final three games and Mankato loses their final three games, St. Cloud will clinch. This may result in a 1st place tie with Rochester, but St. Cloud will have gained the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Thunder Bay Border Cats (2 vs. Mankato) — Thunder Bay is currently 2 1/2 games behind Mankato. Thunder Bay needs Rochester, St. Cloud, and Mankato to all lose tonight. If that happens, a Thunder Bay sweep of Mankato and a St. Cloud sweep of Rochester would put Thunder Bay in a first place tie with Mankato. Thunder Bay would’ve earned the tiebreaker and would win the first half title.
South Division
Wisconsin Woodchucks (1 at Brainerd, 3 at Waterloo) — Wisconsin is in a first place tie with Madison. The Woodchucks play an extra game due to a doubleheader Wednesday at Waterloo. If Wisconsin wins their final four games they will clinch. Wisconsin will need Madison to lose one game for every game that they lose. If this happens and La Crosse wins no greater than one more game than Wisconsin, the Woodchucks will clinch.
Madison Mallards (1 at Mankato, 2 at Battle Creek) — Madison is in a first place tie with Wisconsin. Being that Wisconsin will play one extra game than Madison, the Mallards will need at least one loss from the Woodchucks. If the Mallards lose fewer games than the Woodchucks without the Loggers winning one more game than the Mallards, the Mallards will clinch the south.
La Crosse Loggers (1 vs. Eau Claire, 2 at Brainer) — La Crosse is one game behind Wisconsin and Madison in the South Division. La Crosse will need Wisconsin to lose two more games than they do and Madison to lose one more game than they do. If that happens, La Crosse would at worst tie with Madison for first place. La Crosse holds the head-to-head tiebreaker and would clinch the division title.
