The Puget Sound Collegiate League kicks off the final week of the regular season today with three games at two venues with all playoff seeding still up in the air. The Lacey Saints, Olympia Athletics, Hawks Prairie Cardinals and West Olympia Linx are all in contention for the top two spots and a first round bye. The Saints currently sit on top of the league standings, one game up on the A’s and two up on the Cardinals and Linx.

The Saints and A’s get things started this afternoon at Saint Martin’s with first place on the line. The Saints have been on top of the league all season despite hitting just .235 as a team. Devin Ferguson (Centralia College, North Thurston HS) has been outstanding for the Saints all season hitting .333 with two home runs (the Saints only homers) and 14 RBI. The Saints pitching has made up for the lack of hitting giving up just 81 runs in 24 games, a league low, and the pitching staff has the second lowest earned run average in the league at 2.54. Colin Nilson (PLU) leads the Saints staff at 4-0 and a 1.69 ERA. The A’s have the league’s best offense, leading the league in runs scored (123), team batting average (.275) and home runs (5). Five A’s are in double digits in RBI with Sean Murphy (Murray State College) leading the way with 16 to go along with a league leading three homers. The A’s also feature the league’s only five game winner, Ryan Smith (Chemeketa CC, Black Hills HS). Smith is 5-0 and has given up just seven earned runs in 45 innings for a 1.33 ERA. First pitch tonight is at 5:00 PM.

In game two at the RAC, the Hawks Prairie Cardinals face the West Olympia Linx in a battle between two teams hoping to sneak into one of the first two playoff spots. The Cardinals are led by league MVP candidate Chandler Tracy (Saint Martin’s) and his .348 batting average, 16 RBI and 16 runs scored and Shimpie Sato’s (Olympic College) 4-0 record and 2.10 ERA. On the other side, the Linx feature another league MVP candidate, Chris Womac (Green River CC, Olympia HS), who leads the league with a .387 batting average, a .563 OBP and a 1.031 OPS and has stolen 14 bases and scored 17 runs. The Linx pitching staff has given up just 92 runs this season, second lowest in the league, and have the league’s lowest ERA at 2.50. First pitch is at 7:30 PM.

The 5:00 PM game at the RAC pits the Tumwater Brewers and the Nisqually Silvers, the two teams that can’t get a first round playoff bye but still could improve their position in the standings. Both teams have been offensively challenged this season. The Brewers are hitting just .230 as a team while the Silvers have struggled mightily at just .212. Kyle Holtman (St. Claire County CC) is the only regular for the Brewers hitting over .300 at .329. He is also the only Brewer in double digits in RBI with 12. The Silvers do have two batters hitting over .300, Jordan Falcon (New Mexico Highlands) and Brandon Evans (Colorado State-Pueblo). Both teams also feature a hard luck starting pitcher. Devin Smith (Olympic College) has given up just six earned runs in nine games but is just 1-2 for the Brewers while Ryan Taylor (Olympic College) is also 1-2 but has given up just eight earned in eight games for the Silvers.