A Look at Silver Spring-Takoma's Playoff Implications
SILVER SPRING, JULY 21—With every game across the Ripken League being rained out today, the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts have finished their regular season with a final record of 11-26.
With this being said, the Thunderbolts are locked into the eight seed for this year’s playoffs. On Thursday, the Thunderbolts will play whoever secures the five seed.
The Gaithersburg Giants (17-21), Alexandria Aces (16-21), and Metro SoCo Braves (17-20) are all in the mix to decide Silver Spring-Takoma’s fate. Currently, Metro SoCo holds the fourth seed, Gaithersburg is in fifth, and Alexandria is in sixth.
Tomorrow, the Aces play the Southern Maryland Senators (23-14) in Waldorf at 6:30. At 7:00, the Braves will play the DC Grays (14-23) at Catholic University.
Gaithersburg’s regular season is over, so they are set with their 17-21 record. Therefore, if the Braves and Aces get rained out tomorrow, the TBolts would play the Giants this Thursday at Criswell Automotive Field.
If the Braves win and the Aces lose, the TBolts will still play Gaithersburg at Criswell.
If the Braves and Aces both win, that’s where it gets complicated. Alexandria and Gaithersburg would both hold 17-21 records, and would be tied for fifth place. The Aces are 3-1 against the Giants this season, so Alexandria would get the nod for the five seed. Therefore, the TBolts would play the Aces at Frank Mann Field.
If the Braves and Aces both lose, there comes another tie-breaking scenario; the Braves and Giants would both hold 17-21 records. The Giants went 3-1 against Metro SoCo this season, so they would get the four seed. Therefore, the TBolts would play the five-seed Braves at South County High School in Lorton, VA.
If the Aces win and Braves lose, that’s where it gets even more complicated. In that case, all three teams would hold 17-21 records. The tiebreaker at that point would come down to head-to-head win percentage. The Aces are a combined 7-5 against the Giants and Braves, so they would hold the four seed. The Giants are 4-4 against the Aces and Braves, so they would be five. The Braves are 5-7 against the Giants and Aces, so they would hold the six.
With all of that meticulous math aside, the TBolts will play Gaithersburg if Alexandria wins and Metro SoCo loses tomorrow.
If the Braves game (for whatever reason) gets cancelled and the Aces win, the TBolts would play Alexandria. If the Aces lost with a Braves cancellation, the Thunderbolts would play Gaithersburg.
If Alexandria’s game gets cancelled and the Braves win, the Thunderbolts play Gaithersburg. If the Braves lost with an Alexandria cancellation, the Thunderbolts would head to Lorton to play the Braves at South County High School.
Ultimately, the TBolts will play the Braves if Alexandria and Metro SoCo both lose tomorrow, or if Alexandria’s game gets cancelled and Metro SoCo loses to DC. The Thunderbolts will play Alexandria if the Braves and Aces both win tomorrow, or if the Aces win with a Braves cancellation.
In every other scenario, the Thunderbolts will head to Criswell to take on the Giants this Thursday.