Crucial games remain in the final weeks of the regular season for high school baseball and softball.
Three teams have positioned themselves at the top of the 5A Southern Idaho Conference baseball standings. Eagle, Middleton and Owyhee have separated themselves ahead of the rest of the pack — and will have to go through each other this week for the regular season title and spots in the district championship series.
The two undefeated teams — Eagle (8-0) and Middleton (7-0) — will face off Tuesday night in Middleton. The Mustangs haven’t lost to a team from Idaho this season, posting a 16-1 record.
But the top seed in the district tournament would be far from decided. Eagle has three other games to close out the week — vs Mountain View, at Nampa and at Boise. Middleton has five more games after Tuesday, including a doubleheader with Owyhee on Saturday. The other three games are against Kuna, Meridian and Nampa — all who have sub-.500 records in conference play.
The Storm (7-1) are on the outside looking in, having lost to Eagle earlier this season. But since that loss on March 29, they’ve won eight in a row.
In 4A, Skyview (17-1, 9-0 SIC) has a three-game lead on the conference with three games left on their schedule. It’s a similar story in the 3A Snake River Valley conference with Homedale (14-4, 7-0 SRV) holding a two-game lead in the league, including a sweep of second-place Fruitland, with three to play.
The 2A Western Idaho Conference schedule has a little more left on their schedule with league play wrapping up May 1. The top two teams — Nampa Christian (14-1, 5-0 WIC) and Cole Valley Christian (15-3, 6-1) — play one another on April 29.
In softball, Owyhee (14-1, 8-0 SIC) has coasted through most of the regular season. The Storm were challenged in their last two games — a one-run win over Timberline last Thursday and three-run win over Boise on Friday.
Still, they hold a two-game lead on Mountain View, Eagle and Middleton, which all have two losses, going into the final week. The Storm host the Vikings Saturday in their fourth and final game of the week. Owyhee hasn’t lost a game since March 15.
There will be some shuffling behind the Storm. Eagle plays Middleton on Tuesday and Mountain View on Thursday. The Mustangs have won six games in a row.
Two weeks remain in 4A SIC league play. Emmett (11-3, 7-0 SIC) and Bishop Kelly (13-2, 6-0) remain at the top, three games ahead of the rest of the field. They play each other twice in the next two weeks.
Like baseball, Homedale’s softball squad is 7-0 in 3A SRV play, two games ahead of everyone else with three to play in the conference. Cole Valley is the only team in the 2A WIC with a winning record on the year at 13-5. They’re 4-0 in the conference with three games remaining.
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