Riverhawks start playoffs Friday, host Saturday game vs. HarbourCats
The Riverhawks clinched the collegiate summer circuit's North Division second-half crown with a 7-2 win over the HarbourCats in Victoria Wednesday night.
Edmonton and Victoria finished the second half with identical 20-8 records, but the Riverhawks claimed first place as they had the better head-to-head record than the HarbourCats.
They'll play each other in the best-of-three divisional round as the second and third seeds in the North starting Friday night in the British Columbia capital. The series will switch to Edmonton's Re/Max Field for Game 2 on Saturday night (7 p.m.) and, if necessary, Game 3 on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The rest of the West Coast League playoff slate begins Friday as well.
the top North seed Bellingham Bells are in Wenatchee, Wash., to play the fourth-seeded AppleSox;
the top South seed Portland Pickles are in Marion, Ore., to face the fourth-seeded Berries;
and the South's second seed, the Corvalis Knights, are in Bend, Ore., to face the third-seeded Elks.
All series will switch to the higher-seeded team's ballpark for Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3.
The eight teams, four from each division, that qualified for the West Coast League playoffs include each division's first-half winner and second-half winner, and the two teams in each division with the best overall records that did not win the first or second half.
The Portland Pickles set the league record this year for best overall regular-season record at 43-11, while the Riverhawks set a league mark for best attendance for the third year in a row with 131,966 spectators for their 27 home games, an average of 4,887 per date at their river valley home.
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