A weather heat alert forced the postponement of the Week 14 matches for the Deep River Horseshoe League by a few days. Scattered showers tried to force another postponement, but using car headlights to shine some light on a couple of pits, they were able to complete the matches. Only three games remain in the season, and all teams in the middle of the standings will be anxious to see where they stand as each of the coming weeks ends.

Two of the league’s top scorers went head-to-head as Cardinals’ Kris Toohey battled Royals’ John Sciacca. The Royals were fighting to ensure they gained a spot in the playoffs, while the first place Cardinals were looking to ensure they would get the No. 1 seed. In the four games they faced each other, they split, with Sciacca’s 130-point series coming in as the second-leading “A” division scorer. The Cardinals came out on top 4.5-1.5 and padded their first place lead to four games. With the loss, the Royals dropped to eighth place and will be fighting to stay there over the last three weeks.

The Cubs were on the bubble and hoping for a big win against the second place Giants, who would be without the league’s leading scorer Mike Zanelli Sr. The Cubs were hoping his absence would give them a chance to make the playoffs. However, Cubs’ Cody Layton and Ted Dubay needed to have their best games to make that happen. Layton tossed 37 and 33 points in the first two games to give them the wins, but then the Giants won the next four. The Cubs’ playoff hopes now look dim.

The White Sox were tied for second place as they faced the Rangers. Some late-game heroics by Rangers’ Andy Turshen, Dave Aldrich, and Joe Heery gave them four wins. The White Sox used some of their own magic to gain a tie in the last game. The Rangers stunned the White Sox 4.5-1.5, dropping the White Sox to third place, 2-1/2 games behind the Giants.

The fourth place Braves were without their leading scorer Mike Zanelli Jr., as they took on the eighth place Rockies. The Braves struggled to score and had their lowest team score of the season. The Rockies won 5-1 and moved up to seventh with a two-game lead over the eighth place Royals. The Braves slipped to sixth place.

Frank Jolly’s 107-point series (second leading “B” scorer) and Todd Nuhn’s 106-point series led the way for the Yankees in their 5-1 win over the Reds. The Yankees are currently in fourth place.

In the annual “brother-in-laws” match, Pirates’ Skip Robinson went up against brother-in-law Mark Goodale of the Marlins. Skip won, and his 133-point series was the top score of the night. He was joined by Brady Miller, whose 119-point series was the top “B” score. The Pirates are also currently one of the “bubble teams” and entered the night in 11th place. With a 3.5-2.5 win, they moved up to 10th place and kept their hopes alive.

The Mets, who have been surging the last two weeks, got halted by the Red Sox, specifically, Racheal Roberts, who had some key points and ringers. Her 55-point series was her season best and led to a 3-3 split between the teams. Mets’ Bob Cifaldi continued his hot scoring with a 125-point series which was the third-leading “A” score.

The top eight teams make the playoffs. These are the top eight teams as of press time.

1. Cardinals (57.5 - 26.5)

2. Giants (53.5 - 30.5)

3. White Sox (51 - 33)

4. Yankees (50 - 34)

5. Tigers (47.5 - 36.5)

6. Braves (47 - 37)

7. Rockies (44.5 - 39.5)

8. Royals (42.5- 41.5)

The playoff schedule is as follows:

Monday, August 21 - Round One (best of five)

Thursday, August 24 - Round Two (best of five)

Sunday, August 27 - Championship Match (best of seven)