Crabs need wins to secure Pacific Empire League Championship Series spot – Times-Standard

Crabs outfielder Victor Castaneda rushes in and scores the game-winning point against the Alameda Anchors on July 9, 2024 at Arcata Ballpark, winning the game 4-3. The Crabs have just two regular season games left in the Pacific Empire League, with Humboldt and the Lincoln Potters battling for second place in the PEL Championship Series. (Jose Quezada/HUMEDIA)

The Humboldt Crabs have just two games left in their first year in the Pacific Empire League, and after a glacial start to the league, the Crabs have weathered the storm and remain in the race as they enter a two-game series against the West Coast Kings beginning Tuesday night.

Humboldt is coming off a much-needed three-game sweep of the Medford Rogues over the weekend, pushing the Crabs’ league record to 13-11, 7.5 games behind the first-place Healdsburg Prune Packers. The Lincoln Potters are also 7.5 games behind the Prune Packers with a league record of 12-10. The Solano Mudcats are 10.5 games back and would need to hold both the Crabs and Potters winless in their final PEL games for the Mudcats to remain in contention for a spot in the Pacific Empire League Championship Series.

While the Crabs have just two league games left, the Potters have five. Two against the first-place Prune Packers and a three-game series against the Mudcats to finish. It shouldn’t come down to tie-breakers, as the Crabs finish with 26 PEL games and the Potters with 27, meaning one team will finish with a higher winning percentage.

Humboldt currently has more league wins (13) than the Potters (12), but it will be paramount for the Crabs to pick up a few more this week against the Kings, as the extra games mean additional opportunities for the Potters to pile up league wins.

Should the Potters and Crabs draw, which is unlikely given the uneven number of games played, the team with the better head-to-head record would advance. This would benefit Lincoln as the Potters are 4-2 against the Crabs this summer.

The Crabs could still advance if they and the Potters finish with the same number of league wins, as the Potters’ extra game on the schedule would give them another loss if the two teams finished with the same total number of league wins.

The Crabs can finish this season with 13, 14 or 15 PEL regular season wins. If they lose both games to the Kings, 4-16, Humboldt would be 13-13 and the Potters would need to finish 2-3 or better in their final five league games to secure second place in the Pacific Empire League Championship Series.

If Humboldt and the Kings split the two-game series, the Potters would need to go 3-2 or better to overtake the Crabs and face the Prune Packers. If the Crabs win both games against the Kings (3-0 against the Kings this summer), Lincoln would need to go 4-1 or better to keep the Crabs at bay.

The Crabs have played better between the two teams recently, going 8-2 in their last 10 games while the Potters are 5-5. The Kings are currently on an 11-game losing streak heading to Arcata.

In this heated race for second place in the championship series, the Crabs still have to look to their victory in the league opener against the Potters in Lincoln, where the Crabs lost three games by a total of five runs, while Humboldt held the lead in all three losses.

The losses of the past remain, but if Humboldt can pick up a few wins against the struggling Kings team, it will be very difficult for Lincoln to get into the championship series.

Even though this week marks the end of the PEL regular season, the Crabs remain busy as the California Tigers come to Arcata Ball Park for three games this weekend and the Sacramento Yankees visit the North Coast the following weekend to conclude the Crabs’ 2024 season.

The Pacific Empire League Championship Series will be a three-game series beginning July 30, sandwiched between series against the Tigers and Yankees if the Crabs make it to the PEL’s first postseason. The Crabs series against the Kings begins Tuesday in Arcata, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.