With their playoff chances on the line, the Blowfish locked in for a final week of regular season action and won just enough games to earn a spot in the postseason.

Lexington County finished first place in the western division for the second half of the season, earning the team a best-of-three series against Forest City for a spot in the Coastal Plains League Championship game.

The Blowfish secured their spot in the championship game after winning a seires-deciding game three on the road. The team split the first two games of the earlier this week, winning at home but losing in game one on the road. The team will play the Wilimgton Sharks in the championship seires starting Aug. 1 in Lexington.

Lexington finished the second half of the season 16-8 and half a game over second-place Martinsville to qualify for the postseason. The team went 5-3 in its final week of games, which was just enough to keep its hopes at another league title alive.

The team started the week with a win over the Owls. The team played consistent throughout the night, recording at least one run in all but two innings where they stepped to the plate. Dariyan Pendergrass hit a home run and finished with two RBIs to lead the Blowfish to victory.

The team followed this outing with a loss though, knocking them from first back down to second in the western division. The Asheboro Zookeepers defeated the Blowfish 8-3 after scoring four of its runs in the fifth inning.

The Zookeepers doubled Lexington’s hit total, leading that stat 12-6 while adding seven RBIs and seven drawn walks.

The Blowfish looked to bounce back Wednesday night with a game against the Owls but it was delayed to the weekend because of stormy weather.

Lexington got back on track the next day winning both games in a doubleheader in Macon against the Bacon. The Blowfish won two close contests, winning 7-5 in game one and 2-1 in game two. 

Phillip Ard had a strong game hitting the ball, finishing 2-3 from the plate with a home run, two RBIs and a drawn walk. Jakob Wax put up a very similar stat line in game two of the doubleheader, despite it being a game that had much less offense. Both teams combined for seven hits and three RBIs.

The pitchers on both sides were effective. The Blowfish leaned on Eric Moore for five innings where he gave up two hits, no runs and two walks with four strikeouts. Landry Mead closed the game, earning the win after giving up two hits, one run and no walks with four strikeouts.

Halfway through its final week of games, the Blowfish were in a good position to make the playoffs. But they took a minor step back after splitting a home doubleheader against the Bacon. Lexington was again half a game back, heading into its final two regular games against the Owls.

On the road, in a do-or-die scenario, the Blowfish needed to win one of its two games against Forest City to earn its playoff spot. The team took care of business in game one to clinch its spot, winning 10-7 after scoring seven runs in its final two innings at the plate. 

Ard and Todd Hudson hit home runs as the Blowfish recorded 12 hits and 10 RBIs. The team only drew one walk but that didn’t matter when all nine players in the lineup recorded a hit.

Reed Gallant earned the win off the mound for the Blowfish after throwing for five innings, allowing one run with four strikeouts. Five different pitchers played for the Owls with one playing more than one inning.

Game two was not as pretty for the Blowfish who were blown out and shut out 5-0. The team had one hit, but despite the loss, was still locked into its playoff spot.

Depending on the results from the third and final game of the semifinal series, the Blowfish’s season is either over or the team is preparing for the championship series versus the Wilmington Sharks. Either way, the team had an impressive year, and made a strong second-half push after beginning the season 10-14.