The baseball and softball seasons are in their final week as Lexington County teams look to close the year out with wins. 

With the season coming to a close, many teams have sealed their postseason fate and are looking to improve their seeding ahead of the playoffs. 

A few local teams recently won their region title, and others are on the verge of clinching one. Region champions are awarded a top seed in the SCHSL playoffs and will host their opponents. 

On the baseball field, Lexington officially won its region’s championship after beating River Bluff in their season series last week. 

The Wildcats and Gators sat atop the region standings all year and were both in position to clinch the title, depending on how their series went. Dutch Fork lurked close behind in third with a chance to force a three-way tie if the results went their way. 

Lexington won the two region meetings against River Bluff, though, so no tie-breaker scenario was necessary. The Wildcats are back on top of the region after finishing second last season. 

While Dutch Fork couldn’t earn the region title, the team did jump River Bluff in the standings. Chapin and River Bluff tied for third with identical (6-4) region records. Irmo and White Knoll round out the standings. 

In the local 4A conference, Gilbert and Airport have competed for the top spot this season. The Indians officially won the race after winning its final region game last Friday. 

Gilbert finished its region schedule (13-1), splitting its season series with Airport. However, the Indians hold the tiebreaker after allowing fewer runs. The Eagles ended their season this Monday with a game against Brookland-Cayce, but the results did not matter in the standings as the team was locked in its place. 

Brookland-Cayce and Gray Collegiate each won about half of their region games so far and are fighting for fourth place. Entering this week, the War Eagles had the advantage. 

In 3A, Swansea can no longer win its region but the battle for second place is still alive. The Tigers have an advantage over Newberry, but the pair played in a season series this week. 

Whoever comes out on top in that takes second place in the standings and betters their playoff spot. 

On the softball field, Lexington clinched its region championship after going undefeated in conference games. The Wildcats were a perfect (10-0) and won the championship after just missing out last season. 

The rest of the region has also been decided. Chapin took second with losses to Lexington and White Knoll. Dutch Fork finished in third with a (6-4) region record. White Knoll is fourth, going (5-5). River Bluff and Irmo round out the bottom of the conference, going a combined (2-18). 

Gilbert and Gray Collegiate entered the week still in contention for their region championship. The two played their final game against each other early this week. Gray won that game 10-0 to even their record with Gilbert. The War Eagles won the region title tie-breaker after allowing fewer runs in region games. 

With the final games being played, teams will try to end the year on a positive note and go into the playoffs in their best form. The margin for error will rapidly shrink in the playoffs as every game counts. 

The playoffs are set to begin on May 6 and 7. Many teams will be playing on their home field to get things started, so Lexington County will continue to be full of baseball and softball action. 

The SCHSL state championships are set to be held from May 24-31.