Two weeks ago, Newberry softball coach Amy Scott couldn't have imagined that her team would have an opportunity to play for a Region III-2A championship in the final game of the season.

Two days ago, Mid-Carolina coach Terry Murphy couldn't have imagined that his team could be staring at the possibility of finishing fourth after leading the region for most of the season.

Both are realities as the in-county rivals prepare for tomorrow's regular season finale. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Newberry.

Batesburg-Leesville and Mid-Carolina have matching 7-2 records to lead the region, but the Panthers hold the tiebreaker after sweeping season series.

Saluda and Newberry are each a game back at 6-3. The Tigers will face Batesburg-Leesville while Mid-Carolina and Newberry challenge each other.

Batesburg-Leesville can clinch the region championship and top-seed entering the 2-A playoffs with a win tomorrow. If the Panthers falter, the scenarios get a little messy, including the possibility of a four-way playoff for first place. (see page 8)

For Newberry, a win assures that at-worst it will face Mid-Carolina again Friday for second place in the region.

“Right now, the playoffs are in our hands as far as what we can do,” Scott said. “We're in a must-win situation if we want to put ourselves in a playoff (for first or second).”

The Bulldogs have rallied to put themselves back in the title picture after consecutive losses to Saluda and Mid-Carolina midway through the season. Newberry's hopes of getting back to the top of the standings seemed dashed after an uninspired effort at Mid-Carolina, but the senior-laden ‘Dogs responded with three consecutive region wins, including a 7-5 come-from-behind win at Batesburg-Leesville to sweep the season series.

“Midway through the season, we hit a wall,” Scott said. “I'm not sure exactly what happened. I don't know if it was a lack of focus, or lack of intensity, but it just wasn't there. We went to Batesburg, scored four runs in the seventh, and that kind of sparked us. It gave us some life, and they've hung on by the end of the string, and now we're getting a little more rope to work with.”

The convoluted scenarios were not what the Rebels had in mind entering this week.

Mid-Carolina could have clinched the region championship Monday, but committed nine errors in a 9-4 loss to Batesburg-Leesville in its home finale.

The Rebels can still win their first Region III-2A championship with a win tomorrow and a Batesburg-Leesville loss, but could be in a position to play for second or third later in the week.

“We're not totally out of it,” Murphy said after the Batesburg-Leesville loss. “We worked too hard to get to this point to let it slip away from us. I talked to the girls about how we have to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps because we still have something to play for, and we have to go play for it.”

The Rebels pounded Newberry 10-1 in the first meeting of the season between the teams. Mid-Carolina hitters combined for 14 hits in the game, while the ‘Dogs managed just five hits off starting pitcher Allyson Kinard.

“We have to put the ball in play,” Scott said. “We have to win games by scoring some runs. When we played down there, Ally pitched a great game. She kept us off-balance. We have to step up offensively, and defensively we have to play a solid fundamental game. Unfortunately, this game will probably come down to who's going to make the most mistakes.”