Final round a play-in to playoffs

The only sure thing in 17-5A softball heading into the final week of the race was Cy-Fair had already clinched the district championship and will venture into the postseason as the No. 1 seed.

Beyond that, Cy Lakes, Cy Ranch, Jersey Village and Cy Woods were in a near dead heat for second place, and when you do the math, only three of those four can advance, so Cy Lakes against Cy Ranch in one of this week's finales is more-or-less a playoff game.

ABOUT THE GAME

• Matchup: Cy Lakes at Cy Ranch

• When: 6 p.m. Thursday, April 21

• Where: Cy Ranch High School

• What's at stake: Closing district with a victory that could be worth a playoff berth

• Cy Lakes players to watch: P Lauren Fairman, C Jordan Kunz, SS Michele Ramos, P-OF Jackie Guthrie, 1B-3B Brittany Smith, 3B-SS Rheya Lybarger, UT-C Jesika Ambriz, OF Taylor Kunz, 2B Ashleigh Pellow, OF-P Selika Raus

• Cy Ranch players to watch: OF Ashford Fulmer, SS-P Curtis Jones, OF Ben Limes, 3B-P Chris Hansen, C Trey Spinks, 1B Kregg Snook, P-IN Josh Lopez

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Cy Lakes: The Spartans recorded a 7-4 home win against Cy Ranch in the first round of district on March 25 with Smith belting two doubles, and Raus and Guthrie each recording a double. Fairman was the winner in a contest where Cy Lakes gave up 10 hits and committed four errors, but still won thanks to three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning — The Spartans beat non-playoff contenders Langham Creek 11-1 and Cy Falls 8-2 last week - Class 5A Region III postseason bracket action begins May 2-3, but before that, there may be a need for a playoff within 17-5A.

• Cy Ranch: After falling at Cy Lakes nearly a month ago, the Mustangs won two in a row over Langham Creek 9-6 and Cy Ridge 18-3, but then went up and down in losses to Jersey Village 11-5 and Cy Woods 6-5, a 6-5 victory against Cy Creek, and a 7-0 loss to district winner Cy-Fair - The district is closing league play on a Thursday, April 21, due to the Easter weekend from Friday through Sunday, April 22-24. The four playoff qualifiers will also be open early next week due to TAKS testing - The other district finales on Thursday include Cy-Fair at Cy Springs at 5 p.m., and Cy Ridge at Cy Woods and Cy Falls at Jersey Village at 6 p.m.