The Merksem Royal Greys (22-4) need one win this weekend or a loss by the Mortsel Stars (20-6) to claim the Belgium Baseball League regular season title. The Royal Greys will end the season next week against the Namur Angels (10-16) while the Stars will battle the Hoboken Pioneers (15-11) in their regular season finale.
Merksem swept the Angels earlier in the season 3-2 and 14-6 but have struggled in recent weeks after reeling off 16 straight wins. The Royal Greys will likely face Hoboken in the opening round of the playoffs. While Merksem is 4-0 against the Pioneers this season, all the games (1-0, 2-0, and 6-3 twice) have been very competitive.
The Stars will battle the Pioneers next weekend in what promises to be an interesting affair. The teams split a pair of games earlier in the season and both are playoff-bound.
Mortsel will open the playoffs against Brasschaat (17-9), a team it has beaten four times this season. However, the margin of victory in each game was 4, 1, 2 runs twice. The Braves split with Hoboken in their last outing and will close the regular season against the Borgerhout Squirrels (9-17) next week.
In other league games next weekend, the Antwerp Eagles (3-23) will be looking for a rare win when they meet the Brussels Kangaroos (8-18) in a season finale for both teams.