Smiths Station set for all-important series vs. Central

There’s nothing unfamiliar about the situation Smiths Station finds itself in heading into a three-game series with area rival Central this week.

If the Panthers win one of the series’ first two games, they clinch a playoff berth. If they don’t, they’re out.

“We try not to look past the next game, but with a series like this you have to approach it like a playoff series,” Panthers coach Mike Ferry said. “You want to try to win two out of three. If we’re able to do that, it would be enough to get in.”

That was where these two teams were when they met a year ago. Auburn had already clinched first in the area, and Central and Smiths Station were battling it out for the other spot in the playoffs. This year, Central, by virtue of a series win over Auburn last week, has already clinched, while Smiths Station is trying to join it. The Panthers could even get the higher seed if they are able to sweep the first two games.

That’s why the first game, a 6 p.m. contest at Darnell-Nelson Field, is so important.

“That would be ideal,” Ferry said of winning Game 1. “It takes pressure off of you. You can exhale and then fight for whatever’s left on the table.”

Smiths Station isn’t playing as well going into this series as it was a year ago, Ferry said. The bats aren’t as hot and the wins aren’t coming quite as frequently. The Panthers are 20-13 overall, while Central has hit its stride and won 10 of its last 13.

“Central is playing well,” Ferry said. “We got to see a little bit of (the Auburn) series. We’ve got our work cut out for us. Last year, we went in on a little bit of a role. We had started to feel good about ourselves. We certainly have confidence in what we can do, but we haven’t been rolling quite like we were last year.”

Plus, Ferry said, he doesn’t expect Central to let up at all just because it has clinched the playoffs.

“I promise that it’s not over for them,” he said. “They would love nothing more than to beat us and knock us out. We know that’s out there and we’re going to get their best.”

Central coach Bobby Howard confirmed that notion.

“We’re definitely not satisfied,” Howard said. “We’re going to go out and play like we do every series.”

He said while his team has played well, it hasn’t been consistent enough throughout the season to feel like it is safe going into the playoffs.

“We’re still making some mental errors, not doing our job in the field,” he said. “We’ve got a number of things we’ve got to keep getting better at.”

The teams will play one game at Darnell-Nelson Field on Wednesday and a doubleheader at Smiths Station beginning 5 p.m. Thursday.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Smiths Station set for all-important series vs. Central."