Coming off the best regular season in franchise history the Lakewood BlueClaws open the South Atlantic League playoffs Wednesday night in Kannapolis, North Carolina.  The BlueClaws won both the first and second half Northern Division titles and in a best-of-three opening round series will face the Intimidators, who had the second best overall record in the Northern Division. Game #2 and #3 (if necessary) will be played Friday and Saturday night at FirstEnergy Park.  The Lexington Legends and Rome Braves meet in the Southern Division series with the two winners to face one another in a best-of-five championship series beginning September 10.

Lakewood finished the regular season with a record of 87-51 and their win total was the second best in all of Minor League Baseball.  Kannapolis earned a playoff spot with a record of 74-62, a game ahead of West Virginia in the overall Northern Division standings.   The Intimidators did win 10 of 16 meetings with the BlueClaws during the regular season.

The BlueClaws, who are seeking their fourth SAL championship, produced some lofty numbers during the 2018 season including:

  • Best team ERA and most shutouts in all of Minor League Baseball
  • Record of 57-0 when leading after 8 innings
  • Most Home Runs hit in franchise history, including most HR’s hit at home at FirstEnergy Park
  • 11 walk-off wins (2nd most in franchise history)

Andrew Brown will get the start in game one of the series Wednesday (7:05pm) with Spencer Howard and Damon Jones scheduled to start games two and three (if necessary).

All Lakewood BlueClaws games can be heard on Beach Radio 1160/1310AM and shoresportsnetwork.com.

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