Here’s a brief look at how several professional sports teams in and around the Triangle are fairing this season.
Railhawks
With only 12 games left in the NASL Fall Season, the race for playoff spots is heating up. Five teams are within four points of each other for the final two playoff spots.
The Carolina Railhawks currently sit at 26 points for the combined season, tied for the sixth and final playoff spot with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. They are one point ahead of Rayo OKC and three points ahead of Miami FC as the season winds down.
The Railhawks face off against the Strikers one more time this season Oct. 8 at home, giving the team its last chance to directly jump up the standings.
The Railhawks have made news this summer with their signings of Omar Bravo and Matt Fondy, two playmakers who have made a difference on the roster.
Bravo has four goals in only six games, while Fondy has six goals scored this season. Together the duo has combined for 10 of the club’s 28 goals scored this season.
Scoring goals has not been a problem for the Railhawks this season — stopping them has. The team has allowed a league worst 37 goals this season — eight more than the next closest team. The team allowed five goals in a 5-1 loss to the New York Cosmos this past weekend.
Shoring up the defense could be the Railhawks ticket to the postseason, but with so little time left and no improvements to the defense yet, the team may just need to outscore everybody to make it.
Bulls
The Bulls enter the final week of the regular season locked in a playoff race to determine the International League South Champions. Despite being 17 games under .500 for the 2016 season, the Bulls sit just 2.5 games out of the division lead with seven games left in the season.
The Bulls (60-77) recently took two-of-three games in a series against the division-leader Gwinnett Braves at home, and took the opening game of a series against the International League West Division leader Columbus Clippers.
After wrapping up their three-game series against the Clippers, the Bulls will have a three-game series against the Braves, before finishing the season with the Norfolk Tides at home in a two-game set.
The Bulls have surged of late, winning three games in a row to keep themselves in the playoff picture, but will likely need to beat Gwinnett on the road to have any chance of making the playoffs. Winning on the road has been a problem for the Bulls all season, as they sport an ugly 24-45 record away from Durham.
The division is still very much up for grabs, with all four division teams within 3.5 games of the lead. Charlotte sits just a half game back of Gwinnett, while Norfolk sits 3.5 back in last place.
Mudcats
The Mudcats’ torturous second half is nearly over, as the team has seven games left in the season. The Mudcats sit at 18-45 in the second half of the season, bringing their overall record to 47-86. Unlike the Bulls, the Mudcats have no chance of making the postseason, as they sit 36.5 games behind the Salem Red Sox for first place in the division.
Carolina started the season with the top overall prospect in the Braves’ minor league system, shortstop Dansby Swanson, but he has since been promoted and there has been little else to speak of in Zebulon.
At the plate, 24-year old right-fielder Joey Meneses has been a bright spot for the team, batting .342 with five home runs and 31 RBI in 66 games for the team this season. Right-hander Sean McLaughlin has posted a stellar 2.64 ERA out of the pen for the team this season.
