Some early upsets kindled hopes of breaking the Sister Bay-Kolberg stranglehold in the Door County League.

That theory took a hit last weekend, though, when the Bays (9-2), who have won three of the last four titles, and the Braves (8-3), who won the league in 2022, looked dominant. Sister Bay and Kolberg, which each have won two of the last four playoff titles, also are on a collision course for another post-season showdown.

While Sister Bay southpaw Sam Forkert was going nine innings in an 11-3 win at Maplewood, Kolberg fashioned a pair of shutouts in a 10-0 makeup blowout with Institute and a 12-0 one-hitter against West Jacksonport by Tyler Neinas and Trevor Reinhardt.

With three games remaining, the race for the final two playoff berth figures to go down to the wire. And with five teams in that hunt, don’t rule out a playoff for the playoffs.

For the pure competitive watching of it, this has been a great season in the Door County League. And it should be a fasten-your-seat-belts-finish.

“We’re all beating up on each other,’’ Egg Harbor infielder Cory Fuller said. “Long gone are those days when we’d be crushing teams – when you knew you’d win 20 to nothing.’’

“There’s just been more upsets, which is great for the league,’’ Washington Island third baseman Matt Foss said, recalling the weekend of June 15, when traditional powers Sister Bay, Kolberg and Egg Harbor all lost.

Here’s a look at the final three opponents of the five teams chasing the final two playoff slots.

Maplewood has the best record, but it also has the toughest remaining schedule. And the Mets have a brutal injured list, notably 2024 Pitcher of the Year Jeremiah Jahnke, who’s out for the season. West Jacksonport also has a tough slate, with games at Sister Bay and Kolberg.

Then again, Egg Harbor, which had a rough 0-5 start, has no margin for error. And Baileys Harbor and Washington Island need to be thinking that way, too.

“It’s kind of up in the air.,’’ West Jacksonport veteran Woody Schartner said.

Three Tightrope Weeks

Here’s a look at the remaining schedules of the five playoff contenders:

Maplewood (7-4): at Kolberg, at Baileys Harbor, at Sister Bay.

West Jacksonport (6-5): at Sister Bay, Institute, at Kolberg.

Baileys Harbor (5-6): at Egg Harbor, Maplewood, Washington Island.

Washington Island (5-6): at Institute, Sister Bay, at Baileys Harbor.

Egg Harbor (4-7): Baileys Harbor, at Kolberg, Institute.

A big reason for the yo-yo effect in the standings – West Jacksonport started 5-1 while Egg Harbor lost its first five games – is which players are in the lineup.

In a league populated by players giving up their Sundays for months on end, work and vacations are a factor. High school and college players often arrive late and leave early. 

And injuries are huge. The Ports lost Alec Schartner, who was among the league’s best hitters, to a major arm injury. Maplewood is a very different team without Jahnke. Arm trouble also has sidelined Washington Island pitcher Jon Kordon and Egg Harbor lefty Jace Johnson, just to name a couple.

That’s why depth is so important.

Manager Charlie Wood revived Baileys Harbor by recruiting some young talent and keeping it together. Teams all around the league line up high school prospects early with an eye toward their futures. 

Young high-school players like Hobbs Emerson (Sister Bay) and Charlie Reinhardt (Egg Harbor), from Gibraltar, and Harry Schartner (West Jacksonport), from Sevastopol, are just a few examples.

There are also current and former players who believe the league would benefit from opening up its eligibility rules. But that would be a radical change to the character of the league. Home-grown talent is a bedrock principle of Door County baseball.

Some active players think the league is doing just fine the way it is. That’s especially true because the rules have been loosened to allow players who have family ties to Door County to play, Sister Bay veteran Stewart Larsen said.

“I feel like the league is really strong,’’ Larsen said. “Every week, you’ve got to go out and play. We have different bylaws now, where you can have guys that are affiliated with Door County. Baileys Harbor has a great team. Institute’s got a team that comes out and plays hard every single week. You’ve just got to have some pitching. That’s the secret.

“I’m glad I play with Sam [Forkert]. I haven’t had to face him for 18 years. That’s probably why I’m a good hitter. I just think the league looks really good.’’

There certainly should be a bunch of good baseball these final three weeks.

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