Only area teams alive, Bessemer City and Cherryville could meet next round

Cherryville baseball coach Scott Heavner doesn’t want to hear any talk about a potential playoff matchup with Bessemer City next week.

Not yet.

The Ironmen and Yellow Jackets are the last teams standing from the Gaston-Lincoln area as the playoffs continue tonight with the third round. If they both win, the rivals would advance to play each other on Tuesday in a game that would without a doubt draw massive local interest.

“We’re not going to talk much about that now,” Heavner said. “We’re going to try to deal with Bishop McGuinness.”

Bishop McGuinness is the team that stands in Cherryville’s way of a matchup with the Yellow Jackets. Albemarle is Bessemer City’s roadblock.

Cherryville (16-8) has homefield advantage tonight and would be at home in the next round no matter which team advances between Bessemer City and Albemarle.

Bishop McGuinness (15-9) is the No. 2 seed out of the Northwest Conference and is coming off a 4-2 upset of Yadkin Valley No. 1 South Stanly, the team that eliminated Cherryville in last year’s regional finals.

“Everybody I’ve talked to speaks real highly of them and real highly of the way they play the game,” Heavner said of Bishop McGuinness.

“As you advance in the playoffs, teams generally get tougher. That’s what it’s all about. They wouldn’t be in the third round if they weren’t good.”

Bessemer City (13-11) also moved on with an upset, beating Northwest No. 1 East Surry 4-1 in the second round. The Yellow Jackets will travel to take on Albemarle (18-9), the Yadkin Valley No. 2 seed.

Bessemer City, which tied for third in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference, hasn’t advanced this far since 2005, when it reached the regional finals.

“We hope we continue to win, make everybody excited for us and represent the conference from here on out,” Bessemer City coach Brian Thornburg said.

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.