Divisional Playoff Matchups Set
St. Cloud and Eau Claire Host Game Ones Tonight

The 2007 Northwoods League Divisional Playoffs begin today with the first and second half division winners opening a best of three series. In the North Division, the Duluth Huskies travel to St. Cloud to face the River Bats and in the South Division the Eau Claire Express host the Green Bay Bullfrogs. Duluth and Green Bay will host games two and three, if necessary, in their respective divisions. All games will start at 7:05 PM Central.

In the North, St. Cloud won the first half title by one game over Duluth with a 21-13 record. Duluth won the second half championship with an identical 21-13 mark that was 2 1/2 games better than second place Mankato and six games up on St. Cloud who finished 14-18. Head to head this season the two teams split with a 4-4 record; each team was 3-1 on their home field. Duluth finished the regular season with a two-game sweep of the River Bats in a home-and-home series winning Saturday 7-5 and Sunday 10-3.

St. Cloud is making its ninth playoff appearance in the franchise's eleven year history. They won NWL Championship in 1998 and 2000 while appearing in the championship series in 1999, 2001, and 2003. The two years the River Bats failed to advance to the post-season was their inaugural season in 1997 and last year in 2006.

Duluth returns to the playoffs for the third time in their five-year history. The Huskies also appeared in 2004 and 2006 with their lone trip to the championship series coming in '04 when they lost to the Madison Mallards.

Both South Division participants are making their first post-season appearances. Green Bay is an expansion franchise that was able to run away with the division title by six games in the first half with a 23-10 record. Eau Claire finished the first half 6 1/2 games back but put together the best half of any team in 2007 with a 25-9 mark in the second half of the season. The two teams split all four of their head-to-head series this year. The Express are just two years removed from their expansion season in 2005.

Teams earn home-field advantage by having a better overall record than their opposition. Green Bay (43-25) had the best overall mark followed by Eau Claire (42-26), Duluth (41-27), and St. Cloud (35-31). That means the South Division Champion will have the right to host two of the three possible games in the championship round.

Divisional Playoff Schedule (Best of Three):

Monday, August 13th:
Duluth at St. Cloud, 7:05 PM CDT (Joe Faber Field)
Green Bay at Eau Claire, 7:05 PM CDT (Carson Park)

Tuesday, August 14th:
St. Cloud at Duluth, 7:05 PM CDT (Wade Stadium)
Eau Claire at Green Bay, 7:05 PM CDT (Joannes Stadium)

Wednesday, August 15th: (if necessary)
St. Cloud at Duluth, 7:05 PM CDT (Wade Stadium)
Eau Claire at Green Bay, 7:05 PM CDT (Joannes Stadium)