By DAN BISER

For the 31st time in 33 seasons, the Whiteville Post 137 American Legion baseball team has gained a league playoff spot.

On Monday night, Fayetteville Post 4 took a 7-6 victory over Stedman Post 62 to leave Whiteville in fourth place in the final Area 2-West League standings. The top four teams in league play advance to the playoffs. A Stedman victory Monday would have knocked Whiteville out of the playoff picture.

Coach Brett Harwood’s Post 137 squad, carrying an 11-9 record, is scheduled to meet regular-season champion Scotland County Post 50 tonight at 7 at the Scotland County High baseball field in Laurinburg in the opening game of a best-of-five series. The second game is set for Friday night at 7 at Whiteville’s Legion Stadium, with Game 3 set for Laurinburg. Sites will alternate each night until a winner is determined.

The winner will go against the Hamlet Post 49 vs. Fayetteville Post 4 series winner next week for the Area 2-West championship.

Whiteville, which got off to a 1-5 start in league play, rebounded during the final three weeks of the season to win five of their last six games, including a big win over the potent Scotland County team.

“I think we’ve shown that we are a playoff team,” said Harwood, who is assisted by Dennis Williamson. “We needed some help to actually make it in, but we have been playing as good as anybody in the league in recent weeks. The playoffs are a whole new season.”

Whiteville finished runner-up to Scotland County in last year’s league playoffs and Scotland County is again the clear-cut favorite this year. This year’s Scotland County squad is made up of players from the Scotland County High School team that won the state 4A championship this spring.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the playoffs,” Harwood said. “We’ve gone in with the No. 4 seed before and came out winning the entire Area 2 championship.”

Whiteville Post 137 failed to make the league playoffs in both 1998 and 1999, but has advanced every other year since 1974. It won state championships in 1943, 1985, 1989 and 1996, and had state runner-up finishes in 1977, 1986, 1990 and 1991.

The Post 137 pitching staff is led by Corey Blackwell, Robbie Penny and Jeremy King with Daniel Britt working to come back from an injury. The usual starting lineup consists of Dustin Proctor at catcher, Jordan McPherson at first base, DeMichael Smith at second base, Justin Creech at third base, Ryan McCleney at shortstop, Charlie Gore in leftfield, Marquis Smith in centerfield and John David White in rightfield. Quan Gaddy, Addison Miller, Donovan Watts and Lloyd Enzor have played key reserve roles.