Coastal Bend pulled into a first place tie in the Western Division with the Roadrunners with a 7-4 victory Monday night in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Edinburg, winners of the first half of the Western Division, already is in the playoffs. An outright win of the title is the only way the Aviators can make it into next week's divisional playoff series. Should Edinburg win the second half championship, then the team with the overall best season record would enter the playoffs. That appears to be Amarillo at this point.

But Coastal Bend has its pitching staff in the curve and the starting lineup on offense includes some of the best hitting power in the league.

So, it all comes down to the Aviators controlling their own destiny with the three-game series with the Fort Worth Cats. For their part, the Cats are in a fight to win a playoff spot in the Eastern Division. So folks, hold on to your hats.

Monday night, Coastal Bend scored four runs in the eighth inning and held off an Edinburg comeback in the ninth to get the victory at Edinburg Baseball Stadium. Carlos Adolfo led Coastal Bend going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Jake Carney pitched 5 2/3 innings allowing six hits, one run, two walks and two strikeouts to earn the victory for the Aviators.

Coastal Bend also got help from centerfielder Eric Battersby who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Sean Argento hit his first home run of the season to drive in three runs for Edinburg in the ninth inning but Coastal Bend was able to hold on for the win.

Saturday night in Fort Worth, Jermaine Swinton's 8th inning solo homer snapped a three-all tie and right-hander Mike Smith, with relief help from Gil Landestoy, made the run stand up as the Coastal Bend Aviators edged the Fort Worth Cats 4-3 in front of nearly 7,100 fans at La Grave Field. The victory gave the Aviators the key rubber match of the three-game set and kept Coastal Bend in the hunt for a post-season playoff berth.

The veteran Smith, attempting to win 10 games for the fifth consecutive season, tossed three shutout innings before giving up a pair of Fort Worth runs in the 4th - singles by Bryon Smith, Tony DeMarco and Brian Moon put the Cats on the board. Then Eli Albertson's bad-hop single to right plated DeMarco to extend Fort Worth's advantage to 2-0.

Coastal Bend responded by scoring three times in the 5th off Cats starting pitcher Brandon Wood - Edwin Maldonado led off the inning with a single and two batters later scored all the way from first on a line double to right by Gregg Maluchnik. Carlos Adolfo followed with a single to drive home Maluchnik and tie the score. An Eric Battersby double put runners at second, and Cris Colon's one-out grounder to shortstop plated Adolfo to give the Aviators a 3-2 lead.

Smith (10-4) struck out seven and did not walk a batter in earning the victory, with Landestoy picking up his fourth save of the year (second for Coastal Bend). The Aviators piled up 10 hits on the night - Battersby, returning to the line-up less than a week after separating his shoulder - went 3-for-5.