Baseball pennant chases

 The Gods couldn't have scripted the final week of the baseball season any better.
 Two league titles are on the line this week.
 And the door to each title goes through the defending league champions.
 For Soledad to lock up no worse than a share of the Mission Trail Athletic League title, a win over reigning champion Carmel on Tuesday ensures that.
 If you're the Aztecs, you have to feel good about the game being in Soledad, where the team is 10-0 this year, including a win over Carmel.
 A Padres win, however, creates a three-way tie for first with one game remaining. Which means if you're a Pacific Grove fan and you want a piece of the title, you have to root for Carmel.
 While defending Pacific Division champion North Salinas has dropped two games to Watsonville, it can clinch the title outright on Wednesday by beating the Wildcatz on the road.
 Watsonville, which sits a game behind North Salinas, can clinch the top seed out of the Pacific by beating them for a third time this year.
 Ironically, two of the Wildcatz' three league losses this year have come at home -- both to Alvarez.
 This game has the makings of another pitchers dual between Chris Rivera and North Salinas' Joseph Gutierrez.
 When these two aces locked up against each other on April 17, it was Watsonville prevailing 1-0.
 In addition to the title chases, playoff spots are still up for grabs. Five teams are coming out of the Gabilan Division. If the season ended today, Palma is out, sitting in sixth with one game left.
 Alisal, which clinched the programs first winning season since 1995, needs to win one of its final two games to position itself for a potential playoff berth. North County is also on the bubble.