The Poplar Bluff and Rockwood Summit baseball teams have a lot in common.
Both are led by a senior-heavy roster, both are back in the state playoffs after having 20-plus-win seasons end early last year and both enter with double-digit win streaks. Each team relies on pitching and defense but can also score runs in bunches.
Only one will move on when the Mules (20-5) host Summit (26-4) in the MSHSAA Class 5 sectional playoff at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Bobby Strenfel Field.
"It might be a dogfight but I think we're ready for it," Poplar Bluff coach Steven Edwards said.
After a 1-4 start to the season, the Mules enter the playoffs having won 10 straight and 17 of 18. The Falcons have won 14 straight are ranked No. 2 in the last state coaches association poll.
Summit's last playoff appearance in 2012 ended with a state title.
"Everybody wants to end the season the right way and keep this thing going as long as possible," Summit coach Jason Schneider said.
Said Edwards, "We've got unfinished business. We've got four games to be the state champions. That's what we want."
The Mules are making their second playoff appearance since a 2014 loss at Vianney but this is only Poplar Bluff's third postseason appearance and first-ever time hosting a playoff game.
Schneider said the trip from Fenton in St. Louis County will be the longest of the season for his team but he likes the challenge.
"I like challenging these kids, especially with a senior-heavy team," he said. "I love putting those guys in situation where I want to see them work and see them pull through because I think that's even a little more of the satisfaction of it."
Summit featured a loaded schedule in which it faced five teams still playing in Class 5. The Falcons finished 5-1 in those games with their lone setback a 5-3 loss at Parkway North, also their last loss.
They've outscored opponents 106-21 during a 14-game win streak ever since.
Summit's pitching staff features a combined ERA of 1.66 led by starters Jackson Rutledge (6-0) and Connor Gilles (7-0).
"Obviously they have a really strong pitching staff and I like to think we're hitting the ball well," Edwards said. "They have a couple of guys that can really run it up on the gun."
At 6-foot-8, 240-pounds, Rutledge can hit mid 90s with his fastball and the right-hander is committed to play at Arkansas. He's struck out 78 in 47 innings, including 11 with a walk and three earned runs on eight hits in five innings against Oakville in the District 2 final.
Gilles has fanned 45 in 40 innings while closer Jaxon Passino has not allowed a run in 19 innings with 28 strikeouts to four walks and an .065 opponent average.
Both coaches were not ready to name a starter but admitted they were each leaning one way and wanted to wait until after the weekend. Neither team will be able to outlast the other with the new pitch-count rule and the 105-pitch maximum.
"Our success is based off of our pitching and there's a lot of it," Schneider said.
Same for Poplar Bluff, which features a team ERA of 2.12 led by starters Ronin Rice (6-1, 1.26 ERA), Matt Lambert (2-0, 1.37), Tanner Tibbs (6-2, 1.99) and Joe Darlin (3-1, 3.98).
Summit comes in hitting .306 as a team, averaging 6.5 runs per game, while the Mules are hitting .341 and averaging 7.3 runs with a 18-1 record when scoring five or more runs.
Summit catcher Coltyn Kessler, who has committed to play at Kentucky, is hitting .406 and hit a home run in the District 2 final against Oakville. Passino, a Kansas State commit, is hitting .356 while Conor Dryer is a .425 hitter. Cole Robinson, a freshman, also hit a homer in the last game.
"Without a doubt it's probably the best team we're going to face," Edwards said.
Poplar Bluff's current seniors were freshmen when the Mules lost 8-0 at Vianney in the playoffs. Poplar Bluff's other appearance was a 10-7 loss against Fox at Waynesville in 1977.
The Mules are 7-1 at home this spring and 16-1 since moving to their current home.
"It's exciting to have the crowd here, to be home, not be on a bus to play a game," Edwards said. "We're going into it with the mindset that we have everything to prove."
Admission is $7.
Additional bleachers have been brought in, said Kent Keith, Poplar Bluff athletic director, and gates will open at 3:30 p.m. with seating on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The winner will face either No. 3 Vianney (29-6) or No. 10 Marquette (20-5) in the quarterfinal Thursday with the Mules either traveling to Vianney or hosting Marquette with a win.