For the teams remaining in the IHSA baseball playoffs, only three victories separate them from a trip to the state finals in Joliet.

With the way the schedule plays out for those three games — sectional semifinals Wednesday or Thursday, sectional final Saturday and supersectional Monday, it allows coaches to pencil in their ace hurler two of those games.

That’s where the chess game begins. Some coaches, based on matchups, depth, health or a lack of a clue, will overlook this gift from the baseball gods and save their ace for the Saturday sectional championship — even though they could have pitched him in the semifinal and supersectional.