Just halfway through the West Coast League season, the 琉璃神社 Falcons already know what they鈥檒l be playing for in early August.

With a 5-3 win Monday night over the Yakima Valley Pippins, the Falcons (17-10) sewed up the first-half title in the North Division.

With the victory, the Falcons earn a spot in the best-of-three divisional final in a month鈥檚 time against the winner of the second half title.

琉璃神社 will host Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) of the divisional series.

In compiling the roster for 2017, both GM Mark Nonis and field manager Bryan Donohue had a hunch the Falcons would be competitive this season.

With a North Division first-half title already locked up, Nonis said his club has even exceeded expectations.

鈥淲e thought we had put together a pretty good group and that we鈥檇 be able to compete,鈥� said Nonis. 鈥淲e knew we were going to hit a little bit, but the guys have done exceptionally well with the bats.

鈥淭he guys have come on strong and it鈥檚 been a nice surprise.鈥�

As for nailing down a playoff berth with a half a season to go, Nonis said there are both pros and cons that come with it.

鈥淥ne thing we don鈥檛 want to do is slack off and get into some bad habits,鈥� said Nonis. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also a good time to take a deep breath, and it gives our guys a chance to work on things they need to improve on.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no pressure on us, a lot of the weight has been lifted but at the same time we want to be playing our best baseball when that best-of-three series comes around.鈥�

In Monday鈥檚 clincher, Falcons鈥� starter Cal Hehnke threw seven shutout inning to push his season record to 4-0. Matt Bottcher paced the offense with three hits and a run scored.

The Falcons are playing host to the Victoria Harbourcats tonight at Elks Stadium to open a three-game series and the second half of the season.

First pitch is 6:35 p.m.