Down and Dirty Look at Post Season Possibilities
As big a final week as we witnessed along the Section 1 baseball front, very few questions were actually answered on the Class AA and A scene. There are still only a handful of complete teams out there, but even the RCKs and Mamaronecks and Kennedys have their warts with which to deal. Chalk it up to lacrosse stealing athletes from baseball or just a general lack of depth across the section, but Section 1 baseball is not at an all-time high right now.
Very few Section 1 teams have a “true ace” this season, very few play consistent defense and offensive production is spotty among teams in the NWE/Putnam region.
Regardless, RCK enters the Class AA fray as the team to beat and Kennedy was set to do likewise in Class A before a stunning 2-0 loss to Lakeland last Saturday, but that’s the beauty of this game, and the first round will always be the toughest round to get past. That’ll never be true of lacrosse, which is why baseball’s post-season has four great rounds and lacrosse, in general, has two (semis/finals) in this neck of the woods.
In short, it’s been a most unpredictable year on the diamond, which should make for an insane tournament, which will feature a slew of out-bracket games that might produce some additional shock and awe value.
CLASS A at a GLANCE
KENNEDY CATHOLIC (14-6) is about as legit as they come this season. Coach Fletcher’s third-seeded Gaels are 8-1 in the last nine, but the split with Lakeland has put a chink in the armor that No.14 Walter Panas hopes to expose.
Lakeland RHP James Kim shut down Kennedy’s potent attack, and Kim simply threw strikes and worked out of countless jams (7 hits, 3 BB) on a day when the Hornets played their best baseball of the season.
Heck, LAKLEAND has gone 7-2 in its last nine, and very few pundits, if any, had the Robinson brothers a 10-seed entering the Class A tournament a few weeks back. Lakeland (12-7) hasn’t beaten any world beaters this season, but they’ve gone about their business in typical Lakeland fashion, slipping under the radar for a change. The knock on Lakeland is the lack of a true ace, but a slew of Class A teams are in a similar boat, outside of Harrison. The team ERA of 2.61 indicates they are getting it done by committee.
“We have finally been playing the way we knew we could have from the beginning of the season,” senior RHP Mike Nash said. “We are very confident going in to sectionals. Our whole team is finally healthy and we are playing together. We know anything can happen on any day, though, as we learned the hard way last year against Somers. We got hot at the right time and we just hope to continue to play that way through sectionals.”
Lakeland doesn’t have the baseball acumen it normally packs either, but Matt Wright, Nick Mariani, Chris Conklin and Anthony Fava are getting on base while scoring and driving in runs, which they will need against a young No.23 Brewster club in today’s intriguing outbracket game.
SOMERS is still believed by many to be among the most complete teams in Class A, but getting the bats and the arms on the same page with the defense has been as issue at times. No.1 JT Genovese has looked beastly at times and Tusker Coach Joe Wootten hopes to ride the big RHP and an offense that has produced regularly. The 7th-seeded Tuskers (13-6-1) can hit 1-9 and they have been fairly steady with their gloves. This is a lethal No.7 seed that could easily take down No.1 Yonkers should the matchup come to fruition, but I would not be surprised if No.16 John Jay CR takes out Yonkers either. Somers will get the winner of the Lakeland/Brewster game, which, please; if there is a God, would be Lakeland. To see these two square off for the third time since 2009 would be a wonderful thing.
No.22 HEN HUD will get to face No.11 Tappan Zee, the reigning champs; with a chance to send Coach Paul Natale off into the sunset with a final playoff win. No.19 Panas plays No.14 Riverside in a very winnable outbracket game for Coach Anthony Fata’s boys, who would then match up against No.3 Kennedy in the opening round.
CLASS AA at a GLANCE
No.6 CARMEL is scalding hot right now, and veteran skipper Bob Shilling likes his rotation more than most coaches. LHP Brett Viola has the goods and Easton Obojokovits and AJ Martucci have had big seasons for the 15-4-1 Rams. Nobody wants a piece of the Rams right now, having won 11 of the last 12 games. Of the Class AA teams in this neck of the woods, we like Carmel’s chances best if the Rams can play enough defense to knock off No.11 Ossining in the opening round.
No.10 MAHOPAC hopes to have found its groove again, having successfully competed over the weekend in the 12th annual Christopher Dean Tantalos Memorial Tournament where the Indians bested a competitive field that included John Jay CR and 2011 Class AA runner-up Fox Lane. Indian LHP Kevin Kernan has evolved as the ace of the staff, but that is asking a lot from a sophomore, who despite his extremely cool demeanor and fashionably stylish mullet; is still a rookie. Kernan has mastered Somers, Yorktown and Carmel this season, but the arms beyond Kernan are going to determine whether or not the Indians hang around past the second round of the tournament or not. Senior RHP Matt Bass and junior RHP Dylan Jorde are not overpowering but they counter with strikes and location, giving the club three reliable arms with which to deal on the road.
The big question coming out of Mahopac is whether or not the Indians will hit enough. In general, Mahopac hasn’t beaten teams with power over the last 20 years, relying more so on small ball, timely hitting and reliable pitching. That formula hasn’t changed this season and Coach Chris Miller is fine with that.
“That’s Mahopac baseball,” he said. “Solid pitching, good defense, moving runners along and getting those clutch hits have been the Mahopac way for many years now. We think we can play with anyone in the section and the Tantalos tournament brought out the best in us.”
They’ll need that and then some on the road at No.7 Suffern this Wednesday.
YORKTOWN is really tough act to figure. Coach Sean Kennedy knows two things about his team: A. the 12th-seeded Cornhuskers certainly didn’t win 11 of 20 games on pure talent; and B. the Cornhuskers did win those 11 games on grit. The 2012 Huskers have posted quality wins against the likes of Lakeland (twice), Mahopac and Somers, which should bode well as they head into the Section 1 Class AA tournament this week. P Dan Rooney anchors a solid staff that won’t blow teams away but will gut out wins.
“I like our pitching depth,” Kennedy professed. “I’m confident we can play with anyone. We can run two or three kids out on the mound that I really feel good about. If we play defense, we will be a very tough out.”
A Yorktown vs. New Rochelle opening round matchup is intriguing.
CLASS B at a GLANCE
PUTNAM VALLEY did post a solid 10-9 campaign but there aren’t a whole lot of quality wins to make one think the 10th-seeded Tigers will suddenly amount to much in the post season. Junior DH John Meagle has produced and senior OF Rick Ortiz finished the season with a bang, going 3-for-3 with a double in the finale. The Tigers could win their opener on the road at No.7 Rye Neck, which would make this season a successful one.
CLASS C at a GLANCE
Haldane is certainly a credible foe and a team that might make a fine representative in the state tournament. The tough workload the Blue Devils have seen since starting the season 12-0 has only helped prepare the unit. Junior SS Matt Forlow’s Blue Devils should see Tuckahoe in the finals, rekindling the old rivalry: Country Bumpkins vs. City Slickers.
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
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