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| Photo Credit: Farmingdale State Athletics |
The Skyline Conference playoffs will begin today at Gregg Alfano Field on the campus of St. Joseph’s College. They earned that right by going 13-1 during Conference play.
Farmingdale State is the seven-time defending champions. This dates back to 2008. I was a part of the 2010′-’11 club that beat Old Westbury in the finals both years. The two teams have met in the finals every year since then as well with the same results. They will meet in the first round today.
Here’s a quick preview of the two match ups today.
No.1 St. Joseph’s vs No. 4 Maritime 1 pm
St. Joseph’s is looking to win their first Skyline Conference championship since 2002, back when it required two victories to be crowned champions. This year it will take one more win. This is the fourth consecutive year that these two teams will be meeting in the first round–St. Joseph’s has won two of the three contests.
Golden Eagles:
Offense:
Batting AVG: .320
On-Base Percentage: .404
SLG Percentage: .419
Their offense has been remarkable. They have seven hitters who have put together tremendous seasons–Anthony Bonilla, Joseph Lynn, Joe Calabrese, James Nakashian, Brendan Sullivan, Nick Girardi and Anthony Andreani. Of that group, the lowest on base percentage is .397 and they all have 30+ hits. Good luck navigating through that lineup.
Pitching:
ERA: 4.29
Strikeouts/9: 6.22
BB/9: 4.29
The emergence of sophomore Josh Outsen gives them a bonafide No. 1. He had a microscopic ERA of 1.17. Ryan Aloise is also a very capable No. 2. He has very good stuff but did struggle in the second half of the season. Glenn Patriss has compiled a 3.16 ERA over his 25 innings and four starts. If there is a fourth game, it will probably be Nick Girardi as the starter, but he has 20 walks in 16.2 innings which is worrisome.
Maritime:
Offense:
Batting AVG: .291
On-Base Percentage: .391
SLG Percentage: .407
Joe Longo is the main threat–he had 35 hits, smacked four HRs and drove in 22 runs. His partner-in-crime is Matt Sollin, who hit .366 with three HR and 22 RBI. He had a .622 SLG percentage. Four of their starters eclipsed .330 AVG and .396 OBP. They can swing the bats.
Pitching:
ERA: 6.29
Strikeouts/9: 7.2
BB/9: 5.78
The pitching has been very poor. The ERAs of the starters are no lower than 4.66. The Golden Eagles should be able to exploit this.
No. 2 Old Westbury vs No. 3 Farmingdale State
This is an intriguing matchup due to their track record alone. It will be more intriguing when you consider the Panthers are hungry and have one of the best offenses in the country against a team that prides itself on pitching.
Panthers:
Offense:
Batting AVG: .333
On-Base Percentage: .421
SLG Percentage: .471
This team can smack the ball. They compensated for the struggles of two of their All-Conference outfielders with the emergence of Dean Sheridan and Tommy Zeigen, who both put together terrific seasons. Nick Yip is their big bopper–he had five home runs and slugged .768.
Pitching:
ERA: 2.87
Strikeouts/9: 8.42
BB/9: 3.98
Tim Ingram and Caleb Olsen have been superb–they’ve accounted for 92 innings, 11 wins and five CGs. The pitchers lined up for championship day would be Tyler Kapela and Nick Dorcean, they are both capable of closing the deal.
Rams:
Offense:
Batting AVG: .307
On-Base Percentage: .389
SLG Percentage: .392
They have some elite hitters in Dalton McCarthy, Mike Marino, Tom Rydzewski and Anthony Alvino. In a big spot, they have the ability to drive in the runs. They have a ton of freshman and sophomores who have not been tested in the playoffs but with Osik’s reliance on small ball, they are not expected to wait for three-run HRs.
Pitching:
ERA 5.30
Strikeouts/9: 7.73
BB/9: 5.22
Lots of walks for the pitching staff and it has bitten them to this point. They have been much better lately, though. The starting rotation of Kevin Cashman, Ryan O’Connor and Kevin Martinez have been very good lately, it will be interesting to see how long of a leash Coach Osik gives them since they have not been in this position yet.
