Suffolk County Class AA Power Rankings

With just a handful of games remaining in the regular season, the playoff picture is pretty clear. League II remains pretty murky as Sachem North, Bay Shore, Northport and Connetquot all remain alive in the postseason hunt. The rest of the leagues are more clear. With that being said, here’s this week’s top big-school teams.

10. Bay Shore/Northport (10-5, 10-6)

I’m doing it again, because not only do they have similar records, but they both beat Commack. I was willing to give the edge to whoever avoided a sweep, but they both did. Like I said last week, I give a slight edge to Northport because I really think the top of their order is underrated and they backed that up. Frankie Stola had a big 2-for-3 game against Commack with three RBI and two runs scored. Sean Klein recorded the win in that game. Alex Reuter has four wins and really impressed me. Bay Shore is no pushed over, though, and Hermes Abreu has five wins on the hill and three HR at the dish. They’ve won three of four and will not go down without a fight.

9. Deer Park (12-5)

In my mind, they’ve been the biggest surprise of the year led by ace RHP Connor Hewlette and Robert Belotti, who has four wins of his own. I haven’t gotten to see them yet but I’ve been very impressed with how they’ve handled their business in a difficult league. They just had a convincing win over West Islip, with the big go-ahead hit by Mike Downs. Evan Mallon also had a big game with three hits. They’ve already showed they can hang with anyone, it will be interesting to see how they perform in the postseason with no pressure on them.

8. Sachem East (11-7)

Anthony Siroka has been the star of the show, just fired a two-hit shutout over William Floyd yesterday for his third win of the season to go along with three home runs at the plate. They have gotten strong contributions from Brendan Ryan and Brandon Davis at the plate and, of course, sophomore RHP Roman Dorosh (4 wins). They are dangerous because of that pitching staff.

Jays are looking for elite P.O’s for their upcoming tournaments. Contact ecjayscoach@gmail.com

7. Hauppauge (12-5)

Kevin Sambuco and Ryan Levenberg have really given the pitching staff a lift, as they both have four wins. The freshman, Levenberg, just fired a two-hit shutout over West Babylon to further his stellar season. They will look to clinch League 5 for the third consecutive year this week. With one more win they clinch at least a share with Eastport-South Manor and two more will give them sole possession.

6. Bellport (12-5)

This is a toss-up with West Islip. They can certainly beat them in a one-game playoff, but I give West Islip the edge because of their big-game experience and when I watched the two teams play I saw that West Islip possessed that late-game toughness that is crucial in the postseason. Here’s the thing: now is a tremendous opportunity for them. They have upperclass Div-I talent on their team and they are hungry to go out with a bang.

5. West Islip (12-5)

Despite losing their top-hitter, they continue to win. What really stood out to me when I watched them at Bellport was their ability to grind at bats and get the opposition’s ace, Joe Greco, on the ropes in the first inning. They continue to be dangerous regardless of how many impact players they graduate. Right now this is Greg Tsouprakos and Kyle O’Neill’s team and they will not allow the team to rest on last year’s success.

4. Smithtown East (11-4)

The young pitching staff has been the difference-maker this year, but senior SS Mike Ruggiero has made a huge impact. He’s hitting .385 with 20 RBI and has three wins on the mound. They are well-positioned for another playoff run. The question is: will the youngsters be overwhelmed by the bright lights, or naive to the pressure?

3. Hills East (13-3)

They are rolling–having won 12 of 13 games and look like the real deal. Patch Dooley, Joe Litchhult and Kevin Glasser form a formidable trio that is topped only by that of Commack. Dooley has taken a no-hitter into the sixth inning four times this year and is undefeated at 6-0. The offense has been led by Mikey Palazzolo, who has been flirting with a .500 AVG all season. There has been plenty of other contributors as well–Litchhult had a huge 3-for-3 with 2 RBI the other day at Smithtown West. They will be counting on Matt Hogan to step up and perform like he did last season.

2. Commack (13-2)

They take a step back after suffering losses to division-rivals Bay Shore and Northport. They bounced back yesterday with a big victory over Northport thanks to a home run from Tim McHugh, who can be a real difference-maker down the stretch. Still, they will be relying on lights-out pitching from their rotation that has gotten them to this point.

1. Ward Melville (15-2)

They’ve been red-hot, they’ve clinched the League I title and have won 11 games in a row. As I stated last week, their hallmark is their stellar pitching staff and their ability to win close games. That’s allowed them to win six games by two runs or less. I fully expect the Suffolk County Finals to feature Ward Melville and Commack. They feature the two deepest staffs, they have the least amount of weaknesses and they both are led by seniors that are hungry to go out on top.