The final week of the season has ended in Class A, which means chaos is underway. The “first four” of the playoffs feature the 4 lowest seeded teams battling for 2 spots to get into the round of 16. These games will take place on Tuesday afternoon. The round of 16 is scheduled to kick off on Saturday afternoon. After yet again a crazy week of baseball, here are the top 5 teams at the end of the season AND my predictions for the postseason.
5. MacArthur (12-3) (Last week: Unranked)
MacArthur was hoping that Garden City would drop one game in the series against Manhasset in order for the Generals to capture a county championship. Unfortunately for them, Garden City swept Manhasset which means that MacArthur has the 6 seed heading into the playoffs and will face their cross town rivals Division in the first round of the playoffs. Division is riding momentum into the playoffs, as they just won 2 out of 3 games against the defending county champions. Luckily for them, they have flamethrower Bobby Lewis who will most likely get the honor of starting game 1 of the playoffs. MacArthur vs. Division is easily the most anticipated game in round 1.
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4. Lynbrook (12-3) (Last week: 5)
Although Lynbrook has an extremely tough road to the county championship, they are clearly a team that can make an impact in the playoffs. Shortstop Nick Tuzzio added another home run this past week. The Owls enjoyed a 3 game sweep over Valley Stream South this past week, which will definitely give them some momentum heading into the playoffs. The Conference A4 champions will square off against Mepham in the first round of the playoffs. This will definitely be an exciting game to watch.
3. Garden City (12-2-1) (Last week: 4)
Garden City continues to work their way up in the power rankings little by little each week. They will end the regular season at number 3. Coming off of an electric sweep against Manhasset, the Trojans enter the postseason as one of the hottest teams in Nassau County. Rich Marooney put on a one-man show at the plate, as he launched, and I mean launched 3 home runs at the plate. The Trojans will face Valley Stream North in the first round of the playoffs, as either Andrew Nagel or Erik Wortmann will most likely get the start. Expect this talented group of players to make some noise in the postseason.
2. Plainedge (13-2) (Last week: 3)
This team doesn’t quit. Ever. Another come from behind victory in game 3 of the series against Bethpage gave the Red Devils 10 straight wins on the year. Seven out of these 10 wins included a win over Wantagh, a sweep over Division and a sweep over Bethpage. It’s safe to say that Plainedge is one of the favorites to win the county championship headed into the postseason. Plainedge currently is unsure who they will face first round, due to a tiebreaker situation against Carey. Regardless of who they face first round, expect the Jason Bottari led offense to continue their winning ways in the playoffs.
1. Seaford (13-2) (Last week: 2)
Coming off of an easy 3 game sweep against Cold Spring Harbor, Seaford enters the postseason as the number 1 overall seed. As a reward they will face either Jericho, Manhasset, Floral Park or Valley Stream South in the first round of the playoffs. If all goes as planned, they are favorites to beat whichever of those four teams they face first round. AJ Cain will be their pride and joy heading into the playoffs, as he will seek to continue to his dominance. Seaford is looking solid heading into playoffs.
Playoff Predictions
Final Four:
- Wantagh Warriors
- Garden City Trojans
- Plainedge Red Devils
- MacArthur Generals
County Championship:
Plainedge Red Devils vs. Garden City Trojans
County Champions:
Plainedge Red Devils
