And then there were four. The first two rounds of playoff baseball in Class A brought rivalry match ups, games that came down to the wire and a ton of upsets. Let’s hope the next round brings the same amount of excitement. With the first week of playoffs in the books, here’s a look at the upcoming best of three series’ in Class A.
Division vs. Wantagh:
The match up players and fans have been waiting patiently for is finally here. The rivalry between two of the most decorated programs in Nassau County is back, and this time, they will be playing for a trip to the county championship. Before anybody goes and makes any predictions, there are several aspects that need to be highlighted.
The first aspect is that the regular season does not matter. Although Division beat Wantagh two games out of three in 2017, history has shown that the Wantagh Warriors are a different type of team come the playoffs. The same can be said for Division as well. Getting swept by Plainedge in the regular season clearly didn’t phase Division as they took down Plainedge in consecutive games to move onto the semifinals. Therefore, if you are going to make predictions based on the regular season, don’t.
Another reason that makes this series so fascinating is the difference in playing styles between the two teams. Coming off of a state championship, this season has been all about big names and and putting up a lot of runs for the Warriors. Despite catching a bit of an offensive slump towards the end of the regular season, Wantagh is back to being the offensive powerhouse they are known as. On the mound, the Warriors will go to war behind the arm of the Hofstra-commit Jimmy Joyce, who holds a 6-1 record on the season. However, during the regular season, Joyce and the Wantagh pitching staff faced struggles against Division as they allowed 22 runs in 3 games to the versatile Division offense.
As for the Division Blue Dragons, they have an extremely different style of play offensively. Their aggressive style on the base path always gives them runners in scoring position, giving them an opportunity to play small ball and score more runs. This is the type of team that can string together 6-7 hits in a row in the blink of an eye. Although Brandon O’Brien just pitched on Saturday, expect him to be available in game 2 of this series.
There’s a ton to take into perspective when predicting this series, but as far as talent and recent history, my gut feeling is telling me to stick with the Wantagh Warriors. Regardless of who comes out on top, this series is going to be an all-out war. This is a must-see series.
Manhasset vs. Garden City
In what once seemed like a long shot for Manhasset to make it this far, they have beat the odds and reached the final four. Although none of the teams Manhasset faced in the first few rounds were nearly as talented as Garden City, they still have momentum riding into this round.
The main advantage Manhasset has over Garden City right now is that they didn’t have to play a fourth game last round. Garden City threw their ace Andrew Nagel on Saturday against Mepham, as he will not be available until at least game 2 in this series. Lucky for them, they still have Erik Wortmann, who holds a 4-1 record on the season. Manhasset will have their best two arms in their rotation Rob Giovanelli and Jamie Weiss available for games 1 and 2.
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Offensively, both teams feature a significant amount of power in their lineups. Flying under the radar, Manhasset has hit 10 home runs offensively, five coming off the bat of Rob Giovanelli. Garden City too can hit the longball, in which they have a team total of 7 home runs offensively, four coming from slugger Rich Marooney. Expect to see these familiar names pop up quite a few times this series.
Like I said previously, the regular season does not matter. In the regular season, the Garden City Trojans swept Manhasset featuring three convincing victories. If history repeats itself, Garden City will earn a trip to the county championship with ease. However, you can’t be too quick to jump to conclusions because anything is possible.
When it comes to talent and style of play, Garden City has the slight edge over Manhasset. They have a more established offense and defense, which is why I think the Trojans will come out on top.
