On Long Island, there aren’t many things that are more exciting than varsity baseball playoffs. With just one more week of play before the highly anticipated playoffs, not much is set in stone. With every conference up for grabs, it’s hard to see who’s the favorites to emerge as the top dogs right now. As seen in previous years, anything’s possible come May. Heading into the final week of play in the regular season, let’s take a look at the teams that are streaking in class A, followed by the top ten teams.
TRENDING UP:
Clarke (10-5)
After starting off 2-4, there was no telling to how this Clarke team may pan out. Fast forward a month, and now Clarke has a slim chance of winning their conference championship. If they can sweep Mineola (13-2) behind the arms of Brendan Turton and Matt Rubenstein, they’ll clinch home field advantage all the way until the quarter finals. It’s going to be an extremely difficult task to accomplish, but even if they can win the series against Mineola, they’ll be in a great position going forward. We’re going to find out shortly if this Clarke team is contenders or pretenders.
Seaford (11-7)
Conference A4 is arguably the toughest division in Nassau County. Seaford has held their own this season, as they clinched a playoff spot this past week. Before dropping the final game of the series against Locust Valley last week, the Vikings won seven in a row. With momentum heading high into the playoffs, Seaford has the opportunity to rest their arms in the final week of the regular season. Having the advantage of resting their arms is significant, and can be an opportunity to make a deep run. Expect Vinny Pecora to lead the way offensively.
North Shore (12-3)
Although North Shore has virtually no chance of winning their conference due to Division playing Lawrence this upcoming week, they will still be a top team heading into playoffs. Coming off a monster week offensively in which North Shore outscored Lawrence 40-4, it’s easy to see how deep this lineup is. Lackawanna-commit Anthony Carleo had a ridiculous stat line this past week, going 6-for-10 at the plate with 3 home runs and 11 RBI. The sky is the limit for the Vikings, and they will have all the momentum in the world heading into their most important series of the year this week against Valley Stream North (11-4).
Garden City (12-6)
Entering the week, the odds were very slim of Garden City pulling off a three-game sweep against the always dangerous Carey Seahawks. Three wins later, and the Trojans now have a chance of winning their conference. However, that means MacArthur will have to lose the series against Manhasset (3-12) this week, which doesn’t seem likely. The roller coaster of a season for the previous county runner-ups has resulted in a twelve-win season, as they found a way to turn their season around after starting off 5-5. Mark DiPierro led the way offensively last week against Carey, going 6-for-10 at the plate with a long ball and 7 RBI. DiPierro finished the regular season batting over .400, so expect him to translate his success heading into the postseason.
POWER RANKINGS:
10. Bellmore JFK (10-5)
Last week: No. 10
3rd Place in Conference A2
Next week’s opponent: Hewlett (7-7-1)
9. Clarke (10-5)
Last week: Unranked
2nd Place in Conference A4
Next week’s opponent: Mineola (13-2)
8. Valley Stream North (11-4)
Last week: No. 5
3rd Place in Conference A3
Next week’s opponent: North Shore (12-3)
7. Garden City (12-6)
Last week: No. 9
2nd Place in Conference A1
Next week’s opponent: BYE
6. North Shore (12-3)
Last week: No. 7
2nd Place in Conference A3
Next week’s opponent: Valley Stream North (11-4)
5. Plainedge (13-4-1)
Last week: No. 6
2nd Place in Conference A2
Next week’s opponent: BYE
4. Mineola (13-2)
Last week: No. 4
1st Place in Conference A4
Next week’s opponent: Clarke (10-5)
3. MacArthur (11-3-1)
Last week’s ranking: No. 3
1st Place in Conference A1
Next week’s opponent: Manhasset (3-12)
2. Division (12-3)
Last week’s ranking: No. 2
1st Place in Conference A3
Next week’s opponent: Lawrence (1-14)
1. Wantagh (13-2)
Last week’s ranking: No. 1
1st Place in Conference A2
Next week’s opponent: Roslyn (4-11)
