After a challenging start to the spring sports season thanks to some horrendous weather-related conditions, we’ve reach the first round of the playoffs. RCN-TV will once again broadcast this year’s Lehigh Valley Conference playoffs, which commence on Tuesday at 4:30pm.
To get you ready for what promises to be some exciting contests, we’ll take a look at all four teams involved in the LVC post-season. First, here are thoughts from the coaches and managers of the first three teams to clinch playoff berths early this past week (more is available from last week’s “RCN SportsTalk” show through On-Demand).
Now, here’s more on the four teams in action this week.
LIBERTY
The Hurricanes were the last team to qualify for the playoffs late last week but it definitely was not due to a lack of talent. Because of unplayable field conditions early this spring and the well-publicized lockdown due to the phony bomb threat, Liberty has had to play more games over the last few weeks than any other team in the league. They also had three other ultra-competitive teams in their division. Liberty is loaded with offensive talent that has really been warming up of late; in a recent game against Nazareth, seven of their nine starters had at least two hits. Playing so many games in a short amount of time might actually help Liberty in playing back-to-back games next week. With the offense hitting so well and getting more than capable pitching from Mike Horvath, Alexis Calderon and Matt Leon, the ‘Canes might just earn their way to the championship game.
WHITEHALL
After graduating several talented seniors one year ago, many of the local baseball experts thought it would be a rebuilding year for the Zephyrs.
They were wrong.
In fact, if it wasn’t for Parkland (whom they lost to twice), they might have the best record in the league. Instead, they enter as the number-3 seed and, sure enough, will face Parkland in the opening round. They got a bit of a wake-up call after barely beating Allen two weeks ago, and have responded with several quality wins over the last week—including a 4-2 decision over a talented Northampton ball club this past Thursday. They have three quality starting pitchers, play excellent defense (especially up the middle) and have a great balance of speed and power in their lineup. Keep an eye on freshman Alex Bruneio—in addition to being a tough left-handed reliever who has been used in key spots this year, he also has power to all fields and is not afraid to hit the ball where it’s pitched. He’ll be a player to watch in the playoffs–and for the next three years–for Whitehall.
PARKLAND
The Trojans have battled back nicely from a mid-season swoon, in which they lost three consecutive games. They also bounced back from a tough 2-1 loss to Emmaus last Monday, in which the potential tying run was erased in a rundown while in scoring position to end the contest. Chris Rabasco (verbally committed to Penn) has been on fire at the plate and is exceptional at hitting balls into the gaps. Gabe Mosser (headed to Shippensburg this fall) has been pitching lights-out baseball; going into last Thursday’s game, he had struck out 56 batters in under 34-innings thrown. Furthermore, according to WHS Skipper Shaun O’Boyle, Mosser (6-1, .76 ERA this season) has pitched successfully against Whitehall six consecutive times over the last few seasons. I checked with Trojan Manager Tony Galucy on who would start for him against the Zephyrs and he was noncommittal for Tuesday’s game, but it will be interesting to see if he throws his hottest pitching in game one—and if Mosser could beat Whitehall one more time.
EMMAUS
The Hornets have bounced back from their only loss of the season to Easton, including impressive wins over Central Catholic and Parkland over the last few days. When I spoke with some of the Emmaus players last week, they were not happy about the loss to the Rovers and will be using that as motivation as the playoffs start. As usual, Emmaus has several talented pitchers—both right-handed and left-handed—to stifle offenses, and I was impressed by senior southpaw Jack Moore’s near-shutout performance against the Trojans last week. Josh Lemaster (who will pitch for DeSales next year) has also pitched extremely effectively this season (6-0, 61-strikeouts, 0.41-ERA) and I think he’s another candidate to pitch in the Hornets’ first playoff game. Plus, Emmaus has seven hitters with batting averages north of .344 and, as always under Head Coach John Schreiner, players who run the bases very aggressively.
Which players are you looking forward to seeing in this year’s playoffs? What team do you think will walk away with the LVC title this spring? Post you comments below or email us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and enjoy a couple action-packed rounds of playoff baseball!
