Only five months after he led the Dobbs Ferry baseball team past defending state champ Kennedy and into the Class B state final, Ted Huffman learned he will not be retained as the coach.

Huffman had coached the varsity all four seasons since Skip Violante left in the summer of 2005. His Eagles finished 24-3 in ‘09 and came within one win of a state championship.

That success came with a few headaches, as you can read in my story that ran in today’s paper. Huffman said he still hasn’t been told why the school district chose to move in a different direction, but the 54-year-old was not shocked either. He met with district administrators last year on more than one occasion to address parental complaints. He considered stepping down, not wanting to endure the questions again, but decided against it. When he set plans in place for offseason workouts, AD Jim Lindsay told him the district’s decision.

To an outside observer, it comes as surprising news. Parents and other members of the community plan on attending the board of education meeting tonight and asking why Huffman was let go. They don’t expect an answer.

As you can read in the story, Huffman has resigned himself that his stint at Dobbs is over.

“I know it’s a dead issue. I?know I’m not going back there coaching,” he said. “And the honest truth, even if they wanted me back I?don’t think I’d want to come back.”

OK, I’m going to list all the local guys who have committed to play ball in college. I know I’ll miss a few, so let me know who, either in the comments or through e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com.

Commitments, Class of 2010:
Robbie Aviles, Suffern — Florida
Tom Baroni, Kennedy — Bates College
Chris Bates, Regis (Ossining) — Tulane
Billy Demersky, Mahopac — Young Harris
Joey Espinal, Beacon — Albany
Stephen Green, John Jay (Brewster) — Boston College
Jared Hirschberg, John Jay — Manhattan
Colin Moran, Iona Prep — North Carolina
T.J. Olesczuk, Hen Hud — Winthrop
Ryan Pennell, Rye Neck — Elon
John Pilla, Ardsley — Young Harris
Mike Rosenfeld, Mamaroneck — Duke
Joe Smith, Kennedy — Iona
Mike Tandy, Hen Hud — Young Harris
Zack Tax, RCDS (White Plains) — Columbia

I wrote a story for today’s paper about Iona Prep senior Colin Moran, who has committed to the University of North Carolina.

Of course, he will head to Chapel Hill on the heels of his brother, Brian, who made the club as a walk-on and developed into one of the top relievers in the country. He since was drafted by the Mariners in the seventh round of last June’s draft and started his pro career strong. The younger Moran will also play for the school of uncle B.J. Surhoff, the Rye native who played ball at UNC and became the No. 1 overall pick.

While he may not have reached the legendary status of Uncle B.J., Colin earned his way to UNC. He will sign under different circumstances than his brother, who needed to make the team and didn’t receive a scholarship. Not Colin, who received a partial deal and a roster guarantee.

It wasn’t always so simple. After waiting patiently for the Tar Heels to recruit him, and mulling options that included Louisville, Virginia Tech, Elon, Florida Atlantic and others, the younger Moran eventually caught their attention. He first did so during an invitational at Fenway Park in August (see photo above), then kept their interest at last month’s Perfect Game showcase in Jupiter, Fla. He strongly considered other schools, but made his decision once he believed UNC held genuine interest in obtaining his services.

I’ll let you read the rest of the story. I have a few more players to mention, and I’ll add their commitments later today.

The people of the Port Chester Youth Baseball League will host a fall version of their successful Battle at the Border on Oct. 3 and 4. The tournament, called the 2009 Elite Eight edition of the Battle at the Border, will include many of the top teams from the tri-state area and other portions of New England.

To check a list of the teams included log on here. You can find a complete schedule of games here.

All games will be held at either Rec Park or Port Chester Middle School, both of which are in Port Chester.

If you missed it Tuesday, I wrote a story about the CHSAA’s fall baseball league, which has existed for more than three decades and remains a key developmental league for the spring baseball season. You can read the story here.

There are examples of players who benefitted from playing fall baseball. I also found it interesting that coaches use the fall as an extended tryout. In actuality, their teams (right or wrong) are mostly picked by the time the fall is over.

The Catholics have a major advantage here in: A) building their programs, B) readying young players for varsity action, and C) putting the right players on the team, and playing them in the right positions.

Do you agree? I believe what the coaches said to be true. The weather in the spring is brutal, and you don’t get an adequate representation of a player’s ability during spring tryouts.

Do any public-school programs have fall workouts/scrimmages?

As you may have read, John Jay pitcher Jared Hirschberg became the latest LoHudder to commit from the class of 2010. He landed at a popular spot: Manhattan College.

The Jaspers has as much local flavor as any D-I baseball program. Coach Kevin Leighton is from Brewster. Third baseman Chad Salem is from Iona Prep (and Rye). Top-three starter Mike Giordano is from Fox Lane. Joe Rock from Kennedy (and Carmel), Nick Camastro and Ryan Wallner from Arlington and Erik Luksis from JJEF are all coming in this fall. Two outgoing seniors Mike Gazzola and Tom Costigan are both from the area, too.

Hirschberg will soon join that group. He said that the success Giordano, a walkon, had this spring really pushed him toward Manhattan.

“The thought that he walked on and had a very successful year and did well kind of made me believe that if I prove myself, I can get a lot of good innings in as a freshman,” Hirschberg said.

Hirschberg, a righty, impressed Leighton at Baseball Heaven on Long Island. He hit 88-89 consistently.

Hirschberg had other Division I interest from Stony Brook and St. John’s. He received serious offers from Pace and Bryant before deciding on Manhattan.

“I had a lot of decisions to make, a lot of options,” Hirschberg said. “I thought the best one that fit me was Manhattan. I liked the city environment and it’ss a very good Division I program.”

There never seemed to be many second thoughts around here about whether Jim Brennan would go pro or head to St. John’s. Even he never really pondered bypassing the opportunity to play ball in college, not as a 45th-rounder. “I really didn’t consider it,” he admitted.

Indeed, Brennan made the logical choice. He turned down an undisclosed offer from the Detroit Tigers before last night’s midnight deadline. He will head to St. John’s in a couple weeks.

“To go through the process was great,” Brennan said. “I know I have of great things to look forward to at St. John’s.”

The level-headed Suffern grad told me “the whole experience was phenomenal” dealing with being selected and everything that accompanies it. “It’ll make things a whole lot easier when it comes up again,” he said.

Another few days go by and another group of local players make their college commitments. There’s a story out tomorrow, but here’s a recap on them:

T.J. OLESCZUK, Hen Hud shortstop, committed to Winthrop — With a pretty solid list of Division I suitors, Olesczuk, a three-year starter for the Sailors, had plenty of opportunities to play college baseball. As you’ll read in tomorrow’s paper, what it came down to for him was how much each program wanted his services. No team chased after him like Winthrop, and that is exactly where he ended up. Olesczuk estimated that Winthrop watched him play as many as a dozen times, beginning with the Battle at the Border in Port Chester. … Northeastern, Wofford and Manhattan also offered him, according to Olesczuk. Penn St., Old Dominion, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame showed interest, especially Penn St. and ODU. You can read more tomorrow from T.J., who was the Section 1 leader in homers and RBI and was a first-team TJN all-star.

CHRIS BATES, Regis LHP, committed to Tulane — Many of you (OK, OK…me included) probably don’t or didn’t know about Bates. He is from Ossining, he is 6-foot-5 and he has pitched on the varsity the last two seasons for Regis, a highly competitive CHSAA A Division team out of Manhattan. Bates is an interesting guy. He originally looked into Tulane based solely on academics, but the Green Wave staff caught him pitching for the Taconic Rangers down in Georgia. A few conversations later the Big Lefty was in the Big Easy, and the rest is history. … Tulane was only the third school Bates visited, after Richmond and Appalachian State. With an academic reputation he sought, and solid Conference USA competition, No. 3 was more than enough for Bates.

JOHN PILLA, Ardsley shortstop, committed to Young Harris College (GA) — Here’s another interesting school, much in the mold of Pat Farina, the Mahopac outfielder who committed to a first-year NAIA school this summer. Pilla gave his verbal to Young Harris, which is a former junior college powerhouse that will begin play next season in Division II. The school had previously been a junior college and is now in its first school year as a four-year institution.

For all of the honors he has received the last few years, Robbie Aviles may never have been given as much respect as he was recently. The Suffern senior-to-be was picked for the 2009 Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic. Check out the event’s web site here.

The Aflac game will be played on Aug. 16 at Petco Park in San Diego. Aviles, who was one of 40 players selected, will play for the East team in the East-West game. He is one of 20 players on the East team. You can read his bio here.

The importance of the showcase is plainly obvious. Of the 40 players who participated in last year’s game, 13 were selected in the first round of the 2009 draft, including third-overall pick Donovan Tate. Former No. 1 picks Justin Upton, Matt Bush and Tim Beckham are among the event’s alumni.

I’ll have more in the paper and online about Aviles playing in the game during the coming days.

I’ll have a few news items this week but here’s the first: Suffern grad Jim Brennan will travel to New Mexico this weekend to compete for the South Troy Dodgers in the Connie Mack World Series.

You can find more info about the event here.

Brennan plays his summer ball out of Staten Island. However, after that season ended, Brennan was picked up by the Albany-based Dodgers. (His father, Robert, knew people involved with the team; he went to high school in Albany area.)

Batting third and playing center, Brennan helped the Dodgers advance through regionals unbeaten. He went 9 for 18 with two home runs and eight stolen bases in the tourney. He actually homered in the first inning of the championship game.

Brennan and South Troy begin play in the Connie Mack WS on Friday, Aug. 7. They are scheduled to kick off play at 8 on Friday night before a huge post-opening ceremonies crowd.

I also asked Brennan about his courtship with the Tigers, who selected him in the draft. He does not expect to sign and plans on enrolling at St. John’s, although he has yet to receive an offer from Detroit. That offer will ultimately determine his future, but he will not make a final decision until it has been issued.

Jake or I will update you after he makes a final decision. The deadline for big league clubs to sign its draft picks is Aug. 17.

I’ll have more on Brennan in Friday’s paper and here on the website.