(WARNING: this is a long post)

As I said last night, yesterday we spent the afternoon and evening trying to relay the nuts and bolts of yesterday’s 19 games as quickly as possible. Here are my thoughts on all 19, with Class AA up first:

CLASS AA

No. 1 Mamaroneck 6, New Rochelle 0 — I saw two or three innings of this one and have to give kudos to New Ro. Mamaroneck had scored nine, 16 and 12 runs in its three previous games against the Huguenots. Plus, with Mike Rosenfeld and Gabe Klein back to make their lineup complete for the first time really all season, the Tigers had averaged a mind-boggling 16.7 runs per game in their last six games. With that as the backdrop, Mamaroneck had just a 2-0 lead against Ian Lindsay when I showed up yesterday for a quick peek. Its lineup went on to scratch out a few more runs off Lindsay and Martin Aranda, but the explosion never came to fruition. Rosenfeld and Matt McGovern each had extra-base hits, but that’s about it. Those bats will need to heat up against much stiffer competition to lead the Tigers to another title.

No. 2 Arlington 8, No. 15 White Plains 2 — I exchanged some texts last night with Marcel Galligani, White Plains’ frustrated coach, and he said it was similar struggles that ailed the Tigers. They committed five errors and allowed six unearned runs. They were down 4-2 and left runners at second and third with one out. They basically took their only chance to stay close with a powerhouse like Arlington and dashed it. For Arlington, a very sound team, it did exactly what it did earlier this season against White Plains: it executed and waited for White Plains to self-destruct. Give the Admirals credit, too, for saving Tyler Albrecht’s arm and only throwing him four innings. They want to make a deep run and having one of its top pitchers fresh for next week will help. Here’s the Poughkeepsie Journal’s story on the game.

No. 3 Ketcham 5, No. 14 John Jay-East Fishkill 1 — Ketcham didn’t get a ton off Eric Luksis but it didn’t need to. Brian Quain was on point, shutting down a Patriots offense that struggled to score runs in big spots this season. That had to be expected. They lost Joe Panik, who’s tearing it up at St. John’s, and Dave Ciocchi, who’s tearing it up in the College World Series at Binghamton. So, yes, this was a game Ketcham should’ve won. Give the Indians credit for following through. Much like John Jay yesterday, they proved you can beat an ace by focusing, taking advantage of your chances and pitching well. From what I heard, Luksis was wild early; Ketcham took advantage. Mike Lang returned to the lineup after having pins put in to fix broken bones in his left elbow, as you can read in the Poughkeepsie Journal’s story here, and he had a big two-run single. … All in all, good for the Indians. Now they draw a hot team in North Rockland with two good arms ready to throw.

No. 4 Fox Lane 9, No. 13 Scarsdale 4 — I talked to Tim Panetta very briefly after the game but I could tell from the sound of his voice the Foxes had a very comfortable win. Indeed, they allowed three unearned runs in the first, getting off to a poor start behind Brian DeVoto, but they responded with nine runs before Scarsdale scored again. Seven of Fox Lane’s hits went for extra bases. Robbie Scott hit a grand slam. Panetta and the underrated Jesse Hunt hit solo homers. Are the Foxes bats, which haven’t been their typical selves, heating up at the right time? Maybe. They did much of the damage against Colin Markel, who is no push over.

No. 12 Yorktown 12, No. 5 Saunders 2 — At least one person wrote in yesterday to say he/she wasn’t surprised to see a Yonkers school go down yet again. I thought that was unfair. 1. It marginalizes how well Yorktown played. 2. It turns a blind eye to Saunders’ season, which included some decent success against opponents outside the city of Yonkers. As you can read in my story today, Yorktown coach Sean Kennedy admitted that all reports he had gotten from other coaches told him to take Saunders seriously. “This wasn’t a typical Yonkers school,” Kennedy told his players, who took that message to heart. Steve Nardelli pitched well, allowing seven hits and one earned run in 6.2 innings. His offense slowly picked away at Saunders ace Ruben Reyes, who was tough to hit (three hits) but was wild (five walks). The ‘Huskers took advantage of nine walks, three errors and two wild pitches, and then Jake Matranga, a normal starter who has been out for 19 days with a bruised rib, did the best off the bench. He hit a three-run double and a two-run single to put the game away. Saunders coach Chuck Alben kind of apologized to me after the game for coming out and then having his team play so poorly. It wasn’t what Alben came to expect, particularly from his pitching and defense. The desire to prove so many doubters wrong caught up to Saunders, which was overaggressive at the plate and failed to make routine plays. Those mistakes are typical of a nervous team.

No. 6 North Rockland 5, No. 11 Clarkstown South 1 — Jake covered this game. You can read his story here, and check out his thoughts from last night on the blog. I’m impressed, however, with the Red Raiders’ pitching depth. Not only did they not have to start Frank Rosario, who Jake expected to get the ball, they didn’t pitch John Veltri either, and he has pitched well against top teams as well. North Rockland may have the three solid starters it needs to compete for a sectional title. We shall see.

No. 7 Carmel 3, No. 10 Greeley 0 — Get to Carmel on Monday or Tuesday, Arlington, Ketcham or North Rockland, because I don’t know who wants to face the Rams next Thursday. Mike Volpe is straight dealing these days, leaving his bout with mono in the past. The senior has thrown 32 straight scoreless innings, dating back to Ketcham scoring against him in the third inning of the last start he lost. Volpe has allowed JUST SEVEN HITS since then. Unbelievable. He has been (dare I say it) Pennell-like. In fact, if you throw out the K’s, Volpe has basically been as good as Ryan Pennell this month. I wrote something separate about Volpe last night and he told me he was throwing three or four MPH faster than normal. He said it “gave him the confidence” that he could do it again in the playoffs. Opponents beware.

No. 8 John Jay 3, No. 9 Suffern 1 — I finally caught up with John Jay coach Geoff Curtis right before I left the office last night. He was pleased, of course, and delighted the Indians followed their only reasonable game plan against Robbie Aviles. Here’s what John Jay practiced and preached since Wednesday’s seeding meeting: 1. The coaches, Curtis, assistant Joe Gaudio and their JV coach, “gassed up our arms as much as possible,” Curtis said. They threw from 40 or 50 feet to simulate the velocity of Aviles or Jim Brennan, the latter of who they actually thought would start the game. 2. Once Aviles was the obvious starter, yesterday afternoon, Curtis spoke to Jared Hirschberg and Steve Green and told them one very smart thing, “Don’t try to out pitch him.” They had to remember they were pitching against Suffern’s lineup, not against Aviles. What happened? One run on four hits. 3. Green was available when needed. Curtis knew he had about 40 or 50 pitches from Green, who hasn’t pitched but has been throwing the last few weeks since a tender elbow took him out of the rotation. He didn’t want to start Green then have to come get him. Instead, he started Hirschberg, who has had a strong season and is pretty talented in his own right, and would use Green’s presence as a reliever to boost the team. It worked perfectly. John Jay had the lead in the fifth. He then called on Green to pitch to the lefty-hitting Aviles in the fifth. He benefitted when Brendan Durkin hit a hard smash to — guess who? — Hirschberg at third. Hirschberg snagged the liner, which would’ve at least tied the game, and doubled Brennan off second. Green was $$$ the rest of the way, and is back as a factor on John Jay’s staff. … On offense, John Jay received the big at-bats from its most talented hitters, which is another key to beating someone as talented as Aviles. Anthony Iacomini had the RBI double in the fourth, the blow that basically proved to the Indians that this guy wasn’t invincible. I hate to say it, but no one other than Iacomini, John Jay’s leader, could’ve made that statement any better. Then Alan Filauro followed suit. He hit the go-ahead sac fly and later added an RBI double. Ray Maggi also had two hits. That’s how you score in a big game, have your most talented hitters come through against a pitcher who’s a beast.

Here are my best guesses at the quarterfinal pitching matchups in AA:
Sean Hagan (Mamaroneck) vs. Lou Ricci (John Jay)
Dylan Britton (Arlington) vs. Zack Graczyk (Carmel)
Frank Rosario (North Rockland) vs. Mike Peterman (Ketcham)
Joe Fredricks (Yorktown) vs. Brandon Serio (Fox Lane)

Does anyone feel differently?

Class A, B and C to follow…