2013 Section 9 baseball tournament
Class AA
Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 25
No. 5 Newburgh Free Academy at No. 4 Valley Central, 1 p.m.
No. 7 Minisink Valley at No. 2 Pine Bush, 1 p.m.
No. 6 Warwick at No. 3 Roosevelt, 1 p.m.
Semifinals
Tuesday, May 28
NFA/Valley Central winner at No. 1 Kingston, 4 p.m.
Minisink/Pine Bush winner vs. Warwick/Roosevelt winner at highest remaining seed, 4 p.m.
Final
Thursday, May 30
Semifinal winners at Dutchess Stadium, time TBD
Class A
Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 25
No. 5 Wallkill at No. 4 Goshen, 1 p.m.
No. 6 Red Hook at No. 3 Port Jervis, 1 p.m.
Semifinals
Tuesday, May 28
Goshen/Wallkill winner at No. 1 Cornwall, 4 p.m.
Red Hook/Port Jervis winner at No. 2 New Paltz, 4 p.m.
Final
Thursday, May 30
Semifinal winners at SUNY New Paltz, 4 p.m.
Class B
Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 25
No. 5 Marlboro at No. 4 Onteora, 1 p.m.
Semifinals
Tuesday, May 28
Marlboro/Onteora winner at No. 1 Highland, 4 p.m.
No. 3 Spackenkill at No. 2 James I. O’Neill, 4 p.m.
Final
Thursday, May 30
Semifinal winners at Dutchess Stadium, time TBD
Class C
Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 25
No. 5 S.S. Seward at No. 4 Tri-Valley, 1 p.m.
Semifinals
Tuesday, May 28
Seward/Tri-Valley winner at No. 1 Chester, 4 p.m.
No. 3 Pine Plains at No. 2 Rhinebeck, 4 p.m.
Final
Wednesday, May 29
Semifinal winners at SUNY New Paltz, 4 p.m.
Class D
Final
Tuesday, May 28
No. 1 Eldred vs. No. 2 John A. Coleman Catholic at SUNY New Paltz, 4 p.m.
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Class AA
Kingston, the OCIAA Division I regular season champion, is the No. 1 seed for good reason, but the rest of this very competitive bracket is also packed with title contenders. Pine Bush and Newburgh Free Academy proved to be up to the task in the Division I regular season. Warwick held off Minisink Valley and Valley Central to win the Division II title, but all three of those teams have a shot at making a run. Roosevelt, which played in the MHAL championship game, can’t be ignored either.
The favorite: Kingston. The Tigers have returned plenty of talent from the 2012 state championship team, including top pitchers Sam Einhorn and Sean DeBrosky. Kingston has a pair of No. 1-caliber pitchers, making them tough to beat at this time of year.
Team to watch: Newburgh Free Academy. The Goldbacks finished the regular season on an incredible hot streak, winning seven straight to finish 11-9 and clinch a postseason berth. Will that carry over into the playoffs?
Player to watch: Will Marmor, Sr., of, Warwick: Marmor has been Warwick’s top run-producer, batting .375 with 19 RBI in 56 at-bats.
Class A
Marlboro played in the Section 9 Class A championship game last season, losing to eventual state champion Cornwall. With the Dukes now playing in Class B, the A bracket has been thinned out considerably. Still, Cornwall, Goshen, Port Jervis, Wallkill and New Paltz should make for a competitive tournament.
The favorite: Cornwall. The Dragons finished the regular season with a losing record (9-10), but Cornwall was 7-2 in Division III games, winning the division title for a 10th straight season. Cornwall lost a great deal of experience to graduation, but catcher Steve Octave and pitcher Steve Powles were keys to the Dragons’ state title last season.
Team to watch:Wallkill. The Panthers have outscored opponents 157-79 this season and have quality wins against Pine Bush and Highland, but Wallkill split two-game sets with both Cornwall and New Paltz.
Goshen shortstop Tyler Eisenbacher (#2) dives but is unable to stop a base hit by Burke batter Stephen Cushing during their Boys Varsity baseball game against Burke in Goshen, NY on Tuesday, May 14, 2013. (CHET GORDON photo/Times Herald-Record)
Player to watch: Tyler Eisenbacher, Sr., p/ss, Goshen. Eisenbacher has been a star on the football field and the basketball court for the Gladiators. That has extended to the baseball diamond, as Eisenbacher is the team’s top hitter and No. 1 pitcher.
Class B
Highland, Marlboro and James I. O’Neill all will compete in this bracket, but the championship game could wind up being the fourth meeting of the season between Spackenkill and Onteora. The MHAL Division III rivals split the regular season series, with each team winning on the road. Both teams swept through the rest of the division schedule, setting up a one-game playoff for the division title on May 14. Spackenkill won, 4-3.
The favorite: Spackenkill. The Spartans are the defending Section 9 champions. Senior Kenny Herrera is batting .476, getting on base at a .590 clip and has scored 26 runs and driven in 13 in 83 plate appearances.
Team to watch: Onteora. The Indians have played in a Section 9 championship game just once, having lost to Highland in the 1996 Class C final, 7-6.
Player to watch: Kevin Crill, Jr., ss/p, James I. O’Neill: Crill is having a terrific season on the mound, as he’s gone 6-0 in his six starts with 37 strikeouts and 23 hits allowed in 43 innings pitched. At the plate, he’s batting .444 with 32 hits in 72 at-bats.
Class C
Five different schools have won championships in this bracket over the last five seasons: Tri-Valley, S.S. Seward, Pine Plains, Webutuck and Millbrook. This year, a new school could join that list as Chester looks for its first Section 9 baseball title since 1989.
The favorite: Chester. Ryan Cabrera has been absolutely dominant in most of his starts this year, as he’s tossed a pair of no-hitters and a perfect game. The Hambletonians have a solid No. 2 starter in Matt Coffey and a lineup that can score plenty of runs. Of Chester’s three losses, two were to Class A Goshen in early April.
Team to watch: S.S. Seward. The only Class C team to have beaten Chester this season is S.S. Seward. Nick Harty pitched a complete game for the Spartans in the 7-5 win on May 9.
Player to watch: Rodney Jester, Sr., ss, Tri-Valley: Jester played in the Section 9 Class C championship game as a sophomore and a junior. Will the Bears’ offensive leader make it three appearances in a row in the big game?
Class D
Coleman Catholic entered the 2012 Section 9 tournament with a losing record, but the Statesmen wound up state champions. The moral of the story is: anything is possible in Class D, which has few teams in the classification in this corner of the state.
The favorite: Eldred. The Yellow Jackets haven’t played in a Section 9 final since 2006, falling in the D game to Chapel Field, 9-1. The last time Eldred won a Section 9 title was 1991, which was the school’s second in three years. Eldred had also won the title in 1989.
Team to watch: John A. Coleman Catholic. Coleman Catholic has had a great deal of success in the postseason in recent years in boys’ and girls’ basketball and baseball. The Statesmen have a shot at making it back to Binghamton this season, but it’s going to be tough, especially after the graduation of reigning state player of the year Mike Smithmyer, who was the team’s ace in 2012.
Player to watch: Bray Curreri, Jr., ss/p, Eldred: The lefty-swinging Curreri has been the focal point of Eldred’s offense all season and he’ll be counted on again as Eldred makes its return to the big stage.
