NEWS

 As the regular season comes to a close, only the best of the best remain as the CRCBL Playoffs begin. After a hectic final day of the season, the final standings are in place.  Coming in as the number one overall seed, is the Baltimore Redbirds with a 29-11 record.  Followed by the 28-12 Bethesda Big Train and 23-17 Alexandria Aces. Claiming the fourth seed are the SS-T T Bolts with a 20-20 record.  Behind the T-Bolts are the 19-21 Gaithersburg Giants and the 18-22 Herndon Braves. Both the Redbirds and Big Train have been absolutely dominant over the course of the season and must be considered the favorites to win it all. Although the two previously mentioned teams may have looked the best throughout the season, we cannot count out the rest of the field as they have displayed grit and tenacity to give themselves a chance at the championship. The CRCBL Playoffs will begin on July 24th with the Alexandria Aces going up against the Herndon Braves and the Gaithersburg Giants going up against the SS-T T Bolts.  The Baltimore Redbirds and Bethesda Big Train get a well-deserved rest with their first round byes.

            Beginning with the matchup between the Alexandria Aces and Herndon Braves, we can see that both of these teams are very well rounded and for the most part, very even. The Aces rank 6th in runs scored and 3rd in runs given up.  While the Braves rank 7th in runs scored and 4th in runs given up. The key matchup to watch in this game will certainly be between the Aces’ all-star pitcher, Chesdin Harrington, who holds a 4-1 record with a 1.45 ERA, and the Braves’ all-star catcher, Andy Mocahbee, who has 7 HR and 32 RBI to go along with a .351 batting average. If either of these players can get an edge in this matchup, it will certainly give their team a good chance to win.

            The second matchup of the day pits the Gaithersburg Giants against the SS-T T Bolts. A quick statistical overview of this matchup reveals that the Giants are 2nd in runs scored and 6th in runs given up while the T Bolts are 4th in runs scored and last in runs given up. Both of these teams are very good at scoring runs and the matchup between the Giants’ dynamic duo of Nick Egli and Matt Pita against the T Bolts’ all-star catcher Nick Cieri will be one to watch for. Egli and Pita have combined for 16 HR and 61 RBI while Cieri has hit 5 HR and 24 RBI while batting .301. With both of these teams being carried by their offense, it will be important for these players to step it up in the playoffs.

            As happy as all of the playoff teams are to have made it to the postseason, it is clear to see that they are not content with just making it this far. Every team wants to win the championship and for the remaining teams, the real season has just begun. With every team being as strong as ever, there is no doubt that this will be a very competitive playoffs.

           Written by: Kai Ruskin CRCBL Intern