Scarsdale Baseball Ready for Playoffs

After a stellar regular season in which they won 15 games and lost only five, Scarsdale's baseball team will open up the sectional playoffs on Friday against a familiar foe in the Fox Lane Foxes.

The two teams met in the first round of last year's sectional playoffs, with Fox Lane coming out victorious in dominant fashion, meaning the Raiders will have a little added motivation when they take the field on Friday. Last year's opening round meeting also means both teams will be fairly familiar with each other.

"The thing about Fox Lane is that they are going to play good solid baseball," said Scarsdale head coach Doc Scholl. "They play very good defense and they put the ball in play."

Scarsdale enters the playoffs playing arguably its best baseball this season, having won seven out of its last eight games and outscoring its last four opponents by a score of 31 to 5. The Raiders have gotten solid pitching all season, and they expect that to continue into the playoffs. Scarsdale's success from here on will largely depend on their hitting, something Coach Scholl is very aware of.

"The one thing we need to do is be consistent at the plate," he said. "That means taking guys deep into the count, putting down good bunts, and moving runners over. As long as we get our quality at bats, we'll be fine."

Scholl will start his ace, senior captain Colin Markel, against Fox Lane, a player he has seen grow in his years with the Raiders and one he has counted on numerous times before.

"He's just mature," Scholl said about Markel, who went 5-1 this season. "He now can throw all of his pitches for strikes. He basically pitched every big game we needed this year."

Scarsdale last played on May 22nd, a 5-3 victory over White Plains, meaning the Raiders will not have seen live game action in six days when they take the field on Friday. Scholl is not concerned about the layoff, however, especially since Scarsdale had a similar one earlier this year, and kept his team on a regular practice schedule this week which included an intrasquad scrimmage on Tuesday.

Fox Lane graduated two of its best players from last year's team, but returns a well-disciplined and experienced squad, including 13 seniors. The Raiders will need to pay special attention to Fox Lane shortstop Jesse Hunt and first-baseman Lee Fransisco, who have combined for 30 RBI and 11 doubles on the year.

After being kicked out of the playoffs by the Foxes last season, there is little chance the Raiders will take them lightly on Friday.

"They beat us pretty good," said Scarsdale captain David Wheeler. "We know they come to play every time. We're not going to go into it as if they're just a regular team. We just have to stay confident and believe in ourselves."