Playoffs are officially in motion in all leagues this weekend, and we are excited to see how the post season heats up as we march closer to crowning our 2014 Spring Champions. Here is a quick “around the league” recap/glance at this coming weekend match-ups

First, we will look at the leagues entering week 2 of playoffs

INTERMEDIATE NORTH

After an upset filled 2 days of baseball, the divisional finals are slated for Sunday with the Montclair Mets & Bergen Blue Jays both awaiting their opponents. The Jersey City Vipers will face the Jersey City Scrappers on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Eastern Divisional Finals against the Bergen Blue Jays. The Colt .45s travel to Livingston to face the Athletics, who will be battling for the right to a showdown in Montclair on Sunday against the Mets. In week one action, the top seeded Ironbound Rays and Parsippany Pirates were the unfortunate victims of the early exit. 

INTERMEDIATE SOUTH

In the South, the Dunellen Pirates magical season had them sweep through July 19-20 matchups against the Somerset Clippers & Edison Athletics. They will wait for a West Division Finals matchup against one of those two, who play Saturday in Edison for the right to continue their post season hopes. In the Eastern Division, the Jersey Bombers racked up wins against the Union County Beavers and South River Sharks, and like the Dunellen club, await a rematch against one of them in the Eastern Finals on Sunday. In week one action, the NJ Vipers (leagues top record 17-1) saw an early exit with losses to South River & Union County. In the West, the Manalapan Cardinals faced the same outcome after losses to the Edison A’s and Somerset Clippers did them in.

PREMIERE NORTH

Premiere began play on Sunday, to align themselves for a finish with the South Premiere who start play on Saturday. In the first weekend of action, the Clifton Slates advanced in the winner bracket with a 4-2 win over the NY Warriors, and the Caribbean Reds took a 4-1 victory over the Bergen Minutemen. The Reds will travel this week to Clifton, for the right to advance to the Eastern Finals. The Minutemen will host the Warriors to stay alive in the post season. In the West, the 2013 North champion Pompton/Hawthorne Chicos took down the top seeded NJ Rays, 4-1 and will travel to Carteret this week to play the Thunder, who bested the Montclair Bulldogs 3-1. The Bulldogs will play the Rays in the elimination game this weekend. 

PREMIERE SOUTH

South kicks off play this weekend, with match-ups on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, top seed Somerville Giants will host the Boro Brewers at Williams Field in Elizabeth, while the NJ Shockers will host the NJ Blue Jays in Piscataway at Columbus Park. The Char Heat will face the Garden State Senators in Middletown, with winner advancing to battle the Eastern top seed, Perth Amboy Braves.

AMATEUR WOOD

Amateur will begin play on Saturday with two games that will help set the table for the Sunday slate. The Bergen Braves will play the Jersey Cutters, while the Ringwood Ducks will travel to face the RV Indians. On Sunday, the Pequannock Scallywags will play the winner of the Ducks/Indians, and the East Coast Blaze will play the Braves/Cutters victor. Additionally, the Paterson Black Sox will travel to the Riverside Vets and the Bergen Buzz will host the NJ Red Wings to complete the first weekend of action.

METAL

The 2013 Champion New Providence Reds and Teaneck Yankees both earned #1 & 2 seeds, and will receive a BYE on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Bergen Jackals travel to face the Somerset Stealth, and the Garfield Rockies will see the West Milford Indians in Saturday game action.

This weekend will bring more excitement as we may crown a few divisional champs, we may see some teams push a series to the brink, and some upsets are likely in order as well.

Potential MVP candidates and CY Young hopefuls  are expected in action across all leagues, so it will certainly be exciting baseball to watch. 

Good luck to all our teams this weekend!