The
end of July is upon us, and the end of the PGCBL regular season is
near. As we enter the home stretch, three teams are vying for the
final two playoff spots in the league’s East Division.
A
quick brief on the PGCBL’s playoff format: Three teams from each
division (the East and the West) make the playoffs. The second and
third seeds play one game against each other (Divisional Playoffs),
and the winners advance to take on the top seed in a best-of-three
series (Division Finals). The winners of those series play a
best-of-three seriems for the PGCBL Championship.
In
the East Division, the Amsterdam Mohawks have clinched the top seed
by a pretty large margin. The Mohawks are riding a nine-game winning
streak, and are a remarkable 13-1 over their past 14 games. Behind
Amsterdam, Mohawk Valley, Albany, and Glens Falls are in a tight race
for the final two playoff spots.
The
Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs (24-18) have a slight advantage over
Albany (24-20) and Glens Falls (24-21). The Diamond Dawgs have a
double-header against Elmira on Tuesday before closing the regular
season against Newark on Wednesday. Mohawk Valley appears to be a
strong bet to make the playoffs, especially considering that Glens
Falls and Albany play each other in a double-header on the final day
of the season.
The
Golden Eagles host Cooperstown on Tuesday, and Albany heads to
Watertown for a double-header. Then on Wednesday, the Golden Eagles
host the Dutchmen in a season-defining double-header.
Both
teams have faced their fair share of adversity this season, with a
bevy of injuries forcing each club to recruit more and more players
as the season has progressed.
Glens
Falls will enter the final leg of the season without two of its top
players; Josh Anderson—who’s hitting .347 this summer—suffered
a hamstring injury on Monday. On the same night, Garrett
DeGallier—hitting .311—was hit by a pitch on the wrist. Head
Coach John Mayotte expects to miss both players for the remainder of
the season. The Golden Eagles have lost seven of their last eight,
but remain optimistic about their playoff chances. Mayotte has
confidence in his club’s pitching staff, and plans to use the
entire staff over the next couple days, treating every game as if
it’s the club’s last.
Albany
will take a different approach over the final few days of the season.
The Dutchmen will use Dylan Collett, arguably their top pitcher this
summer, in the first of their final four games. Head Coach Nick Davey
said “We’re sending him out for Game 1 today because we think
Game 1 is the most important game.”
“We’re
just going to go out the next two days and have fun, and that’s all
I’ve been stressing,” Davey continued. “Just compete and have
fun, play the game of baseball, and go get yourself some wins.”
Albany
will use Jose Hernandez in its second game tonight, and the goal is
to clinch a playoff spot before the final game of the season. Davey
would prefer to rest his squad a bit, but said that he will use all
of his team to go get a win if he needs to.
The
final two days of the PGCBL season will be filled with excitement and
should make for a nice warm-up before the playoffs begin. The
Divisional Playoff games will be played on Thursday, August 1, and
the Division Finals will begin on Friday, August 2. The PGCBL
Championship Series begins on Tuesday, August 6.