For the first time in HCBL history five teams will compete in the postseason with the addition of the Wild Card between the fourth and fifth place teams in the league. With playoff action starting Wednesday here’s a look at all five playoff teams.

Riverhead (24-13-3) is the number one seed in the HCBL playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Riverhead is in the playoffs for their third consecutive season, however the previous two appearances in 2016 & 2017 ended in two game sweeps by Westhampton in the Semifinals. Riverhead is hoping the better seeding changes things. Riverhead has three of the top five players in batting average this season, Louis Antos (Queens), Alex Baratta (Binghamton) and Eduardo Malinowski (Pennsylvania). Antos was the HCBL batting champion with a .425 average for Riverhead. Baratta led the team in run production with 35 runs scored with 54 hits and a .391 batting average. Malinowski led the Tomcats in hits with 56 which was a team single season record, the Texas native also led the club in RBI with 36 in the 2018 regular season.

Long Island (25-15) in the franchise’s second season is trying to become the first team in HCBL history to repeat as defending champions. Pat Lagravinese (Albany) and Marcos Perivolaris (SUNY Cortland) have set the tone for Long Island at the top of the lineup all season. Lagravinese who was a 2016 HCBL champion with Westhampton had 42 hits while in the leadoff spot for most of the season. Perivolaris led the squad in RBI with 28 while hitting five home runs in the regular season. The Long Island bullpen has been one of the strongest parts of the club as Matt Paghidas (SUNY Maritime) and Brandon LaManna (New Haven) combined for 14 saves with both pitchers having only allowed one earned run during the regular season.

Westhampton (20-19-1) is looking to become the first team in the history of the HCBL to reach the Championship Series in four consecutive seasons and be the first team to win a fourth league championship. Curtis Robison (Penn State) and Tyler Becker (Adelphi) led the Aviator offense with both players hitting nine home runs. Robison hit .374 for the Aviators with the Nittany Lion leading the team in hits with 52. Tyler Thorington (Western Michigan) will be a pitcher to watch on the mound as the WMU Bronco led the HCBL in ERA this season at 1.87 while finishing second in the league in strikeouts with 46.

Shelter Island (19-19-2) is in the HCBL playoffs for the first time since 2015 when they won their first HCBL championship defeating the Westhampton Aviators. The Bucks had a prolific offense hitting 46 home runs as a team and averaged seven runs a game. Alex Volpi (Holy Cross) had a season to remember setting a new league single season record for home runs with 16 with 46 RBI. Infielder Jake MacKenzie (Fordham) finished second on the team and the league in home runs next to Volpi with 10. The Fordham Ram hit .345 for the season while setting a single season record for runs scored with 45. On the mound MacKenzie’s Fordham teammate Joseph Quintal led the HCBL in strikeouts with 48 while posting a 3-2 record.

Sag Harbor (17-18-5) is the first five seed in the history of the HCBL playoffs. It’s the first time since 2014 that the Whalers have made it to the postseason. Sag Harbor will be looking for the franchise's first playoff win in the HCBL Wild Card since their inaugural season in 2008 when they beat the Metro NY Cadets for the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League Kaiser Division title. Nick Thornquist (UT-San Antonio) was the team’s top hitter all season batting .403 with four home runs and 29 RBI. Thornquist had two walk-off hits for the Whalers at Mashashimuet Park this season. Joe Suozzi (Boston College) and Jason Allbery (Creighton) have provided a solid foundation for Nate Lawrence’s offense all year. Suozzi hit .330 with four home runs and 16 RBI while Allbery also had an equal number of home runs with 23 RBI while being second on the team in hits with 39.

The HCBL playoffs look to be exciting and it all gets started on Wednesday in Shelter Island with the Bucks playing the Whalers in the Wild Card game.