Article Written By: Alex Didion

There’s nothing quite like playoff baseball, and that is exactly what we have upon us Friday, as the third-place Atwater Aviators face off against the second-place San Francisco Seagulls in the first round of the GSCBL Playoffs. First pitch will be 4:30 P.M. at Cañada College. Let’s take an in-depth look at the two squads matching up Friday, as well as the first-place team the winner of Friday’s game will face, Stan Switala and Top Speed Baseball.

Atwater Aviators

The Atwater Aviators emerged out of a tightly-contested trio of teams competing for the GSCBL’s final playoff spot. The Aviators, under the command of Tynan Pedretti, won 17 of their final 21 games and were able to outlast both the Reno Rams and the Klamath Falls Gems, closing out the season with a 24-18 record in GSCBL play. Reno came into the final week of the regular season maintaining a half-game lead in the standings but had to close out with a 4-game set at home against the San Francisco Seagulls. Atwater, meanwhile, faced off with the South Bay Storm, who ended the season at the bottom of the league standings, for a doubleheader on the final day of the regular season. Reno lost three of four games while Atwater held South Bay to five runs over two games and captured a sweep.

But regular season records are now thrown out the door, and it all comes down to a win or go home showdown Friday with those pesky Seagulls. Taking a look at Atwater’s team, there is no doubt they come in as the hottest team in the league. First basemen Ryan Frakes (Merced College) has led the charge late, batting .478 over the final five games of the season (all Atwater wins) with 12 RBI. He is also tied for the league lead in doubles with 14. OF Victor Tiscareno (Merced College), a three-year vet with Atwater, had by far his best season in the GSCBL. Frakes’ college teammate hit .356 with 5 HR and 23 RBI in 31 games. On the mound, the Aviators boast a deep and talented rotation. Pitchers Matt Clark (Modesto JC) and Drew Stahl (Modesto College) each finished within the top seven across the league in strikeouts. Nate McGhee also went 4-0 with a 1.92 ERA and had one of the best individual pitching performances of the summer, going 8 innings and allowing just six hits and two earned runs as the Aviators beat the Seagulls 10-8 back on July 2.

Atwater matched up with San Francisco six times this summer, with the Seagulls winning four to the Aviators’ two. RHP Joe Blair (CSU East Bay) has been tabbed by Atwater as their starter for Friday’s wild-card game. Blair went 2-3 with a 2.85 ERA over 12 regular season appearances, including seven starts. Blair only allowed three or more earned runs in two starts this season, including a 5-3 loss to Top Speed Baseball. Blair must excel early at making the Seagulls swing and miss, as the Aviators are 4-0 when he strikes out five or more batters. Blair has one appearance against San Francisco this season, in which he allowed three hits and zero earned runs over five innings in a 4-0 loss.

San Francisco Seagulls

The Seagulls, led by veteran Manager Marc Caviglia, soared to great heights to start the season, winning their first 15 games of the season before dropping the finale of a six-game series with the California Bees to quell the winning streak. The 2016 league runner-up ended the season with a 35-7 record (37-9 overall) in conference and securely in the number two position in the standings, 11 games ahead of Atwater.

The Seagulls had no shortage of dynamic offensive players, with 1B Reed Hjelle (U. of Minnesota Crookston) capturing the batting title with a .434 batting average and 12 doubles. Florida native Garrett Hiott (Eckerd College) meanwhile, was a revelation for San Francisco this summer. The shortstop flashed the ability to hit for both contact and power, blasting five home runs and 38 RBI while hitting .368 and swiping 15 steals. Hiott was honored as the Collegiate Summer Baseball National Hitter of the Week after netting 15 RBI between July 3-9.

The most impressive performer for San Francisco this summer is RHP RJ Hanson (Lindsey Wilson College), who came over to the Seagulls this summer and is among the leading candidates for the GSCBL Pitcher of the Year Award. Hanson has gone 6-1 so far this summer with his only loss coming 2-0 at the hands of Top Speed Baseball in a pitchers duel. His 1.11 ERA is also by far tops in the league. In his second consecutive year with San Francisco, LHP Nathan Pisciotta (San Francisco State) has also been a consistent starter for the Seagulls, going 3-1 with a 3.23 ERA and 37 strikeouts. RHP Jordan Chriss (Columbia University) has battled through early season injuries and established himself as the Seagull second starter. Shutdown reliever Leo Pollack (Columbia University) is also a weapon out of the bullpen for San Francisco.

 
Hanson will be taking the hill opposite Blair Friday, and as long he stays true to his summer form, and gets support from a potent Seagull offense, San Francisco should be advancing to their second-straight GSCBL Championship.

Top Speed Baseball

It is hard to find a better example of dealing with adversity than Top Speed Baseball. Stan Switala’s club lost player after player to injury or to the professional ranks, and they still managed to turn in their best season since the franchise joined the GSCBL back in 2014. Top Speed finished with a 39-3 record in league, with all three losses coming at the hands of the Seagulls. And after league titles in 2015 and 2016, Top Speed rolls into the postseason looking to three-peat. They averaged an astonishing 11.1 runs per game this summer, while the next-closest team averaged an impressive 8.5 runs per game.

This summer for Top Speed, it all started offensively with Scott Litchy. The young outfielder out of Bemidji State hit .401 with 8 HR and 43 RBI and is a one of the favorites for league MVP. The power doesn’t stop with Litchy, as Derik Bontempo blasted nine home runs in just 24 games with the Speedos this summer, including four in one game. Switala has also credited a pair of seniors hailing from the Peach state as being the backbone of the team’s pitching staff and providing consistent quality starts. Eli Dickens is right up there with RJ Hanson in the conversation for Pitcher of the Year and will more than likely start Top Speed’s first playoff game, as he enters postseason play with a 7-1 record and a 1.50 ERA in eight starts. Mark Hendricks had a 5-0 record with a 1.28 ERA in 13 appearances, including four starts. Hendricks also finished just three strikeouts short of league leader Adam Erickson. Whatever club is able to survive and advance Friday night will have their work cut out for them against Top Speed.
 

Top Speed split their season series with San Francisco 3-3, with the teams scoring an even amount of runs over six games. Meanwhile, to say Top Speed owned Atwater during the regular season is more than an understatement, as the Speedos outscored the Aviators by a whopping 51-17 margin over six games in the middle of June.

I say again, anything can happen, especially when it comes to postseason baseball. We saw the Cubs win their first World Series in 108 year for crying out loud. No matter who emerges victorious Friday, it will be an exciting championship series as Top Speed looks to capture their third-straight GSCBL crown.