Tri-County Baseball League preparing for the postseason
The Tri-County Baseball League, a highly regarded men’s league in South Jersey, is just about ready to begin its postseason.
The regular season ends on July 18 and the postseason begins the day after.
This year there are 12 teams in the league and all 12 will be involved in the postseason. The league is even stronger this season with the addition of four teams from the former Rancocas Valley League – Pine Barrens, Cinnaminson Reds, Delran Bombers and Burlington Township Pirates. Those four are in the RVL North Division.
The teams in the Tri-County Central Division are CBHR/Third Base, the Roughriders of Haddonfield, the Haddonfield Dawgs and Camden.
The Tri-County South, which so far has been the toughest division, consists of defending champion Garton’s of Vineland, Cherry Hill/Pitman, the Washington Township Senators and the South Jersey Grizzlies.
The league consists mainly of current college players, including some incoming freshmen, but there are also some long-time veterans.
For college players, this is a great way to get reps before preparing for the fall baseball season.
One of the key players is shortstop-pitcher Phil Sedalis of the Washington Township Senators. Sedalis was a big part of leading Rowan University to a 33-15 record and New Jersey Athletic Conference title. The Profs appeared in the NCAA Super Regionals for the second straight year.
Sedalis, a rising junior and graduate of Deptford High, set three single-season Rowan records. They were hits (86), runs (63) and triples (8). He hit .413 and had six home runs and 60 RBI. Sedalis also led the nation in hits. This past season was his first at Rowan after attending Salem County College for a year.
Sedalis is among the better hitters in the Tri-County League.
His Washington Township Senators teammate, righthander Rich Racobaldo, formerly of Washington Township High and a recent graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson, is among the more impressive pitchers. Racobaldo, who began his career at Rowan, before spending the last two seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson, was 8-2 this past college season with a 3.52 ERA. He struck out 79 in 79 1/3 innings.
Among the ‘old-timers’ in the league is 30-year-old Darren Fischer, an outfielder-pitcher, who attended Cumberland High and the University of Central Florida. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays after being selected in the 16th round in 2013 and played two seasons of affiliated baseball and another year of independent ball.
Each Tri-County team plays 22 regular season games.
The three division winners and the next best second place team will receive a first-round bye. The No. 5 through 12 teams will play a best of three first round series, with 5 playing 12, 6 meeting 11, 7 playing 10 and 8 facing 9.
Starting July 24, the four bye teams and the winners of the first round will play a best of three. On July 31, the final four teams will play a best of three. Aug. 7 will begin the best of three championship rounds.
Gartons remains the favorite after winning its first 11 games before losing a 2-1 decision to Cherry Hill/Pitman as Ethan Shaub pitched five scoreless innings to earn the win. Shaub, a graduate of Haddon Township, was 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA for this year’s Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester national Junior College Division III champion. He was 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA in his first four games this summer for Cherry Hill/Pitman.
Even with Gartons as the favorite, the playoffs should be competitive as teams are gearing up for what should be an interesting postseason.
For all games and info on the league and the individual teams, the website is: https://tricountybaseball.net/
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Author: Marc Narducci
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