We did it! Spring 2024 playoffs are complete. Carrot Top defeated Dichter Pharmacy in straight games to win the Seniors. Kenny Bakery took the first two games against A.L. Post 581 to win the Majors. And Julio Albarran MD defeated Inwood Pharmacy by one run in game three of the Minors series.
Finally, in Softball, the 18U Eagles won the Inter-league championship against Kingsbridge. The final socre was 13 to 0! Go Eagles.
Here’s a link to all the Spring 2024 scores.
And here’s a breakdown of the Spring 2024 playoffs.
Minors
In the minor league, the top four teams advanced and played semi-final games on Saturday, June 8. The winners of those games played a best-of-three series to determine the champion.
| Sat, Jun 8 @ 11:10am | Inwood Pharmacy (3) | 13 | vs | 4 | Inwood Social Club (2) |
| Sat, Jun 8 @ 1:20pm | St. Joseph Council (4) | 5 | vs | 6 | Julio Albarran MD (1) |
Inwood Pharmacy got the monkey off its back in the first semi-final game and defeated Inwood Social Club 13 to 4. Coach Matt Mead’s Pharmacy had not beaten Coach Glenn Gahrman’s Club in two years.
In the second game, emotions ran high and the game was close. Julio Albarran MD withstood the fifth-inning comeback from St. Joseph Council when Mason Gonzalez made a game-saving catch in left field. Albarran held on to win 6 to 5. Coach Kelvin Cordero took over Albarran MD this year and brought them from expansion obscurity to a top-seeded finals appearance. Coach John Lanning vowed to build on St. Joe’s success next season.
And perhaps we see a changing of the guard? The 2024 Spring Finals does not include Social Club or St. Joseph for the first time since 2019.
| G1: Jun 9 @ 11:10am | Inwood Pharmacy | 10 | vs | 12 | Julio Albarran MD |
| G2: Jun 15 @ 11:10am | Julio Albarran MD | 4 | vs | 7 | Inwood Pharmacy |
| G3: Jun 16 @ 11:10am | Inwood Pharmacy | 16 | vs | 17 | Julio Albarran MD |
Congrats to Coach Kelvin and Julio Albarran MD. Last year that team only won one game and didn’t even make the playoffs. With a new coaching staff, many of those same players are now spring champions.
Majors
In the Majors, the top three teams advanced. The 2nd and 3rd seeds played a one-game semi-final on June 10. The winner moved on to play the top seed in a best-of three series (over three days), starting June 12.
| Mon, Jun 10 @ 5:30pm | A.L. Post 581 (3) | 13 | vs | 11 | P.O. Michael Buczek (2) |
Post 581 outlasted the Bucz on Monday, winning 13 to 11. According to Pizza Haven’s Coach Anthony Torres it was a “very entertaining game and both teams put on a good show.” The Bucz dugout energy may have been the highlight of the game. In fact it was steadily building throughout the game until Post’s right-fielder Enzo Santiago-Sosa zapped it in the bottom of the sixth inning, catching a moonshot to save the game for his team.
Post 581 then met Kenny Bakery in the 74th annual Spring League Major’s Final. Kenny’s pitchers had all their rest, but Post had the momentum of winning two knockout games in a row.
| G1: Jun 12 @ 5:30pm | A.L. Post 581 | 12 | vs | 13 | Kenny Bakery |
| G2: Jun 13 @ 5:30pm | Kenny Bakery | 19 | vs | 8 | A.L. Post 581 |
Congrats to Coach Ricardo and Kenny Bakery. Did you know they just won their third spring finals in-a-row? Who will unseat this juggernaut? There may be six teams in the Majors next year. Maybe one of the other five can figure out how to go the distance.
Seniors
In the seniors, all four teams advanced to the postseason. The 1 and 4 seeds and the 2 and 3 seeds battled it out in single-elimination semi-finals on June 10 and June 11. Then the winners played a best-of-three series (over three days), starting June 13.
| Mon, Jun 10 @ 5:30pm | Ditcher Pharmacy (4) | 3 | vs | 1 | NYS Senator Jackson (1) |
| Tue, Jun 11 @ 5:30pm | Carrot Top (3) | 8 | vs | 6 | Asm. De Los Santos (2) |
Upset Monday followed by upset Tuesday! Coach Gabriel Pino’s Dichter Pharmacy opened the front door into the finals on Monday with a thrilling defeat of top-seeded NYS Senator Jackson, coached by Erick Morales. Then Coach Sonny’s Carrot Top joined the ice cream and dessert shop with its own upending of the two seed, Coach Tardo’s Asm. De los Santos, on Tuesday.
| Thu, Jun 13 @ 5:30pm | Ditcher Pharmacy | 3 | vs | 17 | Carrot Top |
| Fri and Sat, Jun 14 and 15 | Carrot Top | 5 | vs | 3 | Ditcher Pharmacy |
It was a repeat of last year’s spring finals, but this time Carrot Top dispatched Dichter Pharmacy in two games over three days (Game 2 was suspended).
Congrats to Coach Sonny and his long-time team. And thank you to the sponsors, the parents, the commissioners, the coaches, and the kids. We made it. We did it. Onto the next season!