Playoff Preview

Massapequa, NY -

After a two year hiatus the Gamers (10-4) returned to action this Fall with a new look roster. Expectations were high despite the long layoff and the Gamers did not disappoint finishing in second place in their division.

Defense was the key to their success as their plus minus rating of +95 lead the division. They were the only team to give up fewer than 100 runs on the season and on average only gave up 6.6 runs per game. The next closest team was at 12.67. The pump faking antics of original Gamer Rob Roll, in his first season as a pitcher, can be thanked in large part for helping tighten up the defense.

Roll will be on the mound on Saturday when the Gamers take on Just The Tip in a first round playoff showdown. These two teams split their early season matchup but keep in mind that the Gamers played with only nine guys. On top of that they were missing Brian Malfettone, Seth Koslow and Jimmy Dundon and had not yet added Stu Plotkin to the team. They had also not yet set their defense with Greg Roll playing out of position at shortstop, Adam Goldberg at third, and Dave Roll in rightfield. With their defense now in order and a full roster on hand the Gamers should be in much better shape.

Due to time constraints the format will consist of just one nine inning game as opposed to the traditional 2 out of 3 format. This figures to benefit the Gamers who would have been without several key players had the format caused the games to drag on into the afternoon.

The game will be played at Burns Park in Massapequa at 9:30 am. Burns Park is one of the better fields on Long Island as it has a turf field. It was chosen since it is well suited to handle wet field conditions. As a result this game figures to get played regardless of weather conditions the day/night before.

If the Gamers win they will take on Game Face, who won the division, and then knocked off the #4 seed the Warriors on Wednesday night at Cantiague Park in a 2 out of 3 series. Game Face won the first game in dramatic fashion coming from five runs down in the bottom of the seventh inning and then winning on a walkoff grand slam. They then held on to win by two runs in the second game to secure the sweep.

The championship game will likely be held at 8 am at Cantiague Park in Hicksville prior to the start of the Turkey Shootout which is scheduled to start at 9:30. In the Shootout the Gamers are now scheduled to play the Warriors a high powered offensive team that went 9-2 during the Fall.

Between a playoff game on Saturday, possible championship game on Sunday and then the Turkey Shootout on top of it the Gamers are on in a for a long weekend. But if they pull through they could win win a league championship and a Turkey Shootout championship all in the same day.