Varsity Baseball “Underdogs” Show up Strong During Playoffs

Last year, the Hills West Varsity Baseball team glided into the league playoffs as a second seed team, with many around the league saying they were favorites for the league title. This year they are still contenders, but the younger squad are coming in as a nine-seed squad.

Following a 13-5 regular season, they have beaten two tough teams in the playoffs. In the first game they beat Connetquot, last year’s Suffolk County Champs, 10-1. In that game, both the offense and defense came alive, with senior Sal Lovaglio having a very solid outing on the mound. The next game they faced an even tougher East Islip squad, who won the regular season title this year.  This was a game that they were heavily favored to lose, as the Colts had lost twice to them this season. Things seemed hopeless in the beginning, as East Islip took an early 4-0 lead, but senior David Golinowski drove in 4 runs, including a two-run homer that gave the Colts a 5-4 victory.

And now, even though they were the underdogs in the first two games, the Colts now see themselves as the favorites. “Every game we win now [will be] considered an upset, we are a Cinderella team to most but we never viewed ourselves as one. We know that we have the talent to beat any team on Long Island, and the only team that can beat us is ourselves,” said senior Jonah Glickstein following the East Islip game.

When asked about the difference between last year’s second seed team and this year’s lower-ranked squad, Glickstein added, “Last year’s motto was ‘why not us’, this year it’s ‘nobody but us.'”

If you want to follow the Colt’s playoff run, scan the QR code below.