SANFORD — The playoffs are often called the second season, which is a little odd.
After all, reaching them is every team’s first priority.
So it was for the Sanford Mainers, who, two years removed from their most recent NECBL championship, embark tonight on a new quest for the Fay Vincent Cup.
The Mainers (23-19), who finished third in the Eastern Division, will meet second place finishers, the North Shore Navigators (25-17), in a best-of-three opening round set.
Game One (first pitch slated for 6:15 p.m.) will be staged in Lynn, Mass. at Fraser Field, a venerable venue that like Sanford’s own home, Goodall Park, can boast of once having been visited by Babe Ruth.
The seen will shift to Sanford, Tuesday (6:30 p.m.), with Game Three, if necessary, being played back at Fraser Field.
On the face of it, the Mainers couldn’t have asked for a better first round opponent.
After all, they did take five of six regular season meetings with the Navs, including all three games at Fraser.
But, as Mainers manager Aaron Izaryk cautioned, “the regular season gets left in the regular season. That’s why it’s there. We know them, and they know us, and the first one to win two is going to move on.”
Like the Mainers, North Shore is a well balanced squad, one that win in any of three ways, pitching, hitting, and defense.
The Navs’ attack is led by outfielder Jason Banos of Columbia University, who finished the season with a seven game hitting streak and a .348 batting average (third in the league).
Freshman lefty Crayton Bare (3-1, 1.98) out of Baylor, is the ace of the staff, although his lone loss of the year was pinned on him by the Mainers on July 27.
“They’re a good ball club,” said Izaryk. “(But) hopefully we can match the intensity they have, and play some hard ball games, starting with (the first) one.”
Lefty Shane Davis (2-3, 2.66), will get the start tonight for Sanford against Bare. Both of Davis’ wins this year came against the Navs.
The other East Division series will pit defending champions the Newport Gulls against the Laconia Muskrats, who clinched their playoff spot on the final day with a 9-6 win over the Mainers at Goodall Park.
In the West, North Adams will meet Keene in one series, while Danbury and Bristol will clash in the other.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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