Breaking down the baseball playoffs

Here's a primer on the baseball state tournaments, which were scheduled to start today but likely wll push to tomorrow in most cases because of the weather.

SJ Group 4

Field: 1. Eastern. 2. EHT. 3. Shawnee. 4. RV. 5. Washington Twp. 6. Vineland. 7. Clearview. 8. Lenape. 9. TR North. 10. Williamstown.. 11. Southern. 12. Cherokee. 13. Millville. 14. Jackson Memorial. 15. Kingsway. 16. AC.

Defending champion: Clearview.

Favorite: Eastern, although the Vikings are looking at extremely challenging games in the quarters and semis.

Darkhorse: Lenape. Not sure the Indians deserve this designation, since they've been a Top 10 team all season and have sat in the Top 5 for most of the last 2-3 weeks. But they are the No. 8 seed.

Darkhorse II: EHT. Not sure the Eagles deserve this designation, either, as the No. 2 seed. But they've been a little under the radar, hovering just outside the Top 10 for most of the season. Watch sophomore OF/P Jordan Sweeney, one of the state's top prospects in class of 2019.

Loaded field: You know this field is special when you have three first-round games that you badly want to see: Millville (with red-hot Buddy Kennedy) at RV; Cherokee (a sleeper of a 12 seed) at WT; and Williamstown at Clearview in a clash of TriCo Royal rivals as well as the last two champions of this sectional.

Player to watch: Eastern third baseman Davis Schneider is a strong candidate for player of the year because of both his hitting and his terrific glove work.

Pitcher to watch: WT senior Rich Racobaldo has bounced back from an early-season injury and could be hitting his stride just as the playoffs begin.

Best second-round game: If chalk holds, Lenape at Eastern will be a SJ finals-caliber clash in the quarters.

Final four-cast: WT at Eastern, Shawnee at EHT.

SJ Group 3

Field: 1. Hammonton. 2. Highland. 3. Lacey. 4. Deptford. 5. Delsea. 6. Mainland. 7. CH West. 8. Seneca. 9. Central. 10. Ocean City. 11. Pinelands. 12. GCIT. 13. Absegami. 14. Triton. 15. Cumberland. 16. Timber Creek.

Defending champion: Ocean City.

Favorite: Highland. Led by senior RHP Anthony Masselli, second-seeded Tartans rate the edge over top-seeded Hammonton, which has stumbled down the stretch.

Darkhorse: Take your pick. Delsea has come on strong in recent weeks and has a true ace in Brad Dobzanski. Deptford bears watching. CH West is a formidible No. 7 seed. Same goes for Seneca as the No. 8.

Second-round showdowns: Delsea at Deptford and CH West at Highland would be games to watch if form holds in the first round.

Player to watch: Seneca junior SS Kevin Gsell has been one of SJ's hottest hitters from Day One this season.

Pitcher to watch: CH West senior RHP John Stankiewicz has the ability to control every game in which he takes the mound.

Final four-cast: Lacey at Highland, Seneca at Delsea.

SJ Group 2

Field: 1. Delran. 2. Haddonfield. 3. West Deptford. 4. Manasquan. 5. Bordentown. 6. Oakcrest. 7. Cinnaminson. 8. Cedar Creek. 9. Manchester. 10. Collingswood. 11. Barnegat. 12. Pt. Pleasant Boro. 13. Sterling. 14. Middle Twp. 15. Lower Cape May. 16. Medford Tech.

Defending champion: West Deptford.

Favorite: Delran. The junior-heavy Bears have put together a strong season under veteran coach Rich Bender and have the pitching depth to make a deep run.

Darkhorse: Watch the Scotties. Senior Jimmy Porcelli is hitting .449 with 16 EB hits and senior Cody Schroeder is 4-0 with a 1.48 ERA and 39 Ks with 11 walks.

Rematchs, anyone: The semis could feature the third meeting of the season between Delran and Bordentown (Delran won both regular-season games by scores of 1-0 and 4-2) and West Deptford and Haddonfield (Bulldogs won the first 6-5 and Eagles took second 11-5).

Player to watch: Haddonfield senior SS Joey Loperfido is a Duke recruit with range in the field and power at the plate.

Pitcher to watch: Delran junior RHP Luke Smith has a fastball that sits around 86-87 mph and he's also a top hitter.

Final four-cast: Bordentown at Delran, West Deptford at Haddonfield.

SJ Group 1

Field: 1. Audubon. 2. Pennsville. 3. Gloucester. 4. Schalick. 5. Haddon Heights. 6. Gateway. 7.  Woodbury. 8. Haddon Twp. 9. Woodstown. 10. Maple Shade. 11. Paulsboro. 12. Glassboro. 13. Pitman. 14. Buena. 15. Overbrook. 16. Wildwood.

Defending champion: Pennsville.

Favorite: Audubon. The Green Wave have put together a consistently strong season highlighted by veteran coach Rich Horan's 500th career victory.

Darkhorse: Lots of choices here. Haddon Heights has a win over Audubon. The Woodstown-Haddon Twp. winner will bear watching. Don't sleep on Gateway and Woodbury and 13 seed Pitman has a pitcher in senior lefty Billy Cavender who can give every team in this field serious fits. And Buena is far from your typical No. 14 seed.

Player to watch: Check out Pennsville junior SS Max Dineen's numbers: 30 runs, 43 hits, 49 RBIs, 10 doubles, 8 triples, 7 homers,  .558 average. Wow.

Pitcher to watch: Audubon senior RHP Andrew Fehr is 6-1 and a top hitter as well. He's a bulldog on the mound, personifying the Green Wave approach.

Pitcher to watch, II: Check out Haddon Heights' senior RHP Matt Kennedy's numbers: 6-0, 0.91 ERA, 63 Ks, 6 BBs. Wow again.

Colonial championship game: Audubon won the Colonial Liberty. Haddon Heights won the Colonial Patriot. The neighborhood rivals could meet in the semis in a rematch from a May 3 regular-season won 11-5 by the Garnets as the Green Wave committed a highly uncharacteristic six errors.

Final four-cast: Haddon Heights at Audubon, Gateway at Pennsville.

Non-Public South A

Field: 1. Bishop Eustace. 2. St. Augustine. 3. RBC. 4. CBA. 5. SJ Metuchen. 6. Notre Dame. 7. Donovan Catholic. 8. Bishop Ahr. 9. PVI. 10. St. John Vianney. 11. Camden Catholic.

Defending champion: St. Augustine.

Favorite: St. Augustine. Fresh off winning the 44th annual Diamond Classic, the Hermits are rolling into the post-season with confidence and momentum.

Home cooking: No. 1 Bishop Eustace is tough to beat on its field off Rt. 70 in Pennsauken. The young Crusaders have a potent lineup and enough pitching depth to make another run.

Familiar foe: If PVI can beat Bishop Ahr in the 8-9 game, the Eagles get to visit No. 1 Bishop Eustace, one of their biggest rivals in every sport.

Player to watch: Sophomore Matt Orlando is a top hitter for BE and also is tough on the mound.

Pitcher to watch: Senior RHP Mike Miles was the unsung hero of the Hermits' triumph in the Diamond Classic. He pitched a complete-game, three-hitter with seven Ks in a 2-0 win over a strong Shawnee team in the semifinals on Sunday afternoon.

Final four-cast: CBA at Bishop Eustace, RBC at St. Augustine.

Non-Public South B

Field: 1. GC. 2. St. Rose. 3. Holy Cross. 4. Holy Spirit. 5. St. Joe Hammonton. 6. Rutgers Prep. 7. Trenton Catholic. 8. Doane Academy. 9. Immaculata. 10. Calvary Christian. 11. Mater Dei. 12. Timothy Christian. 13. Wardlaw Hartridge.

Defending champion: Holy Cross.

Favorite: GC. The Rams move down to NP B after spending most of the last several seasons in NP A. They are smarting from tough loss to St. Augustine in Diamond Classic final.

Darkhorse: Holy Spirit. The Spartans won a state title in this group two years ago with many of this team's seniors on the field as sophomores.

Third time the charm: Rivals St. Joe and Holy Spirit could meet for the third time in the second round. SJ won the first two games.

Player to watch: Holy Cross junior Zac Taylor: 36 hits, 31 RBIs, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, .468 average.

Pitchers to watch: GC senior LHP Brendan Bean, a Penn recruit, and junior LHP Andrew Vail, a Maryland recruit, form a potent 1-2 punch at the top of the Rams' rotation.

Final four-cast: Holy Spirit at GC, Holy Cross at St. Rose.

-- Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com

-- Follow @PhilAnastasia on Twitter

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