Private school baseball & softball preview

The sun is shining, the snow is melting and it is time to get ready for high school baseball and softball season in Riverdale.

For Ivy Prep League baseball, it will be all about trying to catch Poly Prep. The Brooklyn powerhouse has won seven straight Ivy Prep League championships and four straight titles in the New York State Association of Independent Schools.

The Riverdale team with the best chance of dethroning the Blue Devils will be Ethical Culture Fieldston. The Eagles finished 13-6 before falling to Poly Prep in the second round of the Ivy Prep playoffs last season. Fieldston will be led by sophomore leadoff hitter Kai Nelson, who batted .340 last season as a freshman.

The Eagles graduated eight seniors last year, but head coach Tony Marro doesn’t expect the team to lose a step. 

“Column wise, I think we’re going to be fine,” he said. “It’s more [about] coming together as a team and making sure the new guys understand the culture and work ethic that’s expected of them.”

Horace Mann, which was ousted by Fieldston in the playoffs last season, will also face some growing pains after losing 12 seniors. Senior captain Owen Dubeck, however, is poised for a big season after batting .375 last year. 

The Lions will also get back sophomore Alexander Silverman, who was injured toward the end of last season. Head coach Neil Berniker expects Silverman to improve from last season and play a bigger role. 

For Riverdale Country School, head coach Doug McDonald hopes his team’s growing pains are in the rearview mirror. After missing the playoffs with just nine combined wins the past two seasons, the Falcons feel poised to turn it around with a predominantly upperclassmen team.

All-conference player senior Charlie Davis will continue to produce in the middle of the lineup while McDonald hopes starting pitcher Jared Gear will be one of the 11 juniors on the team to step up and turn the program around.

For the Riverdale softball teams, Fieldston will try to defend its NYSAIS Championship. The Eagles went undefeated in league play, but will lose four of its starters from last season.