Podcast: Matt Feld’s MIAA Tournament preview, predictions

The opening round of the MIAA Tournament begins this afternoon with matchups in all five divisions. (Kyle Prudhomme/NEBJ)

The opening round of the MIAA Tournament kicks off this afternoon, and we have no shortage of coverage.

For those who prefer the podcast platform, here’s an entertaining listening experience for you. The Base Path Podcast co-hosts Dan Guttenplan and Matt Feld go through the MIAA Tournament brackets, sizing up potential upsets, matchups of title contenders, favorites, and impact players. Each of the hosts also makes state championship predictions.

Feld expects the D1 state championship race to come down to the top four seeds — Franklin, Taunton, Westford Academy and Central Catholic — although he would not be surprised to see a lower-seeded team knock off one of those top seeds to advance to the D1 semifinals.

“I think the favorites are the favorites,” Feld said. “More so than last year, there are teams throughout this tournament that could make it very interesting, whether it’s ninth-seeded Bridgewater-Raynham or eighth-seeded Weymouth. They could certainly upset the apple cart.”

Also included in our MIAA Tournament preview content:

• A D1 preview with 20 players to watch
• 10 candidates for MIAA Player of the Year
• A MIAA Tournament page with results and schedules

While top-seeded Milton and second-seeded Leominster appear primed to face off in the D2 final, Feld believes a few other schools could compete for a spot in the championship game at Polar Park.

“King Philip was in the state final last year,” Feld said. “They’re a team that had big expectations coming into the year, but they’ve struggled through some injuries to the pitching staff. Whitman-Hansen won the Patriot League. The odds are that Milton and Leominster will probably meet in the final, but there are landmines. St. Mary’s played well down the stretch. Duxbury is another team that I’m watching after the way they mashed the baseball this year.”

Listen to the entire MIAA Tournament preview.

The New England Baseball Journal podcast is brought to you by the University of Nebraska High School.

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