The 2015 regular season is officially in the books and the postseason has arrived! The playoff field is set in the MABL Division, where the top 8 teams will compete for the ultimate prize — the 2015 MABL championship.

With a 19-5 regular season record, the defending champion Athletics captured the top seed in the division and will host the No. 8-seeded Orioles, who earned their way into the dance with a walk-off win in their final regular season game.

Orioles (8) vs. Athletics (1)

The defending champs didn't miss a beat in 2015, capturing the No. 1 seed for the first time in team history after setting a franchise record for wins. The A's became the first team to reach 19 wins since the Blue Jays did it in 2010.

It was a team effort all year long for the A's, who won with dominant pitching, tight defense, and timely hitting, as evidenced by their 10-3 record in 1-run games.

The A's offense lost one of the league's most feared bats in Nick Tapper, but newcomer Nick Barton plugged the hole. Barton made a strong case for ROY and MVP honors, batting .426 with 3 home runs, 3 doubles, and 11 RBIs.

After a 5-game retirement, Alan Donaruma rejoined the squad and hit .447 in the regular season, increasing his career hits to 284, good for 4th-best all time in the MABL 18+ Division.

The A's are joined by steady veterans Andrew Billig, Jordan Krall, Bo McIntyre, and Patrick Vetter to form a fearsome lineup.

The breakout offensive star for the A's, though, has been Warren Asdornvuttikrai. At just 18 years old, Asdornvuttikrai transformed himself from a singles hitter into a middle-of-the-lineup talent, leading the team in slugging at .711, with 2 home runs, and 3 triples.

Rounding out the A's lineup are Jay Lamoureux, Dave Clarke, Brett O'Keefe, Brian Colella, Tom Vadala, and Will Wilde. With this talent, it is no surprise they are among the leaders in runs scored and batting average.

However, despite their potent lineup, the A's successful run in the regular season was due in large part to the A's pitching staff, anchored by long time veterans Kyle Breidenstine and Jason Kurtz.

Breidenstine finished the regular season with a 5-1 record, 2.02 ERA, 1.067 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts over 45 innings, while walking just 6 batters all season. Kurtz finished just behind Breidenstine with a 4-1 record, 2.14 ERA, and 29 strikeouts over 36 innings.

The A's third starter is second-year man Brendan Huber. The burly right-hander notched a stellar 1.44 ERA and an impressive 1.19 ERA. Relief duties will be handled by Brett O'Keefe, who finished with a 5-1 record, 1.91 ERA, and 31 strikeouts in 33 innings.

Standing in the way of another A's playoff run is the No. 8-seeded Orioles, who reached the postseason for the first time since 2009.

Jason Bressner's squad captured the 8-seed with a 10-14 record. They were an unlucky 2-6 in one-run games, but a few bounces of the ball in their favor and they are battling for a division crown.

The Orioles feature a strong influx of talent, steadied by a solid core, who led the league in runs scored, which is not surprising considering their lineup includes 10 of 14 playoff-eligible players who batted over .333 on the season.

Junior Rodriguez and Andre Souffrant both hit over .430 and were substantial power threats. The middle of the lineup is also very strong, with Michael Bartlett, Myles Comeau, Evan Derochea, and Leo Romero each driving in more than 10 runs during the year.

Not to mention the O's shortstop Leo Romero, who is arguably the most talented defensive player in the league. Veteran Jose De Los Santos steadied the O's offense, as always, driving hard-hit line drives all over the field.

While the O's had a leading offense, their pitching staff struggled to a 4.16 ERA. Still, they have shown the ability to win ball games. The O's staff is anchored by former MABL Padre Carlos Osorio and Robert Nadel.

Osorio composed a 3-2 record, 3.50 ERA, and 1.357 WHIP. Nadel is a classic power pitcher, striking out 1.04 batters per inning while posting a 3.64 ERA and 1.280 WHIP. The rest of the staff is very much by committee. Fourteen different Orioles took the mound over the course of the regular season.

While the A's had a banner year, any MABL veteran can tell you that anything can happen in the postseason. In this series, it's the A's pitching and defense versus the Orioles' strong offense.

These division foes squared off three times in the regular season, with the A's sweeping the series, although 2 of the 3 games could have easily gone the other way.

Game 1 was a pitcher's duel, with only 8 hits between the two teams, a 4-0 A's win. Game 2 was a tight, back-and-forth contest, ending with a score of 4-3. Game 3 was an offensive showcase, as the teams combined for 22 runs in just five innings, resulting in a 15-7 A's win.

The smart money says that the series will play out similar to Game 2, all tight games with strong offenses, good pitching, and spectacular defense.

Anything can happen in a 3-game series, so don't count out the Orioles just yet, as they look to pull off the upset. Look for this series to go 3 games.

Game 1: Tuesday, 9/8 at Charlestown - Ryan, 8pm
Game 2: Thursday, 9/10 at Waltham - Nipper, 7:30pm
Game 3: Saturday, 9/12 - Field TBD, 7 or 8pm (if necessary)

Grays (7) vs. Spinners (2)

After finishing atop the league last season, the Cambridge Spinners had an unceremonious, early playoff exit. Knowing what they had wasn't enough, the Spinners retooled, adding fresh faces to the pitching staff and veteran presences to the line up.

The 2015 season saw an emergence of rookies for the Spinners, as their pitching staff was led by Dan Blum and Luc Kocher. Kocher finished just shy of the league lead in ERA (1.14), but did finish tops in WHIP, while striking out 35 batters over 37 innings.

Blum finished the regular season at the top of almost every pitching category. His 7 wins were most in the league, and he also finished top 3 in ERA (1.42), IP (54.1), K's (54), and SOIP (.994). Marty Clarke and veteran Dan Blomerth fill out the staff. Clarke finished 3rd in the league with 1.16 SOIP.

The Spinners' offense ranked 3rd in the league with a .318 team batting average, with 10 players batting .300 or higher. For much of the year, their hitting was paced by rookie Bobby Maccioli, who batted .424 with 25 hits and 11 RBI's.

The 2015 season saw the return of Mike Mori, who not only brings a solid bat to the Spinners' lineup, but also a competitive edge that has been absent since he left.

Sitting at the top of the lineup are Valdiviezo, Salvia, and Knell. Valdiviezo and Salvia are a tough 1-2 punch, both with 20+ hits this season and 10+ steals.

Rounding out the lineup are Gaffney and Killoren. Both guys started slow but have come alive, swinging big bats and combining for 16 hits in the final 6 games.

Overall, the Spinners have a deep squad, full of MABL veterans and core players that have been stalwarts on the team for years, including Danny Caceres, Joe and Mike Tufo, Pat Canning, Greg Megerdichian, and Armando De Los Santos. They are led by their quiet team leader Omar Caceres. Omar anchors the infield and with his tireless play, leads by example.

The Spinners and Grays will face off in the 1st round. These teams are no strangers to each other. For the past 6 seasons, these teams have taken turns in the top spot of the Bay State Division, and have a combined 4 Finals appearances, with the Grays last capturing a title in 2012.

Neither team has missed the playoffs during these years. In 2014, the Grays swept the regular season series. In 2015 the Spinners finished 2-1, with the Grays taking the 1st game and Spinners taking the next 2. With how well each team knows each other, this is sure to be a hard-fought series by both sides.

Game 1: Thursday, 9/10 at Melrose - Morelli, 8:00pm
Game 2: Saturday, 9/12 at Malden - Maplewood Park, 8:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, 9/13 at Malden - Maplewood Park, 8:00pm (if necessary)

Dodgers (6) vs. Red Sox (3)

Bill Ferdinand's Red Sox come into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed, after producing a 17-6-1 record, their best finish since joining the league in 2008.

Their lineup is what got them there, producing a league-leading .347 team batting average, including three players who hit over .500.

Tyler Ferdinand made a strong case for MVP honors, hitting .534 while leading the league with 31 hits and 14 stolen bases.

All Stars Tom Lenane and Evan Chand also hit over .500, and Jon Letourneau returned to the Sox lineup after a 1-year hiatus, driving in 23 runs in 21 games. The Red Sox also had great performances from Bill Ferdinand, Nick Radcliffe, and Craig Persechini.

There really aren't many holes in the Red Sox lineup, but a team can't win 17 games without great pitching.

The Red Sox' pitching staff ranked 5th in the league with a 2.36 ERA. The rotation was anchored by rookie Andrew Ferrazzani, who threw 50 innings, nearly double that of any other Red Sox pitcher. Ferrazzani posted a 2-2 record on the hill with a 2.35 ERA and 59 K's.

The Red Sox pieced it together with veteran starters Tom Lenane (5-0, 2.53 ERA), Nick Radcliffe (3-2, 2.47 ERA), and Tyler Ferdinand.

The Dodgers limped into the playoffs this year after losing their last six games of the regular season and finishing with a record of 12-12.

Regardless, this team has shown they can beat the top-ranked teams, defeating both the top-seeded A's and second-seeded Spinners in regular season action. They also gained some important playoff experience last season, upsetting the top-ranked Spinners in the quarterfinals.

The Dodgers' lineup boasts some standout bats and dynamic baserunning. The top of their lineup features Drew Cumming (.413, 26 hits, 10 SB), Trevor Barsamian (.426, 3 2B), Rudy Hersh (.300), Mike Hurley (.295), and SS Alex Ahmed (.292, 21 hits, 5 2B, 10 SB).

Since joining the league in 2013, Jeff Hall has put together one of the league's most consistent pitching staffs, defined by the fact that they rarely walk anyone and their pitchers are workhorses on the mound.

Mike Cole produced a 1.13 ERA in 37.1 innings with only 13 walks, and player-manager Jeff Hall finished with a 1.83 ERA in 49.2 innings, walking just 17 batters. The rotation is rounded out by Dave Roberts, who threw 60 innings with a 3.85 ERA.

The Red Sox took both ends of a double header against the Dodgers to end the regular season on 8/30, winning 11-10 and 4-0. The Dodgers won their first matchup back on 8/8 by a score of 6-2 in 9 innings.

It seems as if the Red Sox should be able to duplicate their efforts in the double header and take this series down in 2 games. However, during those games, Dave Roberts threw a 9 inning CG for the W in game 1, and both ends of the DH.

This could have been some great strategizing by manager Jeff Hall, as the Red Sox have yet to face Mike Cole and had limited exposure to Jeff Hall. If Cole and Hall can keep the speedsters Tyler Ferdinand and Evan Chand off the bases, this series is up for grabs.

Look for this series to be tight all the way and possibly go to a Game 3.

Tuesday, September 8 at 7:30pm - Waltham, Nipper Maher Park
Wednesday, September 9 at 7:30pm - Waltham, Nipper Maher Park
Saturday, September 12 at 2:00pm - Middleboro, Pierce Playground (if necessary)

Check back here soon for additional matchup analysis.