The Post's All-Staten Island baseball honors

Unlike last spring, the postseason was not a happy time on Staten Island. Defending champions St. Joseph by the Sea (CHSAA) and Tottenville (PSAL) experienced playoff heartbreak.

The Pirates fell to George Washington in the PSAL Class A final while Sea was shocked by upstart Cardinal Hayes in the qualifying round of the CHSAA postseason.

Led by a balanced offense, stellar defense and standout starting pitching, Monsignor Farrell enjoyed an unexpected run during the regular season, winning its first 14 games and claiming the CHSAA division title and was the No. 2 seed in the Class AA championship tournament, but never was able to put it together in the playoffs, either.

robert cole

Tottenville's Tom Kain is The Post's All-Staten Island baseball Player of the Year.

Denis Gostev

Tottenville's Tom Tierney Jr. is The Post's All-Staten Island baseball Coach of the Year.

All-Staten Island baseball Player of the Year: Tom Kain, Tottenville

Kevin Krause was the star hitting, a power-hitting catcher that drew attention of Major League scouts. Michael Sullivan was the ace left-hander with the blazing fastball.

Tom Kain?

He just produced.

The Gloucester County College (N.J.)-bound senior third baseman, who played all over the infield, didn’t draw headlines like the Pirates’ other two stars. But he stayed healthy, led Tottenville with 27 RBIs, 22 runs scored, nine doubles and batted .614, helping the Staten Island dynamo win its 28th straight division title and return to the PSAl Class AA final.

Kain's steady leadership skills, confidence and poise under pressure is irreplaceable.

All-Staten Island Coach of the Year: Tom Tierney Jr., Tottenville

It was a difficult year for the 12th-year coach as his father, Tom Tierney Sr., passed away at the age of 82 April 12 from natural causes. Tierney Sr. was the program’s architect, but his son has picked up where he left off, winning five titles in 12 years and guiding the Pirates back to the PSAL Class A title game, though they fell to George Washington, 4-2.

“The torch was passed to the right person,” said McKee/Staten Island Tech coach Mike Grippo, a Tottenville alum.

While loaded with fundamentally sound and skilled players, Tottenville did struggle midway through the year, losing back-to-back games to Grand Street Campus and Lehman in the Monroe Tournament, falling to Susan Wagner in league and dropping the Clarkstown South Tournament championship game to George Washington.

Top-heavy much of the year, Tierney changed his lineup when Krause returns for the playoffs. The alterations – moving power-hitting catcher Kevin Krause to cleanup, pushing designated hitter George Kantizan back to sixth, moving up sophomore Anthony Capo to fifth – worked wonders. The Pirates have scored 27 runs in its last three playoff wins, more than enough support for their lockdown pitching staff.