The Flood Ford Auto Connie Mack baseball team entered the week with an 8-3 record and in first place as it looks to defend its title from last summer.

Flood’s most recent win came in a comeback effort when it topped West Warwick in a pivotal 6-3 victory. West Warwick led 3-0 after five innings, but the Flood offense would take off starting in the sixth.

Drew McCaffrey got Flood on the board when he hit a two-run double to make it 3-2 after six. Dylan Poloski hit an RBI single to tie things up in the seventh and then Yadier Blanco drove in two more runs. Flood set the score to 6-3 with a bases loaded walk. Cam Daley got the win on the mound by pitching two scoreless innings of relief.

Pitching has been strong for Flood for the balance of the regular season. Flood’s prior win was much thanks to Nolan LaPerche, who tossed five perfect innings while striking out 15 batters. Ben Picone highlighted the offense with a solo home run as well.

As the playoffs approach, Flood manager Bryan Leahey feels that the team is starting to peak at the right time.

“Everything is starting to get clearer. The guys we can lean on pitching wise, the guys that we can set ourselves up with to go on a good run like we have the last few years,” Leahey said.

The division has been the most competitive it has been in years, with Flood, West Warwick and Warwick PAL battling for seeding. La Salle is in first place in the second division.

With the three teams all playing quality baseball, Leahey believes it will all come down to who performs the best on game day.

“It all comes down to who shows up on the day you play. Which pitcher is on, which team can hit, which team is fielding. It’s like they say with football, any given Sunday, it’s the same with summer baseball. It’s about who’s more locked in, focused and ready to get the job done,” Leahey said.

The regular season wraps up this week and the opening round of the playoffs is slated for Monday. The top three teams get a first-round bye, which makes these final days even more important.

Although Flood said bye to much of its championship core, Leahey is confident in his deep pitching staff and returners as it looks to go back to back.

“We have a new group this year and those guys last year passed the torch, teaching the returners the system we use. We just have to go out there and play our style of baseball,” Leahey said. “We can’t make sloppy mistakes, give them easy runs, and we need to stay focused. We need to play to the best of our abilities.”