Suffolk Class AA softball runner-up last spring after winning 19 games, East Islip has its sights set on unfinished business and bringing home the county title with a roster loaded with young talent.

The Redmen (13-5 overall) enter the playoffs with the League IV crown in the bag as well as confidence-boosting victories over Smithtown East and powerhouse St. Anthony’s.

Longtime East Islip coach Jason McGowan believes the Class AA tournament is there for the taking for as many as five teams, but expects his club to present plenty of problems for lead contenders Eastport-South Manor, Smithtown West and West Babylon. West Islip, the defending county champ, lost both regular-season meetings with the Redmen, the likely top seed.

“We’re young, but at the same time we’re experienced, with every starter from last year back,” McGowan said. “We feel we have what it takes to win this thing.”

Though only a freshman, pitcher Caitlin Ropiak is fast developing as one of the top arms in Suffolk and also swings a strong bat. She’s a returning starter in the circle who competed on the biggest stage a year ago in the best-of-three county championship series. She enters the postseason with a record of 10-4, a 2.48 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 87 innings. She no-hit Comsewogue and Deer Park and helped her own cause at times with three homers, 16 RBIs and eight stolen bases.

“Cate is mentally tough, and the better the competition, the more she steps up,” McGowan said of Ropiak, who leads a staff that includes two more impressive pitchers in eighth-grader Alyssa Corso and fellow freshman Delaney Crowe. Corso has struck out 60 in only 30 innings and belted four homers. Both she and Crowe have a pair of saves.

Junior catcher Reagan O’Hara has worked almost every inning of every game and has been a vital piece in the young staff’s success, McGowan said. O’Hara is also the cleanup hitter, following infielders Marissa Renganeschi (second base), Lexi Kneisel (all-county shortstop) and Kayla Varga (all-state first baseman) in the lineup.

McGowan believes his middle infielders are among the best all-around players in the county. Renganeschi, a sophomore, sets the table and leads the team in hitting with a .452 average, hits (28), runs (30) and stolen bases (14), while Kneisel anchors the infield defense with a smooth glove and strong arm and makes excellent contact at the plate. Kneisel has a team-high 22 RBIs and a .386 average.

Varga, a lefty who as a sophomore last season batted .565 with three homers and 43 RBIs, continues to produce at a high level with a .446 average and 19 RBIs. Junior Sylvia Corso is rock-solid at third base.

Junior Kate Vessalico anchors East Islip’s outfield in center and has improved tremendously, McGowan said. She’s batting .333 and does it all in the field. Alyssa Corso plays right field when she’s not pitching, and junior Alexa Leonard is thriving in left.

Both of the Redmen’s league defeats came at the hands of Smithtown West (13-5 on April 11 and 2-1 on May 9.) Could the teams meet again later this month with much more at stake? “It’s very possible,” McGowan said.