The season is coming to a close in New England, with a little over a week left in the regular season. Divisional races, playoff spots are more in play now than they will ever be. Both divisions are very closely packed, with the fifth team who's trying to get a playoff spot just a half game or so back. Teams like the Keene Swamp Bats have gone from worst to first, and others like the Sanford Mainers are just a half game from sneaking into the playoffs.
The NECBL regular season is always exciting. Frantic finishes, flashes of dominance accompany every season. Hitters who set new records, pitchers who ace their way through shutouts- the NECBL has it all. And on August 3rd, it is stepped up to another level- playoffs.
It's no surprise that the Newport Gulls are currently top in there division, in line to win the East and take the #1 seed in the playoffs. Since 2009, the Gulls have gone 118-48 and been the #1 seed in the East for four straight years. They've also been in the championship series eight of the last ten, and have won five titles.
Last summer, the Gulls went 31-10 and won 11 straight at the end of the season cruising through the playoffs. They lost their first game before going 6-0 to sweep through the East and beat the Westerners for the title.
This summer is no different, as Newport holds the best record in the NECBL once again and in a recent ranking by Perfect Game USA, came in sixth out of all of the summer collegiate baseball teams in the country.
Rounding out the East are the second place Ocean State Waves. An expansion franchise in their first year, the Waves hold a 22-14 record and are just two games out of first place.
The Laconia Muskrats and Mystic Schooners follow in third and fourth, respectively but one team has been on a tear as of late.
The Sanford Mainers, possessors of a 17-18 record, are digging themselves out of a hole with a five game winning streak. The Mainers, now only a half game back of fourth place Mystic, are trying to continue their streak of making the playoffs. Sanford has made the playoffs every year dating back to 2007, where after a 19-24 record they shaped up and have made it for five straight years. They won in 2008, but haven't made it back to the championship since then.
Falling farther and farther back are the sixth and seventh teams in the Eastern Division, the New Bedford Bay Sox and another new team, the Plymouth Pilgrims. New Bedford has gone the other way after reaching the division championship last summer, where they fell to Newport.
Plymouth, on the other hand has struggled mightily in their first NECBL season, currently holding the worst record in the league, a 12-25 mark.
In the West a familiar face sits atop the standings, the Keene Swamp Bats. A miraculous run has brought them here, even after starting 3-11 on the season and in the bottom of the division. Keene has been good for a long time, and have been the #1 seed three out of the past four years, including winning in 2011.
Following up in their footsteps is the Vermont Mountaineers, who've been on a cold streak of late. Previously holding the best record in the league, the Mountaineers have gone 4-6 over their last ten and have dropped to a game and a half behind Keene. Vermont has made the playoffs the previous two years, but were knocked out in the first round both times.
As of now, the North Adams Steeplecats are in third place. The #1 seed back in 2010, North Adams has never won a NECBL title or even make it to the championship series. Behind North Adams and currently holding on to the #4 seed are the Saratoga Brigade, in their first NECBL season.
The Brigade are 16-18 and a game up on the Holyoke Blue Sox behind them in what looks to be an exciting race for the last playoff spot. Behind the Blue Sox, the Danbury Westerners sit two games back. Like the Bay Sox, the Westerners have almost reversed their last season when they went to the NECBL championship as the #2 seed and lost to Newport.
All in all, few teams are "out of the playoff race" and it makes for an exciting last week of baseball.
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