Keene Swamp Bats 2014 Preview

NECBL.com has released the first of their team previews for the upcoming season, so I've decided to breakdown the lineups, rotation and bullpens of every teams to accompany their players to watch. Every team will be previewed by the season opener on June 5th.

Last season, the Keene Swamp Bats started the season absolutely terrible. Keene came out of the gate with a 4.50 team ERA and a measly .236 average before completely turning it around- hitting .302 in May with a dominant 2.15 ERA. 

Returning reliever Matt Clancy leads a strong bullpen. /Sports NH

3-11 in June. 23-5 in July- it really was the tale of two halves for the champions, who used stellar pitching and clutch hits to fight past a scrappy Mountaineers team in the Western Division finals and to overcome the Newport Gulls in the league finals.

This season, the Swamp Bats have assembled what team president Kevin Watterson is calling "the best team we've ever had on paper."

Rotation

Last years rotation featured one of the best collegiate pitchers in D-I, Virginia's Nathan Kirby. The league's top pro prospect and rookie of the year fanned 60 in 43 innings while posting a 1.67 ERA and led the Bats to a 2.78 ERA, third in the league. He's gone, but several of his talented teammates return. Keene only had two starters with seven starts last year but they've assembled a group of strong starters. Cochise College righty  Darick Hall (6-4, 2.60 ERA), Kent St lefty Eric Lauer (7-3, 3.04 ERA) and Central Connecticut St righty Matt Blandino (3-3, 3.28 ERA) are all strong candidates. Other pitchers who've seen starts this spring and have chances at being a part of the rotation are St Leo's Michael Dunnigan and Winthrop's Zach Cook.

Bullpen

This is a really big strength for the Swamp Bats coming into the 2014 season. Last summer, nobody was arguably better out of the bullpen then St. Johns lefty Matt Clancy. Clancy went 5-0 last season with a 1.95 ERA in 15 appearances and 41 strikeouts over 32 innings. After Clancy, Kent State's John Birkbeck returns after going 2-2 with over 26 innings and 11 appearances. Finally, the Swamp Bats brought in another talented closer to replace James Connell, who led the league in saves last season. Southern New Hampshire's Benjamin Criscuolo will most likely get the ninth inning job after picking up 14 saves and holding a 1.01 ERA in 24 innings and an impressive 0.77 WHIP.

Offense:

Eric Gutierrez leads a strong lineup. /Texas Tech

Last year, Keene had the best offense in the league with a .273 mark and 36 home runs. Numbers like that seem hard to replicate but the Swamp Bats could do it with a talented lineup, led by Texas Tech star Eric Gutierrez. Breakdown below.

Lineup

C       Robbie Coman (R)
Played 35 games for D-I powerhouse Virginia, hit .250 with three doubles
1B     Eric Gutierrez (R)
Rare right-handed power who should thrive in the confines of Alumni Field (23 XBH)
2B     Taylor Perez (R)
Fast infielder, swiped seven bases, 25 walks to 25 strikeouts, .316 average
SS     Jared Mederos (R)
Very talented middle infielder, .363 with 34 RBIs and 24 runs on St. Johns
3B     Zach Lauricella (R)
Played third a little for St. Johns, good bat, hit .288 with 13 doubles
LF      Ro Coleman (R)
Played in left for elite Vanderbilt, hit .170 with 14 runs scored and 14 walks
CF     Stephen Smith (R)
Gutierrez teammate on Texas Tech hit .318 with 46 RBIs and 30 runs
RF     Alex Liquori (L)
Hit .361 for Kennesaw St, 13 doubles, 5 triples, 41 RBIs
DH     Darick Hall (R)
On the roster as a pitcher but hit .318 with 13 doubles for Cochise

Rotation
LH     Chris Sadberry 
Sadberry went 4-2 with a 3.34 ERA for Texas Tech over 12 starts
RH     Darick Hall
Hall, a solid hitter as well, went 6-4 with a 2.60 ERA over 79.2 innings
RH     David Drouin
Made six starts for Hartford, 3.25 ERA over 36 innings
LH      Ryan Lawlor
Went 4-5 with a 3.98 ERA for Georgia, 6.5 K/9
RH     Michael Dunnigan
7-3 over 10 starts and 16 appearances, 5.03 ERA for St Leo

Bullpen
RH      Benjamin Criscuolo (Closer)
Picked up 14 saves for Southern New Hampshire, impressive 1.01 ERA and .77 WHIP
LH      Matthew Clancy
Dominant last season in Keene, player to watch on the Swamp Bats
RH     John Birkbeck
Solid last season for the Swamp Bats, 3.12 ERA over 11 appearances
RH     Sam Triece
Triece was great last year for Keene and was solid this past season for Washington St
RH     Connor Jones
A strong pitcher for Virginia, 2.77 ERA over 48.2 IP (21 appearances)

Player to Watch
This is a tough one on this loaded Swamp Bats team, but Matt Clancy is the bullpen creature that every opposing team should fear. He had a 1.95 ERA last season in Keene with 1.3 strikeouts per inning and should control the middle innings once again.