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| Nick Solak is hitting .444 to start the playoffs. /Crowley Photos |
These teams are very familiar with eachother, having faced off six times- with the Mountaineers posting a record of 5-1. It's is the second time they've faced off in the division finals, with Vermont winning back in 2006. This year's regular seasons series has been hotly contested, with the largest winning margin just four runs. This series should be just as competitive.
This is a matchup of the top pitching staffs in the Northern Division during the regular season - the Mainers (2.70) and Mountaineers (2.89) rank second and third in the league in ERA, only behind Plymouth. This series could come down to a few runs here and their- just like the regular season matchups.
One main reason Vermont has taken five of six against Sanford is the advantage in hitting. Vermont hit .265 as a team in the regular season, with the Mainers were third to last at .225. The Mountaineers are even better when they take on Sanford's pitching, as their team average rises to .272 while the Mainers ERA is at 4.21.
Meanwhile, the Vermont pitching has a 1.84 ERA against Sanford, holding them to just a .201 batting average. Of course, that includes 14 one-run innings from Elliot Ashbeck, who was shutdown by his college coach and hasn't been available throughout the playoffs.
They still have plenty of depth, however. Ryan Davis and Daniel Koger are unavailable to start after both throwing over 100 pitches in the sweep of Laconia, but manager Joe Brown still have plenty of options. Jim McDade and Nick Miceli both have thrown seven shutout innings against the Mainers.
Sanford needed all three games to advance, so manager Aaron Izaryk has less choices out of the bullpen. He won't have All-Star starter Rich Vrana, who threw 101 pitches on Tuesday, but Nick Poore and Christian Lavoie could rest and be available in the second half of the series.
Izaryk could send Ben Wessel to the mound- the righthander threw eight one-run innings against Vermont or fellow righthander Robert Ruse, who's faced the Mountaineers twice. It's all pure speculation, of course, as Sanford hasn't listed a probable pitcher and Vermont was waiting for their opponent.
In terms of the bullpen, both teams have strong pitchers coming out of the pen. Vermont is 21-1 when winning after five innings as their relievers can close it out- including 23-0 when they enter the ninth with a lead. Three different pitchers on the Mountaineers have at least three saves, including five from All-Star closer Jared Gesell.
The Mainers are also strong, 18-4 after five, as their bullpen also features an All-Star closer in Cam Hatch. Hatch has eight saves including one in game two against Keene and also struck out two in a save against Vermont.
In terms of offense, there's no question on who has the advantage. Vermont boasts a lineup that features some of the best hitters in the league, including the 3-4-5 All-Star combination of Trey Amburgey, Blake Tiberi and Mike Vigliarolo. That doesn't even mention recent NECBL Player of the Week and team leader in average Colin Lyman, who hit .379, or Nick Solak who's 4-9 with a home run to start the playoffs as well as many others.
Sanford doesn't have a player over .300 who qualifies for the batting title, and hit just .198 in their three-game series with the Swamp Bats.
In what could be many pitchers duels, Vermont will have an advantage on the offensive side and it could make the difference. If the Mountaineers get an early lead behind one of their many potent bats, Sanford will have a hard time getting back into it. It should be a very good matchup as they battle for a shot at the league championship, meeting the winner of Plymouth-Newport.
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