Northern Division Semifinals Game 2: W2W4

When and where: Robbie Mills Field, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Starting Pitchers: Vermont TBD vs. Laconia's Shea Spitzbarth (4-2, 1.92 ERA)

Spitzbarth

Scouting Report on Spitzbarth:

The league leader in strikeouts with 50, Spitzbarth has faced the Mountaineers twice this season. He struck out three of the five batters he faced out of the bullpen on a 5-0 loss, and then fanned eight over 6 1/3 in a loss in his lone start.

He hasn't been used exclusively as a starter, but the righthander from Molloy get's strikeouts whenever he's on the mound. Spitzbarth's eight strikeout performance was a tough loss as he gave up three runs in the fourth and didn't get any run support by the time he left.

Three Muskrats to Watch:

Martinez

• Braxton Martinez, 3B: Martinez loves playing at the friendly confines of Robbie Mills Field, where he's hitting .354. He went 1-4 last night and looks to bounce back with a big Game 2.
• Jake Henson, C: Henson went 1-3 with a RBI single in the first inning for Laconia last night, and he looks to continue as the hottest hitter on the Muskrats. He hit a team-high .373 in July and .500 over the last five games of the regular season.
• Vinny Zarrillo, OF: Zarrillo was one of just two Muskrats to reach base twice last night, going 0-2 and drawing a pair of walks. He ended the season at .474 over his last five games and really needs to spark a Laconia offense that was held to just five hits.

Three Mountaineers to Watch:

Lyman

• Trey Amburgey, OF: Amburgey continued to hit the ball well as he's been one of the best hitters on the Mountaineers over the course of the summer. He drove in three runs on a 2-4 night and is now hitting .429 against Laconia. He also hit his only home run of the season at Robbie Mills Field, a three-run blast.
• Mike Krische, OF: Krische didn't get a start in Game 1 but he's on this list because he hit a home run in Laconia last time he was there and the park is suited for the power he has. 
• Colin Lyman, OF: The NECBL Player of the Week drove in two more runs last night and is the hottest hitter in the league, at .650 over his last 20 at bats. His two-run double broke a 3-3 tie and sparked four more runs, and it was a good way to bounce back after starting the night 0-3. 

Three Key Considerations:

• A win tonight puts the Mountaineers into the division finals for the second consecutive year and the sixth time in franchise history.
• Josh Treff started behind the plate last night, and Evan Harasta came in as a defensive replacement after a pinch-hitter, so Trey West will most likely be getting the nod at catcher.
• Laconia went through three different relievers after starter Jack English last night during that seven-run seventh, including 26 pitches from Mariano Rivera and 29 from Eric Freeman. Neither will be available tonight, so it'll be interesting to see if the Muskrats have enough depth.