Tuesday's Probable Pitchers: NECBL Playoffs Day 2

Here are tonight's probable pitchers for day two of the NECBL playoffs as four teams sit on the brink of elimination.

No. 1 Vermont at No. 4 Laconia, Robbie Mills Field, 6:30 p.m. (Vermont leads 1-0)

Shea Spitzbarth (Muskrats): The league leader in strikeouts (50), Spitzbarth, a junior from Molloy College, looks to help Laconia fend off elimination. He averages almost 10 per nine innings and is 4-2 with a 1.92 ERA over seven starts and three bullpen appearances. Spitzbarth has faced the Mountaineers twice, once out of the bullpen and another time in a start. He's thrown eight innings against the Northern Division champions and racked up 11 strikeouts and has a 3.40 head-to-head ERA.

Daniel Koger (Mountaineers)*: Koger looks to carry the Mountaineers to the Northern Division finals as the lanky lefty from Auburn (transferring to Alabama-Huntsville) enters with a 2.31 ERA over seven starts. He's 4-1 and has five quality starts as well as five shutout innings on June 18th against the Muskrats. His last start was a seven-inning gem against Sanford where he allowed just one run while striking out four.

*Not confirmed

No. 2 Sanford at No. 3 Keene, Alumni Field, 6:30 p.m. (Keene leads 1-0)

Dominic Severino (Swamp Bats): The big Central Connecticut State rising senior looks to boost Keene to back-to-back division finals appearances as they look to defend their NECBL title. Severino has a 1.78 ERA over seven starts and an impressive 22:6 SO/BB ratio over 40 1/3 innings. He also has an amazing 0.84 WHIP and is holding opposing batters to a .191 mark. He's faced Sanford once and gave up just two runs over 5 2/3 innings while striking out two.

Richard Vrana (Mainers): The All-Star game starter for the Northern Division is 2-0 over six starts and has a 1.67 ERA on the season. Vrana, a southpaw from Marist, has an impressive 28:5 SO/BB ratio over 31 1/3 innings and also has a 1.15 WHIP. He held the Swamp Bats to just one run in his first start of the season over 6 1/3 innings, while striking out three and issuing a pair of walks. His last two starts since the All-Star game haven't been great, however, as he's given up six runs in just nine total innings of work.

No. 1 Plymouth at No. 4 Mystic, Fitch High School, 6:05 p.m. (Plymouth leads 1-0)

Nicholas Berger (Pilgrims): Plymouth, coming off their first playoff win in franchise history, look to sweep the Schooners behind the talented arm of Berger. A rising senior at Northeastern, Berger is a perfect 4-0 for the Pilgrims with a 0.75 ERA over eight starts and 47 strikeouts in 48 innings. He's faced Mystic three separate times for a total of 18 1/3 innings and is 2-0 and with a 1.50 ERA against the Schooners. His best pitching performance of the season came against Mystic- seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts.  He has 14 K's over his last two starts.

Nolan Long (Schoooners): The #2 NEC prospect ranked by Baseball America, Long passed up the minors after being drafted in the 38th round and has been solid in the NECBL. He's 1-3 with a 3.95 ERA but has 45 strikeouts in just 38 2/3 innings of work. A rising sophomore at Wagner College, Long is 0-2 against Plymouth. He's given up four earned runs over 10 innings against the Pilgrims but racked up 17 strikeouts.

No. 2 Newport at No. 3 Ocean State, Old Mountain Field, 6:05 p.m. (Ocean State leads 1-0)

Brett Hanewich (Stanford): Newport sends recent NECBL Pitcher of the Week Hanewich to the mound as the Gulls look to avoid being knocked out in the first round for what would be the just the second time in their illustrious history. Hanewich, a sophomore from Stanford, is coming off seven shutout innings against New Bedford in which he racked up 10 strikeouts. He is 2-3 on the season with a 3.58 ERA over six starts and is 1-0 against the Waves. Hanewich held Ocean State to just two runs on five hits over six innings while striking out five in one of two quality starts on the summer.

Steve Moyers (Waves): Ocean State, also coming off their first playoff win in franchise history, give the ball to Moyers- who's totaled just 16 1/3 innings over five starts on the season. The southpaw from Rhode Island who anchored the Rams staff has made two starts against the Gulls already. He was shellacked for five earned runs in the first start over just 3 1/3 innings, and has given up six total against Newport in five innings of work. He does have a 15: 2 SO/BB ratio and a 1.04 WHIP.