NECBL Playoff Capsules

Eight teams remain in the race for the NECBL’s Fay Vincent Cup with the two-month regular season out of the way as we finally get to down to the nitty-gritty. Who’s got the edge?

No. 1 Vermont Mountaineers vs. No. 4 Laconia Muskrats

Tim Viehoff, Laconia /LMR

If you’ve read our Mountaineer coverage over the past few weeks, the one thing you should know about Vermont is that they’ve never had their full complement of players available- which meant that manager Joe Brown did a lot of maneuvering to keep them in pole position. They flew to the finish, overtaking the tanking Muskrats midway through July, going 16-7 in the second half of the year.

The pitching came into its own down the stretch, leaping up to third best in the NECBL. Ace Casey Brown shook off a pair of shaky starts to establish himself as one of the league’s best pitchers and the workhorse of the staff, posting a 1.25 ERA over a team-high 43 1/3 innings. The relief core is formidable as well, led by the flame-throwing closer Sam Delaplane and his league-best 10 saves that come along with an overpowering 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

Vermont’s offense might be the one thing holding the Mountaineers back from cruising through the opening rounds. The team ranks third in the league in runs scored, but the bats fell silent more frequently in the last month of the season as the arms picked them up. Still, the Mountaineers may be best armed with an aggressive lineup that led the league in stolen bases (100) and gets on base at a .343 clip (4th).

When the bell rings, Vermont will be fully able to go toe-to-toe with the team they ousted last August, a ballclub that’s out for revenge after the Mountaineers knocked them out of first.

That would be the Muskrats and manager Nick Cenatiempo, who enter with zero momentum and in a tailspin. A few weeks ago, Laconia sat atop the division as the hottest team in baseball after putting together winning streaks of five and four. They dropped all the way to fourth after losing four straight games to end the summer, and enter just 3-7 over their last 10 games.

Laconia also is without the All-Star duo of James Davison (22 steals ranks second in the league) and Braxton Martinez (14 RBIs), a big blow to one of the league's best offense. They still boast a dangerous lineup, headlined by catcher Deon Stafford, who played in all but one game and put up a .329 average with 16 doubles and 24 RBIs. He’s joined by Cam Hanley (.311, 24 RBIs) and Brian Mims (.303, 23) as they attempt to overcome Vermont’s arms.

Tim Viehoff, the league leader in strikeouts (58), will need to turn in a stellar start for the Muskrats, whose starting rotation after the lefthander is shaky. Viehoff threw 51 innings for Laconia and went 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA, but just 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in three matchups against Vermont. A shaky start from their ace will spell the end of the season for the Muskrats.

No. 2 Sanford Mainers vs. No. 3 North Adams SteepleCats

Ben Wessel, Sanford Mainers /PP

Seventh year manager Aaron Izaryk, since taking over for now Vermont manager Joe Brown, has had plenty of success. The one thing he hasn’t been able to replicate, however, is Brown’s title-winning year with the Mainers in 2008. Izaryk, who recently recorded his 150th NECBL win, guided Sanford to the finals last year, but they were swept by Newport. Now, after a late push, Izaryk and the Mainers are in position to contend for their third championship in franchise history and end a seven-year drought.

Weaknesses are few and far between. What do you attack? The rotation? It’s seemingly built for the playoffs, with three different pitchers that could all serve as No. 1 starters on another teams, with Joey Abraham’s 2.25 ERA the worst of the trio. The bullpen? Well, the core four of Aaron Casper, Cody Dube, Cam Hatch (the returning NECBL Reliever of the Year) and Iannick Remillard made 57 appearances and totaled 87 innings and 120 strikeouts with a 1.34 ERA. The lineup? They’re in the top-five of the NECBL in a majority of the categories and have plenty of pop with a team that features Dalton Thomas, Shaine Hughes and Sam Dexter.

Balance. The Mainers have it, and that is easily one of the most important things to make a push for the title. At full strength, Sanford on paper should oust the overachieving SteepleCats with relative ease. North Adams vaulted to third thanks to Laconia’s struggles, as they only went 10-13 in the second half of the season with a sub-.250 team average and an ERA just a few points below 4.00.

With just one player hitting over .300, North Adams doesn’t have a lineup that is hard to work around. With Victor Sorrento (.303, 22 RBIs) and Parker Perez (.296, 15 RBIs) the only two threats, opposing pitchers can avoid pitching to them and cruise through the rest of a lineup that is hitting just .221.

However, the reason the SteepleCats have found success is because of stellar pitching from the front three of their rotation. Dakota Edwards, who threw a no-hitter against Sanford in his first start of the summer, has a 1.16 ERA over 38 innings, while the duo of Dalton Westfall and Josh Garran have identical 2.33 ERA’s over 77 combined innings of work. The bullpen is one of the league's worst, but if the trio of starters can turn in gems, they might have a shot at scoring what would be on of the postseasons biggest upsets.

No. 1 Newport Gulls vs. No. 4 Ocean State Waves

Joven Afenir, Newport /NRI

Not only has Newport made the NECBL playoffs in every year since they were established in 2000, but they’ve won the first round all but once as they aim for a second straight championship and seventh in franchise history. They are currently on a string of success so dominant that they polished off a 27-win 2015 season as their 15th straight season with 25-plus wins. This year, as the best team in the league, the Gulls are once again favorites to win the Fay Vincent Cup.

Like Sanford, it’s hard to find a weakness. Boasting the league’s best offense (first in average and runs scored), Newport also holds the fourth best staff ERA. Despite losing ace James Karinchak (4-1, 0.72 ERA) after just five starts due to a pitch count, the Gulls still have one of the best starting rotations- where they count Colton Hock’s 3.86 ERA as the highest mark. Opponents are hitting just .229 against their pitchers, and they are a perfect 16-0 when turning the ball over to the bullpen with a lead after five innings.

Somehow, that’s not the strongest part of their team. The lineup boasts threats throughout, from the 1-2 punch of Joven Afenir (.344, 27 RBIs) and Shea Donlin (.341) as well as the slugging duo of Drew Lugbauer and Max Beermann, who’ve each launched five home runs. The liking starting nine from the all-time winningest manager in NECBL history, Mike Coombs, is hitting a combined .291.

Ocean State will have their hands full. Newport’s pitching ranked second in strikeouts, while the Waves pack of home run hitters are very strikeout-prone. It’s not exactly a match made in heaven for Ocean State, as they’re hitting just .230 as a team (11th). Sluggers Tim Lynch, Chuckie Robinson and Dylan Burdeaux have combined for 24 home runs, but 90 strikeouts as well.

However, even scratching across a few runs could be enough for the Waves pitching staff, who are among the league best. Ocean State has a 3.25 ERA (2nd) and a group of solid starters, backed up by a reliable bullpen. Lefthander Ryan Gray (4-0, 1.86 ERA) has been practically unhittable, holding opposing batters to a .186 mark over seven starts. Meanwhile, Richard Lovelady (1.91) has established himself as one of the best relievers over 19 appearances while Brad Applin (1.85) has an even better over 24 1/3 innings.

No. 2 Mystic Schooners vs. No. 3 New Bedford Bay Sox

Ben Ruta, Mystic /Schooners

One one hand, the Mystic Schooners franchise last won a title in 1994 as the Eastern Tides- then suffered losing seasons in 16 of the next 20 years. On the other, New Bedford, formerly the Torrington Twisters, have never won in a championship in their 18 years. This first round matchup features the weight of 38 combined years of losing, and should be a good one.

The Schooners, who finished just a game behind the first-place Gulls for the best record in the NECBL, are the obvious favorite. They have a league-best 2.61 ERA, which is more than 60 points better than the second place mark. The numbers Mystic’s pitchers put up are ridiculous, and it makes them even more scarier in the context of their offense, which finished second in runs scored.

Ben Ruta, who put together a 21-game hitting streak in July, finished the season with a .341 average along with 28 RBIs and 30 runs scored. Richard Slenker (.325, 17 RBIs) and Jake Meyers (.315, 15) form a dangerous front of the Schooners lineup. They’ll provide plenty of run support to the Schooners pitching staff, who don’t necessarily need their starters to go long. The bullpen combination of Jason Foley, Michael ORielly, Teddy Turner and Sean Keenan has a 0.90 ERA over 70 innings.

New Bedford, after going .500 in June, went 13-11 in July to lock up the three seed after missing the playoffs in 2014, a season in which they won just 11 games. Closer Jon Escobar has continued to perform on a high level, posting a 1.08 ERA over 17 appearances with eight saves. The offense has been anchored by Jayson Sullivan, who hit a team-high .324, and Anthony Critelli, who played all but one game and drove in 28 runs.