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| Lefty Casey Brown is Vermont's probable starter. |
Instead, Mystic blew out the defending league champions, routing them 16-2 in the series-clinching Game 2. The Schooners racked up 41 runs in just four games in back-to-back sweeps of New Bedford and Newport, getting two days of rest as they returned to the league championship series for the first time since their inaugural season as the Eastern Tides in 1994.
It’s easy to make a case for the Schooners based solely on momentum, as they closed the regular season winners of seven of 10n and haven’t lost in over a week. They finished the regular season with a team ERA of 2.61, 60 points better than the next team, and that stat alone makes their impressive hitting even more scary.
Still, this is a Vermont team that is a talented, balanced bunch that overcome a lot this season. Manager Joe Brown has handled 49 different players that have come into town, and they’ve been able to beat their opponents in a variety of ways. He’s taken them to the division finals in all three years he’s been a manager, and this was the year that they finally got over the top.
Both teams have plenty going for them, which will make this series one of the more exciting matchups in recent memory. Here is several storylines for both teams that face off at Mystic’s Fitch High School tonight, with first pitching coming at 6:05 p.m.
Vermont’s rotation
By starting Rocchietti in the series-clinching Game 3 against North Adams, Brown didn’t have to use ace Casey Brown on four days rest. Instead, a refreshed Brown will likely start the first game of the league finals and the Mountaineers have their top three pitchers lined up to start. Right-hander Sean Leland could start Game 2 while southpaw Tom Cosgrove is positioned to start the potential third game.
Brown was among the best pitchers in the NECBL in the regular season as the All-Star left-hander finished nine points shy of the ERA title with a 1.25 mark. However, Cosgrove is the only member who’s faced the Schooners. He took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits over five innings.
Mystic’s offense
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| Hoy (Mystic photo) |
Vermont has their rotation lined up, but they will be dealing with the hottest offense at any point in the NECBL this year. The Schooners scored 41 runs on 54 hits in four games, slugging four home runs and 18 extra base hits. They also drew 21 walks to 19 strikeouts and were a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts.
Dan Hoy homered twice and drove in eight runs in the Schooners two regular-season wins against the Mountaineers, and was back at it in the postseason. The shortstop has already hit two homers through the first four postseason games and is 9-for-18 (.500) with 11 RBIs. Facing the Mystic lineup is going to be a tough task for Vermont’s pitchers, as Nick Mascelli also has two home runs this postseason and they’ve scored at an unprecedented rate despite their regular season star Ben Ruta having a mediocre postseason.
Schooners enter following a day off
Potentially, the league champion could play nine games in nine days after a day off following the conclusion of the regular season. Both Mystic and Vermont swept their first round opponents, but the Schooners were off Saturday night after easily dispatching the Gulls. However, teams that sweep the divisional finals don’t always find success. The last five times a team that swept the divisional finals played a team that went the whole three games, the team that swept won just once.
Bullpens
The finals in the NECBL often come down to the bullpen — which team can preserve the leads that they’re given. Both teams had considerable success during the regular season, as they combined to go 40-4 when given a lead after six innings. The Schooners bullpen posted a 1.29 through 14 innings so far this postseason, while Vermont has a similar 1.80 mark over 15 innings.
Vermont used closer Sam Delaplane twice against North Adams, one of them a two-pitch appearance, after not needing him in the Laconia series. Delaplane led the league with 10 saves in the regular season, becoming just the fourth Mountaineer in franchise history to record double-digit saves. All-Star Teddy Rodliff hasn’t allowed a run over 6 1/3 innings this postseason and three other relievers made scoreless appearances.
Mystic counters with an equally strong bullpen, as the combination of Jason Foley, Michael O’Rielly, Teddy Turner and Sean Keenan has a 0.90 ERA over 70 innings during the regular season. Foley has already recorded a pair of saves in August, while long reliever Joseph Rivera extended his scoreless innings streak to 10.
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| Brown at Cortland. |
Mystic’s Phil Orbe completed his fourth year manning the Schooners helm and has had plenty of success, but he is overmatched. Vermont’s Joe Brown, the Division-III Coach of the Year, is coming off a national championship run with SUNY-Cortland. He also knows how to push the right buttons, whether by putting his relievers in the right spot, bringing the right guy off the bench at the right time, or executing an aggressive gameplan on the basepaths perfectly.
Brown also has NECBL finals experience, having won the 2008 title with the Sanford Mainers.
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