Game 17 Recap: Mountaineers 12, Swamp Bats 3

Old Dominion's Culver Lamb threw five shutout innings. /ODU

Culver Lamb threw five shutout innings and a pair of four-run innings were the recipe for victory Wednesday night, as the Mountaineers routed the Keene Swamp Bats, 12-3, at Recreation Field to secure their third win in their last four games.

Every batter in the Mountaineers (5-12) lineup reached base as they tallied double-digit hits and runs for the second straight game. Mike Osinski went 2-for-3 with three runs, Troy Scocca homered again while driving in a pair of runs, and Joe Tietjen extended his hitting streak to 10 with a two-hit, three-RBI night.

"Good hitters are hitting, and they're more then capable of that," Vermont manager Joe Brown said. "They're here because they can play, and we're hoping to keep it rolling."

Lamb stood at the forefront of the team effort, scattering three hits over five innings. He struck out seven in his second start of the summer for the Mountaineers, keeping his ERA a perfect zero through 15 innings of work. Lamb’s outing wasn't without issues, but he overcame allowing two base runners in both the third and fourth innings.

The Swamp Bats (11-6), entering on a three-game winning streak, were unable to convert when they had their chances against Lamb. Keene’s Jordan Howard led off the fourth with a double, but was throw out trying to steal third. The inning prior, Lamb struck out back-to-back batters to strand a pair of runners in scoring position.

Joey Benitez, Lamb’s teammate at Old Dominion this spring, was rolling through three scoreless frames before losing the shutout in the ninth. He gave up a one-out, two-run triple to Brandt Stallings that carried to the fence in left-center. Stallings came home on Ryan Costello’s ensuing sacrifice fly. However, Benitez ended any threat of a huge comeback by getting a game-ending fly out.

"They're going to do that," Brown said of his team's strong pitching. "We're going to get good starts, and we've figured out some roles. A lot of people are starters regularly, so I'm taking a more conservative approach. We're going to give people fresh arm starts."

The pitching was backed by a strong team defense and an even better day at the plate. A game removed from a 15-run outburst against New Bedford, Vermont’s lineup continued to see production up and down the lineup.

Trevor Ezell led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, and Tietjen doubled him in. Tietjen, who tripled twice in Monday’s game, added a pair of doubles to his impressive line to start the summer. Through 10  games, Tietjen has yet to fail to record a hit in a game and leads the team with eight extra-base hits.

"My thing this summer is to have fun and not worry," Tietjen said. "I have a lot of prep coming in -- I work hard with my swing, and I have to keep that intent. It's a good feeling. My goal is to hit the ball hard, and whatever happens happens. They'll fall, and I'm just trying to run as hard as I can."

Keene starter David Drouin, who was chased after recording one out in the third,, brought in two more runs via wild pitches. Vermont got another run off of him in the inning prior, as Ezell drew a bases-loaded walk with one out. Swamp Bats reliever Michael Pastore entered and gave up a two-run double to Tietjen before finally escaping the inning.

Drouin continued to struggle since arriving in Keene a little over a week ago, allowing six runs, five hits, and five walks in 2 1/3 innings. He’s been shelled for 12 earned runs in a little over four innings for the Swamp Bats this summer, as command problems have hampered the right-hander.

Pastore rolled through his first two innings of relief, but Vermont got to him in the sixth. With two runners on and two outs, the Mountaineers 6-7-8 hitters all reached on hits. Pinch-hitter Slade Heggen brought in two runs with a double off the wall in left, and Ryan Fineman and Keegan Meyn followed with singles to stretch the lead to double-digits.

Scocca, a game removed from hitting for the cycle, started the night 0-for-4, but his fifth at bat was something else. With two outs in the seventh, Scocca launched a two-run shot to right field off of Keene’s third reliever Dylan Sbordone to cap the scoring.

It was a solid win for the Mountaineers, who have now won back-to-back games at home, outscoring their opponents 27-4. After struggling out of the gate, Vermont is surging, as they’ve won three of four and have plenty going for them.

Benitez and Lamb are two members of a Vermont pitching staff that is among the league’s best. The defense, which piled up errors in the early going, has been spotty at times, but didn’t allow any of importance the past two games. Finally, the offense is heating up as Vermont entered hitting .285 over their past five games, and continued that trend last night en route to a convincing win.

"It's really great," Tietjen said of the team heating up. "There's a lot of confidence in our hitters right now. Everybody's putting up good at bats right now. If we keep doing this, we're going to turn this thing around."

All in all, the seven-game losing streak Vermont suffered through earlier this season is a thing of the past. As the team starts to click, Mountaineers fans have something to cheer for. After playing in Valley tonight to wrap up the month of June, Vermont returns for a three-game homestand, starting with Friday’s rescheduled game against Plymouth.

The NECBL Fan's Guide to the 2016 MLB Draft

Kent State's Eric Lauer, a former Swamp Bat, was the first selected.

A few weeks ago, over 1,000 amateur baseball players from across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico were drafted by Major League Baseball's 30 franchises. The draft is a lot different than, say, football and basketball. Those sports draft much fewer people (there's not multiple levels of the minors), and because of that, there's established stars who can instantly contribute. Think Karl Anthony-Towns or Jameis Winston, for instance. Baseball is a lot different -- amateurs are mostly unknown and take a lot longer to develop. NECBL fans have had the opportunity to see several of these players firsthand over the past few years, so here's some answers to questions you might've had about this edition of the draft.

Who was the first NECBL alum drafted?

With the 25th pick, the San Diego Padres took Kent State southpaw Eric Lauer, who played for the Keene Swamp Bats in 2014. Lauer is a polished left-hander who posted incredible numbers in the MAC this spring. He's got sharp control of a four-pitch mix and most likely won't need much time in the minors. Lauer starts his career in the Arizona Rookie League alongside three more Padres top prospects, including eighth overall pick Cal Quantrill. His summer in New England was brief, as he only made four appearances -- three starts -- while accumulating 15 2/3 innings. He allowed eight runs on 14 hits and three walks while striking out 17.

How many alums were selected in total?

Unfortunately, not every NECBL team released reports on their alums. It's hard to keep track of ever former player and whether they got drafted or not, so my rough estimate is in the ballpark of 85 players. Six were selected on the first day of the draft, with three coming in the opening round -- running the NECBL's total to 26 first-round selections in the leagues 22-year career.

How does that compare to previous drafts?

It's very similar to last year's numbers, when over 90 alums were taken -- including a league-record 20 from the Newport Gulls.

Who had the best season in the NECBL?

That honor could go to Willie Rios, the league's Top Pro Prospect in 2015. Rios was a 16th-round selection by the Baltimore Orioles this year, and he had a tremendously successful summer campaign last year with the Mystic Schooners. Rios was an anchor on the leagues best pitching staff (2.61 ERA), posting a 4-0 record and a 1.80 ERA, the latter of which ranked fifth in the league. In seven starts and 35 innings, the right-hander fanned 41 while the opposition batted only .202 against him all year.

However, the Robin Roberts Top Starting Pitcher, Laconia's Timothy Viehoff (Southern New Hampshire), was taken four rounds earlier. The 12th-round selection of the Seattle Mariners, Viehoff led the league in strikeouts and wins and ranked fourth in ERA. He finished with a 5-1 record and a 1.76 ERA while fanning a league-high 58 batters over 51 innings. His regular season WHIP was 0.920 and he limited opponents to a .153 batting average. He was named the starter for the 2015 NECBL All-Star Game, as well.

What team had the best talent drafted?

Excuse me if I'm miss players, but that honor belongs to the Newport Gulls. The Gulls bring in some of the best talent in the league year in and year out, and they had quite a few alums drafted in 2016. Sanford had 12 selections to Newport's 11, but the Gulls have the edge in when they had players selected. Louisville catcher Will Smith went 32nd overall, followed by Stanford's Tommy Edman (sixth round), Elon's Nick Zammerlli (eighth), and Vanderbilt's John Kilichowski (11th). A pair of 14th-round selections in Cowley County's Carson LaRue and Oklahoma State's Michael Mertz followed. Sanford finished with one selection in the first 300 picks, a fourth-rounder in Michigan's Brett Adcock.

Game 16: Mountaineers 15, Bay Sox 1

It was smiles all around after Mikael Mogues launched one of three Vermont home runs. /VTM Photo

Troy Scocca hit the first cycle in Mountaineers history Monday night to help Vermont roll to a 15-1 victory over the New Bedford Bay Sox. Scocca reached base five times for Vermont, which connected for 15 hits as a team. The Mountaineers bats came alive early and often after entering the night with only four home runs in 15 games. Trevor Ezell, Mikael Mogues and Scocca all hit home runs as the Mountaineers easily set a season high for runs scored.

"They're capable of it," Vermont manager Joe Brown said. "A lot of those guys have been swinging a good bat, it's just with nobody on and two outs. Tonight, they were with guys on base. We got good swings in."

Scocca drew a walk in his first at-bat. He followed with a two-run homer in the third, a double in the fifth and a triple in the sixth. In his fifth at-bat of the night, he completed the cycle by beating out a single to the shortstop to lead off the eighth inning. He finished 4-for-4 with three RBIs, marking one of several impressive efforts by Vermont hitters.

"I knew," Scocca said going into his last at bat. "I was just trying to get a good pitch. It wasn't hit hard, but it was placed well and I was able to beat it out. It was just great to be a part of this and have the city of Montpelier behind me."

Center fielder Joe Tietjen, hitting out of the No. 2 spot in the Mountaineers lineup, extended his hitting streak to nine games. Since making his season debut on June 17, Tietjen has yet to go hitless in a game and turned in yet another strong performance. He tripled off the wall in left-center with one out in the third and scored. He drove in another run with a triple to the opposite alley in right-center.

Mogues has still been Vermont’s hottest hitter and responded after going 0-for-4 in Sunday’s loss to North Adams. He singled on the first pitch he saw against New Bedford and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in his second at-bat. He also launched a two-run home run and capped his night with a one-run single. The Times Argus Player of the Week finished 3-for-4 with a game-high four RBIs.

"Coach Brown's really helped me out a lot to make just a couple tweaks in my swing and it's helped me see the ball a lot better," Mogues said. "It was a changeup up (on his home run). The pitcher made a mistake and I capitalized -- I love hitting on this ballpark."

It was a shaky night for Bay Sox pitching.

Phil Reese, making his first start of the summer, was tagged with four earned runs on five hits over four innings. Vermont jumped ahead in the third behind a one-run single from Ryan Fineman, who found the hole through the left side of the infield. The Mountaineers tacked on three more in the third, thanks to a sacrifice fly from Mogues and a two-run home run from Scocca.

Reliever Derrick Pickvet didn’t fare much better when he entered in the fifth. Ezell led off with a single and was off to the races on Tietjen’s second triple. Mogues followed with a two-run home run, and Scocca doubled and eventually scored on a fielding error from Bay Sox shortstop Connor Hooker.

Scocca added to a stellar night against Bay Sox reliever Nick Miceli in the sixth. After Tietjen reached on a fielding error at the shortstop position, Scocca connected for a line drive into deep right-center and cruised into third. The stand-up triple pushed Vermont’s lead to double-digits.

New Bedford turned to outfielder Alex Mata to pitch the seventh, and Ezell came up with a sacrifice fly and Mogues added a one-run single that one-hopped the third basemen. A two-base throwing error in the ninth resulted in two more runs for the Mountaineers.

The offensive support was not completely necessary while Sam Bordner was on the mound. The Louisville product, making his first start of the summer, allowed a lone run over five innings. He allowed two hits, issued three walks and struck out one.

Bordner earned the win - his first of the season - while lowering his earned run average to 2.89.

"You have to give him a lot of credit for that," Brown said. "That was his first start of the summer. His coach at Louisville wanted to build him up, so we threw him a couple times out of the bullpen to get him ready."

Jon Stiever, who entered having made three starts for Vermont this summer, threw two scoreless innings. Native Vermonter Sean Callahan finished off the blowout with a pair of shutout innings.

"We backed off one of our starters in Jon Stiever," Brown continued. "He's been throwing a lot, so we brought him out of the bullpen. This is how you manage your pitchers to make a run at the end. You don't need to bring everyone out on four days rest. We're going to take a deep breath and say, hey, take a day off."

The pitchers were backed by errorless baseball in an impressive all-around performance.

"That's going to happen," Brown said of the excellent all-around game. "These are good baseball players and we're settling in on our defensive core. As we do that, I think you'll see really good defense."

The outcome gives the Mountaineers the start they were aiming for to open a three-game home stand. Vermont will host another Southern Division foe in Plymouth tonight before hosting divisional rival Keene on Wednesday. First pitch for both games is 6:30 p.m.

The 13: Waves come rolling in

Welcome to the 2016 season-premiere of The 13, a weekly ranking of the NECBL teams. I'm planning on releasing it every Monday for the rest of the season, and now that we have three weeks under our belt, I can use a broad range of criteria to look at how the standings have shaken out so far. Here's Week 1 of The 13, enjoy.

13. Vermont Mountaineers (3-12, minus-26 run differential)

Coming off of their third championship in franchise history and back-to-back divisional titles, Vermont's limped to a 3-12 record out of the gate. They celebrated Opening Day with a eighth-inning rally to beat newcomer Upper Valley, 2-0, but the postgame fireworks were one of a few things Mountaineers fans have had to cheer about lately. Losing streaks of seven and four games have seen them drop 12 of their first 15 games, positioning them four games out of a playoff spot already.

Signs of life from the offense are there, but they're still struggling to score runs. Averaging just 3.5 a game, Vermont's shaky defense has let teams back into games when they don't have the run support to overcome. Defensively, the Mountaineers lead the league with 33 errors and rank last in fielding percentage (.941). How bad is that? The per-game average of 2.2 errors would be the highest in the Pointstreak Era (2010-present), while the fielding percentage would be the lowest. That's a historically bad defense that the Mountaineers are putting out there every night, and it's costing them. They've allowed 25 unearned runs through 15 games, a hopefully unsustainable trend.

We're at the quarter pole in the NECBL season, and Vermont needs to find their sea legs. Over the past three years, 15 teams across both divisions have wrapped up the first month under .500. They have four games left in June, and at this pace, they'll end the first month at 4-15. Out of those 15 teams mentioned above, seven finished the first month with five or fewer wins -- and just one qualified for the playoffs.

That team was the 2013 Keene Swamp Bats, who went a shaky 3-11 the first month, then rattled off a 23-5 month of July to win the Northern Division. The Swamp Bats would go on to win the NECBL title, dispatching the Mountaineers in the divisional finals along the way. The results from the other six teams are much ugly. Just one of the remaining six finished remotely close to .500, with the 2013 New Bedford Bay Sox finishing at 20-24.

Excuse the pessimistic outlook, but it’s easy to say -- history is against the Mountaineers. An improved defense and better hitting with runners in scoring position is all the team needs to figure out.

12. New Bedford Bay Sox (4-9, minus-16)
11. Sanford Mainers (7-8, minus-16)
A pair of teams with woeful offenses come in the next two slots. New Bedford has only played 13 games to Sanford's 15, so I'll single out the Mainers. Sanford's dropped a pair of games and sits just below .500, but unless they find a spark in their offense, it will be a quiet season for a team just removed from a divisional finals appearance.

Sanford has the fifth-best pitching staff in the league, but have a team batting average just eight points from the Mendoza line. They don't have a batter hitting over .300 in their lineup, and are just .173 (26-for-150) with runners in scoring position, a mark over 30 points lower then the next team. They've been held to one run in three of their past four games, and they're hitting just .191 over the past five games. I could list off plenty of stats that show the slump they're in, but I'll spare you. After starting the year 3-1, Sanford's had trouble stringing together wins. With a strong group of arms, the Mainers are in a similar place as the last-place Mountaineers. If they can piece together a strong lineup, they'll be back in contention. The advantage they have on Vermont? They've managed to stay around .500, and sit in a three-way tie for the fourth playoff spot in the North.

10. Plymouth Pilgrims (6-9, minus-2)
9. Newport Gulls (7-8, minus-1)
The Gulls, surprisingly, are in the middle of the Southern Division pack. The main reason for this? A shaky pitching staff. Newport ranks last in the NECBL in ERA (4.50), a stunning statistic when you consider the past few years. Here's where the Gulls pitching has ranked in various measures over the last six years.

ERA: 4th, 9th, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st,
WHIP: 4th, 8th, 2nd, 7th, 2nd, 1st
Strikeouts: 4th, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 7th, 3rd

The staple of the Gulls has been overpowering pitching, and there's signs of that this year -- they lead the league in strikeouts by a wide margin -- but they're below .500 because the pitching hasn't clicked yet. Newport's 1-4 over their last five games for two reasons. First, the pitching has allowed 38 earned runs for a 5.82 ERA, causing them to drop to the bottom of the rankings. Secondly, the offense is hitting just .170, and a barely more impressive .211 over the past 10 games. It's a strange sight to see the perennial contenders a middle-of-the-pack team, but that's where they are through a quarter of the season.

8. Winnipesaukee Muskrats (7-8, minus-4)
7. Danbury Westerners (8-9, minus-6)
6. Upper Valley Nighthawks (7-8, plus-8)

The league's newest franchise sits a game below .500, despite looking like a strong contender in the North. The Nighthawks lead the league in average (.279) and slugging (.413) by healthy margins, rank second in fielding percentage (.976) and have a strong pitching staff that sits sixth in ERA (3.74). So why are they a sub-.500 team?

It's a difficult question to answer.  “I expect us to play better, be more consistent,” Upper Valley manager Nick Cenatiempo told the Valley News' Josh Weinreb. “Defensively we’ve been great. … I think, offensively, we’re going to get better. We need to keep playing, it’s coming along. I’ve told you before, I’m still waiting for someone in this bullpen to take ownership of that back-end role.”

The on-and-off play from the Nighthawks was summed up by assistant coach Matt Lynch, “I think they’re pressing a little bit. For the most part, we have a lot of kids that want to be good players. We have a lot of good players, and they just want to get the job done.Most games we play, we’re the team that’s crushing the ball more than the other,” he added. “They want to be that guy. I tell them sometimes a walk or a hit-by-pitch or a bloop single, you don’t have to be this Superman, home-run hitting machine. Just do the job.”

With plenty of potential, it'll be interesting to see if the Nighthawks can shake out of the back-and-forth start to the season they've had.

5. Mystic Schooners (8-7, plus-3)
4. Keene Swamp Bats (10-5, minus-4)
What a season it's been for the Swamp Bats. They sit atop the Northern Division, but all signs indicate it's an inflated record. Bill James' Pythagorean Expectation, which adjusts winning percentage based on runs scored and allowed, pegs them as a 7-8 team. They're 3-0 in one-run games and 6-1 in two-run games, so nine of their 10 wins have been narrow victories. Keene is 10th in ERA (4.07) and ninth in average (.235), and somehow sit five games above .500 with a minus-four run differential.

What does this mean for the rest of the season? Keene's won two in a row, but there's a pair of teams in the Northern Division on three-game winning streaks that are sure to pass them eventually. North Adams and Valley are both more well-rounded teams, so it won't be a surprise if the Swamp Bats end up mired in the fight for the final two playoff spots in the division.

3. North Adams SteepleCats (10-6, plus-21)
2. Valley Blue Sox (9-5, plus-22)
1. Ocean State Waves (11-3, plus-21)

Ocean State is showing no signs of slowing down, and they're very deserving of the top spot in these rankings. The Waves, owners of a dominant pitching staff and capable offense, are easily the most well-rounded team in the NECBL. They lead the league with a 2.34 ERA, 82 points lower than the second-place mark. They have a team average of .265, good for second, and also rank third in fielding percentage.

The bullpen has been incredible -- the Waves are 10-1 when leading after five, and a perfect 11-0 after seven innings with the lead. They've been getting it done with ease through the first three weeks, and are 8-2 over their last 10 games as well. They've beat up on nearby divisional foes Newport and Plymouth, beating them three and four times, respectively. With incredible pitching, the Waves are a formidable matchup and easily claim the No. 1 ranking.

Game 15 Recap: SteepleCats 6, Mountaineers 3

Joe Jacques gave up three quick runs and the Mountaineers couldn't respond. /Manhattan

Vermont out-hit North Adams, drew more walks, struck out less and left the same number of runners on base. Yet the Mountaineers were doubled up, losing 6-3 for their 12th loss of the season. 

Any momentum carried over from scoring a season-high seven runs in a dramatic Saturday night win over Danbury was nowhere to be found, as Vermont limps into a three-game homestand having won just one of their last five games.

Facing Vermont right-hander Joe Jacques, who had yet to allow an earned run in 11 innings, North Adams struck for three runs on three hits in the first inning. The Mountaineers never caught up, as SteepleCats starter Peter Lannoo and three relievers held them in check. Reliever Brian Stepniak retired all six batters he faced to earn the win. 

Doubles plays were a main reason the Mountaineers scratched across just three runs -- running their season total to 53, an average of just 3.5 a game. They grounded into four, three of which ending the inning and two prevented them from getting to SteepleCats pitching. 

Dustin Shirley drove in the game's first run with a RBI double, Edward Haust singled in a run off of Jacques glove and C.J.Price added a one-out RBI groundout. The SteepleCats got three more runs the rest of the game, but two were unearned. The only earned one came on a solo home run from Keaton Wright, his NECBL-leading fifth of the year. That came on reliever Christian Isbell's second pitch, as he was greeted rudely. 

Vermont had three errors in the loss, costing two runs. An overthrow on a relay in the third and an error on the shortstop resulted in a pair of SteepleCats runs. It's been frustrating to watch Vermont's defensive woes, as they've accumulated 33 errors and 25 unearned runs in 15 games. They lead the league in defensive miscues, ranking last with a .941 fielding percentage.

The Mountaineers scored twice in the fourth, via a Slade Heggen fielders choice and a Daniel Little RBI single. They added a run on a passed ball in the sixth, but were quiet down the stretch. 

They dropped to 3-12, four games out of a playoff spot. There's a three-team logjam in the North for the final spot, so Vermont has some work to do to make it an interesting race. 

Game 14 Recap: Mountaineers 7, Westerners 6

Fairfield's Troy Scocca sealed the win for Vermont by drawing a bases-loaded walk.

Troy Scocca drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Mountaineers a 7-6 win over the visiting Danbury Westerners at Recreation Field, snapping a five-game losing streak in bizarre fashion.

After rallying to tie it at six-all in the bottom of the eighth, a two-base error allowed Vermont’s Trevor Ezell to reach second. Ryan Fineman drew a walk, and soon Vermont loaded them up with two outs for Scocca.

The count ran full, and a energized crowd willed Westerners reliever Daniel Jagiello to miss outside.

“The crowd was huge tonight,” Vermont manager Joe Brown said. “This is what’s fun about playing in Vermont. You’ve got these people staying through the ninth inning, cheering us on, and they’ll be here all summer. They were huge at the end of this.”

Scocca hesitated coming out of the batters box, unsure if he needed to touch first or not.

“It’s never happened to me before,” Scocca said. “I didn’t know I had to touch first or not, so it’s a good thing coach Brown pointed me that way.”

When Scocca touched the base, water was dumped on him as the Mountaineers rushed out, celebrating the ending of a losing streak in what has been a slow start to the season. Vermont manager Joe Brown, however, isn’t worried.

“This was fun, and that’s what winning is,” he said afterwards. “This is far from over. I’m not worried about wins or losses. Play how you play, and people will start to take notice. We have good arms.”

The game had wild swings in momentum. Giovanni Dingcong fueled Danbury to a three-run first by driving a two-run double into the right-center gap against Mountaineers starter Davis Feldman, but Vermont chipped away. Newcomer Trevor Ezell scored from second on an errant throw to make it a three-run game, and the Mountaineers rallied in the fifth.

Danbury starter Dylan Stock couldn’t hold on to the early 4-1 lead, issuing four walks and giving up three runs in four innings. He was chased in the fifth inning without recording an out. The go-ahead double at the time came from Slade Heggen against left-hander Justin Synder, capping a four-run fifth for the Mountaineers against three different pitchers. Mikael Mogues had a two-run single and Ryan Fineman drove in a run with a groundout in the fifth as well.

Feldman was roughed up for three runs, two earned, in the first inning. However, he quickly settled down, retiring 10 of the next 11 Westerners he faced. Danbury tacked on a run in the fourth via a first-and-third play that caught the Mountaineers sleeping, but Feldman recovered and set down six straight. Protecting a slim one-run lead, his defense let him down in the seventh.

After issuing a leadoff walk, Danbury shortstop Coco Montes dropped a single into center, where Joe Tietjen misplayed it. Runners ended on first and third, and Tyler Panno grounded a ball towards Mogues at first. Mogues charged it, but it slipped under his glove to bring in the game-tying run. The Westerners took the lead back and chased Feldman with the next batter, as Nanno Santorelli laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, even beating the throw.

Feldman allowed six runs, five earned over six innings. He issued a lone walk while striking out seven.

“You have to understand he hasn’t pitched in nine days,” Brown said. “He settled down. I’ve been nice and starting a lot of guys, but we’re going to start putting out a rotation that’s going to get the job done.”

Vermont showed resilience, however. Down one in the eighth, Tietjen redeemed himself with a one-out single. Mogues, one of the hottest hitters in the NECBL, capped a 2-for-4 night with a RBI double to the gap in deep right-center. He was thrown out trying to score on a groundout later in the inning, but it ultimately didn’t matter.

Danbury attempted to rally against reliever Chandler Sedat, but he showcased his ability as an escape artist. He escaped a pair of bases-loaded jams and struck out four in three innings of work, earning the win.

Jagiello took the loss for Danbury, who’ve dropped two straight.

Vermont improved to 3-11. They’re on the road tomorrow, facing North Adams for the second time in three days.

Game 12 Recap: Swamp Bats 5, Mountaineers 3

Jamal Wade is greeted at home plate after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning. /KSB Photo

The troublesome trend of errors was halted for one night, at least. The offensive woes continued.

Vermont managed just three runs, leaving seven runners on base, and the lack of production cost them once again. A late rally wasn’t enough, as the Keene Swamp Bats snapped a three-game losing streak, handing the Mountaineers a third straight loss with a 5-3 defeat.

The Mountaineers have scored over four runs just once through 12 games, averaging just 3.5 runs per game. Even though the pitching ranks near the top of the league in ERA (3.29), troubles with errors have resulted in letting in an average of five runs a game. With an offense that’s yet to find their rhythm, that’s resulted in Vermont dropping 10 of 11 games since their season opener.

Signs of life are there. First basemen Mikael Mogues, who leads the team with a .400 batting average, has been on a tear lately. The Seton Hall product is 10-for-16 over his last five games, a .625 mark that pairs with a home run and four RBIs. Unfortunately, he’s scored just three runs in that span -- a mark towards the teams struggles with runners in scoring position. Vermont is hitting .227 with RISP, and an even lower .143 mark when it comes to the final out of the inning.

Joe Tietjen, who slugged a leadoff home run last night, is hitting .316 in the six games he’s played for Vermont. After him, however, the next highest hitter over the last five games boasts a .250 mark. As a team, they’re hitting .228 with just 19 runs over their last five games, where they’ve gone 1-4.

The pitching has done it’s part. Michael Fairchild turned in five innings last night in his summer debut, striking out two and allowing three earned runs on four hits while walking a pair. It wasn’t anything special, but it was a reliable start. The bullpen allowed two more runs to come across, but Vermont couldn’t rally to catch up. Overall, Vermont’s pitching has been excellent during this recent skid.

Over the past five games, Vermont’s pitching staff has accumulated 44 innings of work. They’ve allowed just 12 earned runs (a 2.45 ERA, which would be good for second in the league), while striking out 41 and walking 15. That kind of pitching is a welcome sight, because all that remains for Vermont is to turn the offense around.

Back to last night’s game. Tietjen led the game off with a solo home run, his first of the summer, and Fairchild worked a pair of scoreless innings. However, a Fairchild wild pitch in the third and a two-run home run to the short porch in right from Jamal Wade gave the Swamp Bats the lead for good.

Wade feasted on Mountaineer pitching, going 3-for-3 with an intentional walk. He finished a triple shy of the cycle, as he singled in the singled, homered in the fourth, and doubled in the sixth. Hitting out of the six spot, it was a sign of where the production in the Swamp Bats lineup came from. The top three hitters for Keene finished 0-for-11 with two walks and three strikeouts, while the 6-7-8 went 6-for-11 with three RBIs.

Tietjen and Mogues combined for five hits, but Vermont’s offense struggled to get runners in. Keene tacked on a run against reliever Joey Benitez in the sixth o a wild pitch, and it took until the eighth for Vermont to answer. Shortstop Mike Osinski doubled to score Tietjen from second with one out, and a passed ball brought him in with two outs. However, the Swamp Bats answered in the bottom of the frame for an insurance run. Evan McFarland, the Keene catcher hitting out of the eight spot, singled in a run.

The Swamp Bats made the most of a good start from Ryan Avidano, who scattered five hits and a walk over six innings. The lone run charged to him came just five pitches into the game, and he bounced back to strike out four. Ian Clough threw a scoreless inning of relief, and Vermonter Michael LaBeau (Bellows Falls, Vt./Castleton St) threw 1 2/3 scoreless to get the save.

Vermont looks to snap this recent three-game skid with another divisional road game. They travel to Joe Wolfe Field tonight to take on North Adams at 6:30 p.m. The SteepleCats are 7-6 and sit a game-and-a-half out of first place.

Surprisingly, the SteepleCats have scored 35 more runs then the Mountaineers despite hitting just .232, two percentage points lower then Vermont. This is expected, as the team is hitting .264 with runners in scoring position, and an even better .308 mark with two outs.

North Adams does have the worst pitching staff in the league, however. A 4.53 team ERA ranks last, and they’ve surrendered 11 home runs (second) and opponents are hitting .288 against (worst in the league).

Game 11 Recap: Waves 5, Mountaineers 4

Troy Scocca had a productive day at the plate for the Mountaineers. /Stefan Hard Photo

The Mountaineers put together a late rally, but misplays in the infield and struggles with runners in scoring position resulted in a 5-4 loss at the hands of the Ocean State Waves late Wednesday.

Struggles out of the gate have continued for Vermont, falling to 2-9 to start the team’s championship defense. Ocean State, meanwhile, has cruised to a NECBL-best 10-2 record, winning its fifth straight.

“We have to play way better,” Vermont manager Joe Brown said. “We need to be more accountable because we’re way underperforming. You don’t sugarcoat it for the guys, you have to bet better. You’re here to be better”

Defensive miscues were again the culprit. The Mountaineers committed three errors, running their total to 25 in just 11 games, a mark that leads the league. Vermont jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and was playing well behind a strong start from Joe Rocchietti on the mound. Rocchietti entered the fifth inning with a two-run lead and held the solid Waves offense in check — he had four strikeouts and conceded just two singles. A quality start from the right-hander was quickly knocked off course, however, due to a pair of costly errors. Shortstop Jeremy Giles couldn’t handle a pair of successive grounders hit to him, putting two runners on. Ocean State’s Alex Holderbach followed with a RBI single, and Nick Angelini capped the scoring and chased Rocchietti with a two-run double into the gap.

It was a tough loss for Rocchietti, who turned in a solid start. Brown pointed to his team’s strength on the mound after.

“I think we have better arms in a sense then last year,” he said. “We’re getting great starts, and all three guys pitched well tonight. We gave up five unearned runs. It’s way below the level of these kids.”

Two more runs came across in the seventh, this time on an error from second baseman Jeremy McCuin. Vermont reliever Culver Lamb left with two outs in the seventh, and Sam Bordner inherited a pair of runners in scoring position. Border induced a groundout to second base from Dean Lockery, but McCuin bobbled it. Ocean State shortstop Grant Williams, who started the play at second, didn’t hesitate rounding third base and scored without a throw for two insurance runs.

Waves starter Taylor Luciani served up two doubles in a shaky first inning, needing 43 pitches while seeing his scoreless innings streak stopped at eight. Luciani fought control problems, walking three and conceding a pair of runs. Vermont’s Troy Scocca came up with the big hit, driving in the pair via a double that kicked off the base of the wall in right field. However, Luciani escaped with the bases loaded, symbolic of problems the Mountaineers would face throughout the night.

Vermont finished 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. The Mountaineers lowered their team average to just .212 with runners in scoring position, a dismal mark that has resulted in them ranking near the bottom of the league in runs scored this season. They’ve scored more than four runs just once.

 “That’s bad,” Brown said when he heard that number. “When it rains, it pours, but the bottom line is you need a way better approach.”

The Mountaineers left the bases loaded in the third against Waves reliever Nicholas DiEva. After falling behind in the fifth, the Mountaineers put runners on the corners against reliever Max Ford, but couldn’t get anything. A frame later, David Lett advanced to second on a two-base throwing error from the third baseman, but Waves reliever Logan Lessard set down the side in order afterwards. Vermont rallied in the seventh for a pair of runs as Scocca tripled in the gap to drive in a pair against Waves reliever Nick Johnson. However, with Scocca leading off third, Vermont resorted to its free-swinging ways. Slade Heggen lined out to second, pinch hitter Mike Osinski grounded out to second, and Lett couldn’t beat out a grounder to the hole at short.

For the second straight night, the Mountaineers offense got going too late. They scored three runs in the ninth against Newport on Monday, and the two runs they pushed across in the seventh against Ocean State wasn’t enough either. A strong Waves bullpen helped keep the Mountaineers subdued. DiEva and Ford came in sooner than expected after Luciani’s shaky start, and each threw a pair of shutout innings. Lessard and Johnson were each charged with a run, the latter inheriting a baserunner with one out.

Johnson ran into more trouble in the eighth as two runners reached on back-to-back singles with two outs. However, he induced an inning-ending groundout from Giles. Robert Hitt worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the Waves.

Vermont attempt to shake off the 0-2 homestead with a divisional road trip against rival Keene before taking on North Adams. The Swamp Bats are off to an impressive start to the summer, a division-best 7-4, but all signs point to that being unsustainable. Keene ranks near the bottom of the league in most pitching metrics and has surprising run differential of -4. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Alumni Field.

“We got a couple good starters going,” Brown said. “We’re going with Michael Fairchild (today), who just joined us. Pitching’s not the issue right now, it’s going to keep us in every game.

“Our issue is if we’re going to score runs and play defense — I can’t get more basic then that. Run, hit, throw, catch. Let’s not overanalyze this too much.”

Game 10 Recap: Gulls 7, Mountaineers 4

Newport's Jake Cousins held Vermont in check over seven strong innings. 

After being held in check through the first eight innings, Vermont’s bats showed signs of life when the Mountaineers were down to their final outs of Tuesday night’s game against the Newport Gulls.

Trailing 7-1 entering the final inning, Mikael Mogues hit a two-run home run and Troy Scocca added a pinch-hit, RBI single. Vermont trailed by three, had runners on the corners, and one of their hottest hitters, Jeremy McCuin, was at the plate.

   But McCuin grounded into a fielder’s choice at second base, and the Mountaineers’ struggles to open the 2016 season continued with a 7-4 loss to the Gulls.

   Vermont right-hander Jonathan Stiever was cruising through four innings, carrying over his success from his previous two starts. It all unraveled in the fifth, as Newport scored five runs and chased Stiever with two outs in the inning. The five-run deficit was too much for Vermont’s offense to overcome, as a rally eventually fell short.

   Much of the blame falls on the Mountaineers defense, as three costly errors in the fifth inning resulted in two of the five runs that were earned.

   Stiever gave up a one-run double to Shane Matheny with one out, and Matheny scored on a two-out single to center from Cole Fabio. Fabio advanced to second when Vermont center fielder Joe Tietjen misplayed the ball. He scored on his ensuing steal attempt, as catcher Ryan Fineman sailed the throw down to third into left field, allowing Fabio to jog home.

   That chased Stiever, and reliever Christian Isbell let in a trio of runs — all unearned. Stephen Scott, who singled, came home on third baseman Gabe Levanti’s errant throw. Levanti’s throw skipped to the bullpen down the right-field line, allowing Jake Brodt to go all the way to third. He scored on a single from Ben Breazeale a few pitches later.

   It was a painful inning for the Mountaineers, who have lost eight of their first 10 games this season. Entering the night ranking last in fielding percentage, Vermont’s defensive woes only continued.

   With reliever Fitz Stadler on the mound for the ninth, Newport scratched across two more runs. Shane Matheny drew a leadoff walk, eventually coming across to score on a RBI single from Scott. Scott moved to third after a two-base throwing error on Levanti, and came home on a passed ball from defensive replacement Zeke Pinkham.

   The shaky defense has been costly this summer for the Mountaineers, who sit at a league-worst 2-8. They committed five errors in the loss, running their season total to 22 in 10 games — an unhealthy rate for any team.

   Newport right-hander Jake Cousins threw seven solid innings in his first start of the summer, earning the win. He retired the first 11 batters he faced, with Mikael Mogues the first base-runner, reaching via an infield single that kicked off Cousins’ leg.

   Vermont managed a lone run off of him, coming with two outs in the sixth. Will Morgan doubled to the wall in left-center, moved to third on a wild pitch, and trotted home after Cousins balked. It was the lone blip for him, though, as he scattered two hits and two walks over seven while striking out three.

   Newport’s Denny Brady struck out the side in the seventh, but Bradley Wilpon ran into trouble in the ninth.

   Wilpon gave up a two-run home run to Mogues, who launched one to right field despite falling behind 0-2 in the count. Gulls closer Blake Cairnes gave up a RBI single to Scocca, but avoided collapse by inducing McCuin’s groundout to end the inning.

   Cairnes picked up the save, his second of the summer. Stiever took the loss, his first.

   The Mountaineers will attempt to bounce back and even their record at home when they host the Southern Division-leading Ocean State Waves tonight at 6:30 p.m.. The Waves, winners of four straight, are a NECBL-best 9-2 this summer.

Game 9 Recap: Mountaineers 5, Muskrats 1

In a season where so many of the Mountaineers games have looked the same, Sunday's 5-1 victory in Winnipesaukee was certainly different.

Joe Jacques allowed a lone run over six innings with seven strikeouts, four different hitters recorded RBIs, and reliever Chandler Sedat polished off a three-inning save as Vermont snapped a seven-game losing streak.

After being mired in a skid since their season opener, the Mountaineers had fallen into a pattern of building early leads and faltering late. Sunday night's game featured none of that. A four-run fifth inning backed a quality start from Jacques, and Sedat was a dominant arm out of the bullpen. All in all, it was a refreshing sight to see.

Offensively, no one player carried the load. The Mountaineers strung hits together against Winnipesaukee reliever George Lamb in the fifth inning. Troy Scocca drove in his team-high fifth run with a single, then Joe Tietjen doubled in a run, Mikael Mogues had a RBI groundout, and Mike Osinski followed with a single..

Will Morgan drove in the final run with a one-out RBI double in the eighth, pushing the lead to four.

Jacques was excellent in his second start of the summer, raising his ERA to a minuscule 0.81. He's piled up nine strikeouts in 11 innings this summer, walking just two. He became the first Mountaineer starting pitcher to record a win, turning in a quality start.

The lone run scored by the Muskrats came in the fourth, coming via a RBI single by Jonathan Ortega.

Vermont's bullpen struggles have been well-documented, so when Jacques turned the ball over to relief in the seventh, many Mountaineers fans most likely didn't feel confident. However, Sedat, a 6-1 right-hander, has been one of the team's best pitchers this summer. He retired the first four batters he faced, and worked around a one-out single in the eighth. Sedat has two scoreless appearances under his belt this summer, fanning six in seven innings while allowing just two baserunners.

It was a big win for Vermont, and they'll look to build on it after a day of rest. They return for a two-game homestand, facing Southern Division foes Newport and Ocean State. The Gulls sit at 5-4, while the Waves are the hottest team in baseball -- winners of seven straight -- and hold a league-best 8-2 record.

Game 8 Recap: Blue Sox 7, Mountaineers 3

The defending New England Collegiate Baseball League champions are in a historic tailspin.

The Vermont Mountaineers dropped their seventh straight game, 7-3, to the visiting Valley Blue Sox Friday night. After winning their season opener, the Mountaineers have embarked on a lengthy losing streak . With just one win through their first eight games, it’s the worst start to a season in franchise history.

The stretch began with a 5-4 loss to the Winnipesaukee Muskrats last Friday, as the Mountaineers squandered a two-run lead in the late innings. It has spanned the last six games. On Friday, a single play was the beginning of the end for Vermont.

With one out in the fourth inning, Mountaineers starter TJ Santiago had already allowed a sacrifice fly, and there was runners on the corners for Valley’s No. 9 hitter, Kyle Mottice. Mottice hit a dribbler to the left side, and Santiago picked it up ... and sailed the throw over first basemen Ryan Fineman’s head. It rolled and rolled, allowing Mottice to circle the bases for the Little League inside-the-park three-run home run.

For Santiago, who struck out seven and retired five straight to end his outing, it was a letdown. Vermont has had reliable starting pitching throughout this skid, and Santiago was cruising with a one-run lead. He’d worked out of a second-inning jam with a pair of strikeouts, but his one overthrow proved costly.

Trailing 4-1, Vermont rallied against Blue Sox starter Trent Astle, who was making his summer debut. They chased Astle with the bases loaded in the sixth. Pinch-hitter Mikael Mogues greeted reliever Shane Ennis rudely, lining a ball off of his glove for an infield RBI single. Catcher Zeke Pinkham, a late arrival, followed with a run-scoring fielder choice. Ennis beared down, however, stranding the tying run at third base.

Vermont reliever Sean Callahan, who threw an inning-plus, gave up a leadoff double to Erik Ostberg in the eighth. Newcomer Sam Bordner, a towering right-hander from Louisville, entered. Bordner gave up RBI doubles to Kipp Moore and Jacen Naliesnik, then surrendered another run in the ninth.

Valley shortstop Travis Jones hit his third home run of the summer off of Bordner with one out in the ninth, crushing one into the parking lot beyond the left field fence. Jones finished 2 for 5 and is hitting .400 for the Blue Sox. Naliesnik had three hits on the night, while Jones was joined by Moore and Ostberg with multi-hit games.

Astle allowed five hits in 5.0 innings, striking out one and walking a pair to earn the win. Ennis and the Blue Sox bullpen locked it down. Valley’s Liam Carter, Tyler Smith, and Blake Wellman each worked a scoreless inning of relief.

Carter ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh, as a dropped third strike, a throwing error, and a sacrifice bunt put the tying run 90 feet away. Carter got a strikeout and a flyout to right, however, to keep the Blue Sox up by one at the time.

Santiago took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits over 5.0 innings.

Vermont’s first run came in the third, when newcomer Joe Tietjen knocked a RBI triple to the 340-foot marker in the right-center gap.

They’ll get a much needed day off after five games in five days, and return to action on the road Sunday. They’ll travel to face Winnipesaukee at 6:05 p.m.

Game 7 Recap: Schooners 6, Mountaineers 4

The bullpen woes continued for the Vermont Mountaineers, as another lead slipped away in the late innings against Mystic. The Schooners trailed 4-1 through 5 1/2, but scored five unanswered runs to hand the Mountaineers a sixth straight loss, 6-4.

Vermont is now tied for the worst start in franchise history with the 2010 team. In 2010, Vermont also started 1-6, and went on to lose a franchise-worst 27 games and post a .357 winning percentage.

The cause for this early-season skid is clear. Vermont's been able to build up early leads in four of the six losses, and they've taken them into late innings. It's there, however, that relievers squander them. Here's the splits for the Mountaineers between their starters and relievers:

Starters: 0-1, 32 IP, 6.2 K/9, 1.4 BB/9 1.00 WHIP, 1.41 ERA
Relievers: 1-5, 28 IP, 8.4 K/9, 4.2 BB/9, 1.71 WHIP, 6.75 ERA

The problem is that it's not a lot of Vermont's pitchers will pitch well, then struggle, or vice versa. Reliever Joey Benitez hurled four scoreless innings in the season opener, and came back against Danbury and gave up five runs in four innings. Joe Rocchietti allowed two runs, one earned, in four innings against Upper Valley -- and took the loss last night, allowing three earned runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Baseball Prospectus writer Keith Woolner came up with a way to sort relief pitchers appearances into eight categories -- shutdown (the opponent), slam (the door on them), cough (up the lead), choke (away the lead), cinch, stem (the bleeding), letdown, and mop-up. It's a fairly complicated set of criteria, but he explains it in-depth here, using the flowchart below to make it easier to comprehend.

Through six games, the Mountaineers have had their relievers make 13 appearances. For Woolner's categories, two don't count, having thrown more than three innings. Here's how the other 11 break down.

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Choke (3): The pitcher enters the game with the lead, but the tying run not on base, at bat, or on deck, pitches 3 or fewer innings, and loses the lead.

Two of these outings belong to reliever Morgan Maguire, who's 0-2 on the year with a 13.50 ERA. Opponents are hitting .409 against the Old Dominion right-hander, who's faced a bullpen-high 30 batters. He gave up a two-run lead on June 10th, then allowed four runs over the final three innings to blow a slim one-run lead. The other outing belongs to Kevin Kernan, who lost a two-run lead to rivals Upper Valley.

Cinch (3): Pitcher enters the game with the lead, but the tying run not on base, at bat, or on deck, pitches 3 or fewer innings, and never loses the lead.

This is an interesting category in my opinion. It gives credit to any reliever who enters a game with a lead bigger than one and keeps that lead. In two of these outings, Mountaineers let their opponents back into. Isbell, making his season debut, cut a four-run Vermont lead to just one, and Stadler, also making his debut, cut a three-run lead to one. Lamb's outing was a good one, but the other two were shaky.

Cough (1): Pitcher enters the game with the tying run either on base, at bat, or on deck, pitches 3 or fewer innings, and loses the lead.

In last night's loss, Rocchietti entered in the eighth with a slim one-run lead to protect. He walked the first batter he faced, then allowed a single. Rocchietti wasn't able to work out of the trouble, allowing a pair of RBI singles and a third run scored on a passed ball. 

Letdown (1): Pitcher enters without a lead, and down by no more than 2 runs, and allows the lead to exceed 2 runs.

This is another interesting category, because it applies both in close games and in ties. In Callahan's case, he entered in the 10th inning of a 1-1 game with Sanford. He got an out but then allowed a walk-off solo home run to Chris Gaetano.

Mopup (2): Pitcher enters with the score down by more than two runs, and leaves without his team tying or taking the lead, regardless of outcome.

Both of these outings came against Danbury, with the game already out of reach. Feldman allowed three runs, but Kernan bounced back from a rough first appearance with two scoreless innings.

Stem(1): Pitcher enters without a lead, and down by no more than 2 runs, and exits without letting the lead exceed 2 runs.

Feldman allowed a lone unearned run, but kept the game close with Upper Valley. He entered after Kernan and "stemmed the bleeding."

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If you stuck with me through all that, I appreciate it. Out of the eight categories Woolner created, three are "bad." Choke, letdown, and cough are all negative ones. Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, through their first seven games, roughly half of their bullpen outings have ended in one of those three categories. Moving forward, it'll be interesting to see what they can do to keep leads late in ballgames. 

Game 6 Recap: Westerners 8, Mountaineers 2

Jahn threw seven innings for Danbury. /NewTimes

A game that was supposed to snap a season-opening skid from the Mountaineers turned out to be quite the letdown.

On the road against the Danbury Westerners -- owners of a pitching staff with a NECBL-worst ERA -- Vermont was held in check. Westerners right-hander Will Jahn retired the first 15 batters he faced and turned in seven strong innings, leading his team to a convincing 8-2 win.

Joey Benitez gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks over four innings as the Mountaineers losing streak reached five. They’ve gone winless since Opening Day, and at 1-5, already sit 3 ½ games back of first place Keene.

Frank Maldonado’s two-run home run highlighted a three-run Westerners second against Benitez, who was hit hard in his first start of the summer. A pair of costly Vermont errors didn’t help the starter’s cause, as only two of the five runs he allowed were earned.

Jahn had his best start of the summer for Danbury, as he faced the minimum over six innings. After retiring the first 15 he faced, he gave up a sharply hit single with one out in the fifth to Vermont right fielder Troy Scocca, but quickly bounced back by inducing an inning-ending double play. He allowed a lone run over seven innings on two hits and a walk while striking out five.

Benitez excelled on Opening Day against Upper Valley, hurling four scoreless innings in relief, but he struggled out of the gate. He only gave up one run in the first, coming on a Giovanni Dingcong RBI double, but was bailed out by bad baserunning decisions. A pair of Westerners were thrown out at the plate -- one trying to score from second on a single to left field, and the other attempting to score from third after a throw down kicked into foul territory.

The big inning came in the second. A one-out, two-base error was followed by a RBI double to right-center by Sebastiano Santorelli. Maldonado’s home run followed a batter later, clearing the short porch in right field.  Eddie Silva drove in another run off of Benitez in the third, lining a two-out RBI single up the middle.

Benitez stopped the bleeding with a scoreless fourth, and reliever Davis Feldman hurled a 1-2-3 frame before running into trouble. Feldman hit the first batter he faced in the sixth, then Santorelli connected for a two-run blast to right-center. It cleared the road beyond the fence, narrowly missing a van turning out of the parking lot. Ryan Nelson capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Vermont responded in the seventh, breaking up the shutout bid with a one-out RBI groundout from Ryan Fineman. It came with runners on first and third, and a bobble by Santorelli prevented a potential double play for Jahn to escape the jam.

They tacked on another run against reliever Justin Snyder in the eighth. After putting runners on the corners with one out, Daniel Little dropped down a bunt, but Westerners catcher Nick Gatewood skied his throw to first to bring in a run easily.

It was a tough offensive game for the Mountaineers, as they needed mistakes from Danbury to score. They managed just two hits, lowering their team average to .231 through the first six games. They’ll finish up a Connecticut road trip with a NECBL championship rematch against Mystic tonight. The Schooners are on a similar skid, having dropped four in a row, and sit at 2-4 on the season. First pitch comes at 6:05 p.m.

Game 5 Recap: Muskrats 8, Mountaineers 5

Winnipesaukee's Ryan Stekl dives back into second after a throw down. /Stefan Hard, TA Photo

Jonathan Stiever was very strong in his second start for the Mountaineers, going five innings again and allowing a lone run. The offense was clicking early, chasing Winnipesaukee starter Denis Lyman after just two-plus innings, and they built a 5-1 lead. The bullpen combination of Christian Isbell and Morgan Maguire, surrendered the lead -- and Vermont dropped their fourth straight by a score of 8-5. Over this skid, the Mountaineers have faltered late in games. Here's what the pitching staff looks like right now:

Vermont starting pitchers -- 0-0, 23 IP, 17 K, 6 BB, 1.17 ERA, 2.97 FIP
Vermont bullpen -- 1-4, 21 IP, 22 K, 10 BB, 5.57 ERA, 3.67 FIP

That's got to be very frustrating for both the Mountaineers starting pitchers and manager Joe Brown. In three of the four losses, the starting pitcher exited with a lead. In the lone exception, the game was tied. Tuesday night's loss was a frustrating one as the offense quickly cooled off and Winnipesaukee worked back into it.

Top Play (WPA)
The biggest play of Tuesday's game came in the eighth inning, when Muskrats No. 2 hitter Jimmy Galusky drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double to the wall in left (+.368). Galusky entered that situation 0-for-4 on the night, but he squared up on a 0-1 pitch from Maguire and lined one in the gap, allowing all three runs to come across.

Notes
There's some positives to take away from the loss for Vermont. Stiever has been excellent, going five innings apiece in his two starts this summer. The Indiana product has allowed just one earned run on four hits over 10 innings, striking out seven.

It was also good to see Troy Scocca have a strong day at the plate. Scocca arrived after Vermont's home opener, and struggled to open the summer on the road. During the three-game swing, Scocca went 0-for-11. He drew four walks in the three games, but really broke out against the Muskrats. He finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, a double, and a walk. Jeremy McCuin made his debut after coming in late from Arizona State and went 2-for-4, while Mikael Mogues had his third straight multi-hit game, going 3-for-4. Mogues is at .381/.409/.476 and is seven for his last 13 at bats.

Maguire's had two shaky outings to start the summer, both against Winnipesaukee. In his first appearance, he gave up three earned runs over one-plus innings of relief, losing a two-run lead and taking the loss. He worked out of trouble in the seventh last night, but loaded the bases for Galusky in the eighth and ended up allowing four runs over two innings. He's faced 30 batters now, and opponents are hitting .409 against him -- he's walked five and has an inflated 13.50 ERA.

Game 4 Recap: Mainers 2, Mountaineers 1

Monmouth's Chris Gaetano delivered the decisive blow, a walkoff home run in the 10th. /Monmouth

Vermont dropped their third straight game Monday night, falling in the bottom of the 10th inning as Sanford right fielder Chris Gaetano ended the game with a one-out, walk-off home run. Gaetano entered the game as a defensive replacement, and the home run came in his first at bat of the night. It's a frustrating trend for the Mountaineers, as all three losses have come due to the combination of a lack of offense and a bullpen that makes that one costly mistake. Here's a look at the last three games.

1 -- Winnipesaukee 5, Vermont 4. Mountaineers starter TJ Santiago strikes out six and allows a lone earned run over four innings, leaving with his team up 2-1. The Mountaineers stretch the lead to 4-2 through six, but reliever Morgan Maguire gives up three earned runs in 1 2/3 innings, and they fall on a walk-off single.

2 -- Upper Valley 6, Vermont 4. Mountaineers starter Joe Rocchietti gives up two runs, one earned, over four innings. He leaves with his team up 4-2, but that lead quickly disappears. Middle reliever Kevin Kernan gives up three earned runs over 2 2/3 innings and the Nighthawks tack on an insurance run late.

3 -- Sanford 2, Vermont 1. Vermont starter Joe Jacques has an impressive start, and middle reliever Chandler Sedat excels -- the duo go nine innings, striking out six and allowing just one run. The game's knotted up at one apiece in the bottom of the ninth and reliever Sean Callahan comes in. After inducing a leadoff groundout, Callahan surrenders a game-winning home run to Gaetano, clearing the trees in right field at Goodall Park. 

The common trend in these losses is that the pitching is strong -- they're fourth in ERA (2.31) -- but the bullpen has just made those few mistakes each game to take them away from a victory. Vermont's taken a lead into the seventh in half of their games, but they dropped both of those. Sedat and Benitez, two relievers, have combined to toss eight scoreless innings of work. 

To reiterate, it's not that the bullpen is bad, they've just had that one game-changing inning in each of these past three games. It's also the first time throwing in some time for quite a few of these guys, so it's not anything to worry about. Vermont has consistently been one of the best pitching teams in the league, and don't expect much to change.

Top Play (WPA)

To no surprise, the top play is Gaetano's solo home run to end the game (.404). He cleared the trees in right field, which is where, if I remember correctly, a majority of the home runs hit during last year's home run derby ended up. Gaetano is a returning NECBLer and hit just two home runs in 24 games with the Mainers last summer, finishing with a .261/.362/.377 slash line. He's 3-for-11 to start this summer, helping Sanford to a three-game winning streak.

Up Next

Vermont hopes to end the skid as they play host to Winnipesaukee tonight at 6:30. The Muskrats are 1-3 also, with their lone win coming against the Mountaineers. 

Sunday Notes: Shaking the rust off

It was an inauspicious offensive start to the NECBL season, to say the least. Having arrived in Vermont, players from Upper Valley and Vermont struggled mightily at the plate out of the gate. Through the first six innings of the league's marquee season opener, neither offense had managed a hit. The Mountaineers rallied for a 2-0 win in the ensuing innings, but it points to a greater trend through the league's first 15 games.

The NECBL's pitchers are averaging just over a strikeout per inning, with 285 in 280 1/3 innings, and the hitters have a low .234 mark. It's obviously a small sample size, but it's 16 points down from last summer. It's expected, though. Vermont Mountaineers manager Joe Brown summed it up pretty well after the season opening win, saying, "I think what you saw tonight is an example of college kids not having swung a bat in a game in about two weeks, some of them three, some four - and great pitching."

"That’s what you’re going to get in this league, night in and night out. You have to do the little things to create the runs."

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The best start of the young season came Saturday night, as Sanford left-hander William Tribucher, a sophomore from Michigan, cruised to a win against Danbury. A season-high 82 game score, Tribucher went six scoreless innings and allowed just one hit while not issuing a walk and striking out six. He retired 15 straight at one point and left after sixth having thrown 71 pitches with his team up 6-0.

It was an impressive outing for Tribucher, who was used primarily as a reliever this spring. He made 23 appearances (three starts) for the Wolverines, striking out 37 in 39 innings of work. Tribucher led all freshmen in appearances and didn't allow an earned run in his first five appearances.

The Michigan-Sanford connection has been strong, as Tribucher is joined by another member of the Wolverines pitching staff. Right-hander Troy Miller struck out three of the four Ocean State batters he faced on Thursday. They're joined by teammates Johnny Slater in the outfield and second basemen Ako Thomas.

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Josh Weinreb, a journalist for the Valley News, is covering the Upper Valley Nighthawks in their inaugural season. Weinreb and the VN staff have provided some interesting insight on the process of launching and managing an expansion franchise in the NECBL, especially over the first few games. Here's a snippet of their coverage that was really interesting.

The batter’s boxes were too small and too close to home plate. Fans wandered past the unmarked ticket tents without paying, costing perhaps a couple hundred dollars in revenue. The hot dog vendor ran out of heated wieners in the second inning and the scoreboard went out for part of the sixth inning. 

None of which caused Noah Crane, the Upper Valley Nighthawks’ general manager, visible stress Saturday evening.

“Growing pains,” said the Lebanon resident, midway through his New England Collegiate Baseball League expansion franchise’s home opener. “We’ll figure it out.”

You can read more about the Nighthawks home field, the Maxfield Sports Complex, here. Weinreb also covered their home opener in detail and discussed the connection Nighthawks manager Nick Cenatiempo and Vermont's Joe Brown have. He also wrote a lengthy feature on Crane, the former Muskrats general manager, reflecting on the process of bringing the Nighthawks to the Upper Valley region.

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The MLB Draft was a success for the NECBL, with six alums taken on the first day, and countless others picked in the ensuing rounds. I'll have a post coming out with a complete list, but here's the league's rundown of the first three picks, coming in the first round.

The San Diego Padres used the 25th pick of the first round of the 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft to select Kent State University rising senior and left-handed pitcher Eric Lauer on Thursday, highlighting a night that saw six total New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) alumni taken in the first two rounds and first two compensatory rounds of the MLB Draft.

Seven picks after Lauer – who was a member of the 2014 Keene Swamp Bats – the Los Angeles Dodgers used their 32nd overall pick to select former Newport Gull Will Smith, a catcher out of Louisville. But the Dodgers weren’t done with NECBL products, using their 36th overall pick in the “Lottery A” compensatory round to select former Laconia Muskrat Jordan Sheffield, a right-hander out of Vanderbilt.

The three of them raise the league’s total to 26 first-round draft selections who are NECBL alumni. Those selections also mark the ninth consecutive MLB Draft in which a product from The New England League was selected in the first round.

 Stay tuned for more coverage!

Game 3 Recap: Nighthawks 6, Mountaineers 4

Vermont's Gabe Levanti gets a lead /VM Photo

For the second game in a row, the Mountaineers bullpen faltered, coughing up a four-game lead as they dropped a 6-4 decision to nearby rival Upper Valley. The Nighthawks fell behind 4-0 early, but slowly chipped away at the lead before scoring four runs in the final three innings to win their first game of the season.

Top Play (WPA)

Trent Leimkuehler's go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning was the game's top play (.325), as it completed the four-run comeback for the Nighthawks. Leimkuehler had gone 0-for-4 in Upper Valley's season opening loss to the Mountaineers, but he finished 2-for-4 in his second game with the decisive RBI. 

Three Notes

1. Blown leads -- Vermont's offense has built leads of 4-1 and 4-0 the last two times, but relievers haven't been able to hold on. In Friday night's 5-4 loss to Winnipesaukee, it was Morgan Maguire (Old Dominion), who gave up three earned runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. Last night, it was left-hander Kevin Kernan (Stony Brook). Kernan entered in the fifth with Vermont up by two runs and quickly retired the first five batters he faced, striking out four of them. He ran into trouble though, and gave up RBI singles to Charlie Concannon and Sean Breen to let the Nighthawks tie it. He was handed the loss the following inning, giving up Leimkuehler's double with one out.

2. Missed opportunities -- Vermont had a season-high 10 hits, but stranded 12 runners. They loaded the bases in the first but couldn't push across a run. They left two on in the second and three more in the third. The Mountaineers also had a runner thrown out in the plate in the seventh inning, as Jeremy Giles (Stony Brook) was caught after trying to score from second on a single to center field.

3. Upper Valley relievers -- Nighthawks starter Dakota Edwards struggled through 2 1/3 innings, walking four and allowed four earned runs on six hits. Reliever Jarod Yoakam allowed the runners he inherited from Edward to score, but it was the work done after that which was impressive. The trio of Dylan Verdonk, Joseph Levasseur, and Nick Jones, combined for six scoreless innings. They only allowed three hits while walking two and striking out six. Verdonk beared the brunt of the load, throwing four shutout innings while allowing just two hits. Levasseur put two runners on with nobody out in the ninth, but Jones got the save by entering and setting down three in order. 

Up Next

Vermont has an off day, then attempts to end the early two-game losing streak when they travel to Sanford, Maine. The Mainers dropped their season opener but have won both matchups since, starting the year 2-1. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. 

Game 2 Recap: Muskrats 5, Mountaineers 4

Ryan Stekl (Canisius) willed the Muskrats to victory with two clutch its. 

Vermont's bullpen faltered on Friday night, losing a two-run lead, as reliever Morgan Maguire gave up a two-run home run to Ryan Stekl in the eighth -- then allowed a walk-off single to the Canisius junior in the bottom of the ninth. It was a disappointing loss for the Mountaineers, who had a solid lead entering the final two innings of play. It evened their record at 1-1 to start the season.

Top Play (WPA)
Once again, it's pretty easy to guess which one this is. Stekl's game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning (.426) sealed the deal for the Muskrats, their first win since changing their franchise name to Winnipesaukee. It was one of two huge hits for Stekl, who also tied the game with one swing in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run bat. He finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a run.

Three Notes
1. Quality pitching -- This is a broad note, clearly, but both teams got a lot of good pitching. One standout was Muskrats reliever Jackson Tetrault (State Col of Florida Manatee-Sarasota). Tetrault entered in the seventh and tossed a pair of 1-2-3 innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced. Even more impressive, Tetrault entered and faced off against the top of the Mountaineers lineup. Vermont starter TJ Santiago (Adelphi) was solid over four innings. The lone blip was a leadoff home run he allowed in his last inning of work, but Santiago struck out six and didn't issue a walk. Reliever Culver Lamb (Old Dominion) bridged the gap to the late innings with three good innings. Lamb allowed a lone unearned run, but only gave up one hit and a pair of walks while striking out four.

2. Strong offense -- Vermont second basemen Jeremy Giles showcased some pop by launching a pair of solo home runs. After going 0-for-2 in the season opener with a walk, Giles homered in his first at bat, then launched one with two outs in the sixth. Middle infield teammate Michael Osinski had another strong game for the Mountaineers, going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs. Osinski also swiped a base to follow up his 2-for-4 night against Upper Valley, making him 5-for-8 (.625) through two games.

3. Aggressiveness on the basepaths -- Not even sure if this needs to be included as a note about a Joe Brown baseball team, but the Mountaineers are up to their usual ways. Vermont went 3-for-3 on the basepaths Friday night, running their total up to five in two games. Last season, Brown's Mountaineers swiped 100 bases in the regular season, and they're already set to come close to that again. They have plenty of speed, as David Lett has a stolen base in both games, while players like Osinski and Daniel Little both have potential.

Up Next
Vermont is on the road -- just a 45-minute trip, though -- to take on Upper Valley for the second time this season. The first game was quite the matchup, as the Mountaineers eked out a 2-0 win behind stellar defense, strong pitching, and timely hitting. Upper Valley sends Dakota Edwards to the mound. Edwards is a returning NECBL All-Star after playing in North Adams last season, and he hurled a no-hitter in his first start for the SteepleCats.