2016 NECBL Preview: New Bedford Bay Sox

All the way back to their Torrington Twisters days, the Bay Sox are still searching for their first championship in franchise history. New Bedford bounced back in 2015 after two straight losing seasons, but were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by Mystic. The Bay Sox strength this season comes from lower division talent, as a few impact players are coming from D-II and D-III. They have several returning players from last year’s 22-20 squad, so it’ll be interesting to see how they can come together.

Notables

St. Bonaventure's Brandon Schlimm had a strong spring. 

Junior Brandon Schlimm (St. Bonaventure) was one of the top pitchers in the Atlantic 10 conference, finishing with a 2.11 ERA (33rd in D-I), three complete games (37th), and a 1.00 WHIP (34th). He made 13 starts and totaled 94 innings, so his workload will be light in New Bedford this summer...Junior Dan Southerland (Wheaton) had a 2.60 ERA over eight appearances out of the bullpen for the Bay Sox last summer, and returns after a stellar spring. He finished with a 2.27 ERA and ranked near the top in D-III in several categories. An All-New England First Team selection, Southerland had a 0.77 WHIP (second in D-III), 1.14 BB/9 (24th),  and a 5.33 K/BB ratio (44th)...Outfielder Ryan Baldwin (Barry) was named an Honorable Mention on the D-II All-American Team, hitting a team-best .369 and he tied for 4th in the SSC in home runs, fifth in the SSC in walks, and eighth in the SSC in RBI.

Pitchers
Austin Cline - SO - Dayton - 2.11 K/BB ratio over 10 starts and 72 innings of work
Chris Cobb - SR - North Georgia - 8.7 K/9 with a 3.49 ERA as a starter and reliever
Dylan Collett - SR - St. Leo - Gave up seven home runs and had a 6+ ERA over 80 innings
Adam Fournier - SR - Franklin Pierce - Gave up six runs in 4 1/3 innings this spring
Matt Leon - JR - Seton Hall - Reliable reliever with 3.1 K/BB ratio over 26 appearances
Evan McMahon - SR - Nevada - Team-high 25 appearances with six saves and 5+ ERA
Nick Miceli - SR - Wesleyan - Starter/reliever who went 6-1 with four saves and a 3.46 ERA
Derrick Pickvet - SO - North Georgia - Reliever who had a 2.03 ERA over 19 outings
P.J. Poulin - SO - UConn - Made 14 appearances and had a 2.00 WHIP with a 4.15 ERA
Darrien Ragins - JR - Delaware St. - Had an ERA just under seven but averaged 11.2 K/9
Gabriel Rodriguez - SO - Eastern Florida St - 11.7 K/9 with a 4.05 ERA over 20 innings of work
Brandon Schlimm - JR - St. Bonaventure - Stellar starter with a 2.11 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 2.78 K/BB ratio
John Sostarich - SR - Sacred Heart - Reliable starter who went 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA over 10 starts
Daniel Southerland - JR - Wheaton - Excellent starter for Wheaton, who went 7-2 with 2.27 ERA
Michael Young - JR - Stonehill - Followed up an excellent freshman season with a solid sophomore campaign

Catchers
Jacob Friar - SR - Sacred Heart - Hit just .136 last summer with the Sox, but hit .288 this spring
Andrew Penner - JR - LA Valley Col - Slugged .379 with 25 RBIs, 20 runs scored

Infielders
Chandler Debrosse - SO - CCSU - Only had 18 at bats this season, his first in Connecticut
Robbie Doring - JR - Dayton - Slugged 13 doubles and eight home runs, swiped 10 bases
Connor Hoover - JR - North Georgia - Extremely patient, with 45 walks in 51 games
Zach Perry - JR - Northeastern - Hit .275 with nine doubles and 19 RBIs over 100 at bats
Ted Shaw - SR - Sacred Heart - .256/.368/.338 for the returning Bay Sox, had .273 average last summer

Outfielders
Ryan Baldwin - JR- Barry - Team-high .369 average with 15 doubles, 13 home runs, 12 stolen bases
T.J. Dixon - SR - Samford - Returning Bay Sox hit .262 last summer, boosted it to .299 this spring
Keith Kelbart - SR - Sacred Heart - Played six games for Mystic last season, hit .250 this spring
Alex Mata - SR - St. Leo - Piled up 23 doubles and a team-high .388 average with nine home runs