Mountaineers aim to build on recent success

Vermont's Davis Feldman is one of several key pieces in a second-half surge for the Mountaineers. /TA Photo

Closing out the stretch before the All-Star break with six wins in seven games, the Vermont Mountaineers climbed out of last place in the Northern Division and sit in good position after finding the reset button on their slow start to the summer.

What’s already happened has been well-documented in this newspaper, as Vermont limped out to a 2-11 start and routinely dealt with defensive struggles. Following a seven-game losing streak – and just one road win in Vermont’s first 11 chances – fans faced the harsh reality that it’s simply not the Mountaineers’ year.

But over the past two weeks, that resignation turned into resolve.

Winners of eight of their past 10 games, the Mountaineers enter the second half with a dangerous lineup and reliable pitching. Vermont won a pair of games against the league-leading Sanford Mainers and is now poised to make a playoff run in an incredibly close Northern Division. All seven teams are within six games of each other and every upcoming game will carry more weight.

Vermont opens the final stretch of the season with a three-game homestand, but it’s a brief break in the midst of a grueling schedule. Ten of the Mountaineers’ final 16 games are on the road, including a five-game overnight trip against Southern foes. With six regular-season games remaining at the friendly confines of Recreation Field, the Mountaineers will need to play better on the road. Vermont has become a heavy-hitter in the hunt for a playoff berth even though the team has gone 3-10.

Facing three divisional foes during the current homestead will provide Vermont with a valuable chance to gain ground. It marks the start of a very lengthy stretch, as the Mountaineers are slated to play 10 games in nine days before their next day off. Vermont manager Joe Brown will have his hands full while attempting to not overwork his pitching staff, especially after the loss of reliable arms Culver Lamb and Joey Benitez to innings limits earlier in July.

Brown has done an excellent job of spreading innings around, as only three members of the Mountaineers pitching staff have thrown over 20 innings this summer. The Mountaineers are adding a right-hander to the bullpen with the signing of returnee Billy Whaley of Northfield. The Norwich University standout piled up 31-plus innings last summer and made four starts for the Mountaineers, posting a 4.02 ERA over nine games.

Whaley could be a valuable innings-eater, and several other pitchers have started to find their groove. Reliever Christian Isbell, who gave up three runs in an inning in his season debut, hasn’t allows an earned run in seven innings spanning three appearances. Starter Davis Feldman has turned in quality back-to-back outings, throwing five scoreless innings during a start against Sanford. After that he held Upper Valley hitless in a three-inning relief effort.

The ability to showcase strong pitching from throughout the staff has been a trademark of Brown’s Mountaineers, and it will be key in the final three weeks of the season. And while Vermont is also a very dangerous team at the plate — scoring nearly seven runs per game over the last 10 contests — the potent offense has glossed over some of the team’s recent mistakes.

Vermont has committed 51 errors in 28 games, and that ranks second-worst in the NECBL behind divisional rival Sanford (53). The Mountaineers are last in fielding percentage, and as a result they have allowed the fewest earned runs in the league. Defensive miscues have been a recurring theme for the Mountaineers, and recently the offensive success has helped cover up the fielding mistakes. But as Vermont enters the stretch run, every error will become more and more costly.

A routine lineup could help matters as players grow accustomed to their positions, and it’s a lineup that could easily be the most productive in the Northern Division. When a team’s offense is working as well as the Mountaineers’, coaches typically don’t tinker with the batting order. Second basemen Trevor Ezell leads off and is followed by a stretch of All-Stars in centerfielder Joe Tietjen, first basemen Mikael Mogues and shortstop Mike Osinski. The white-hot Keegan Meyn and another All-Star in Troy Scocca follow. The first six batters entered Monday’s game hitting over .300. And paired with a strong pitching staff, that combination has been nearly unbeatable lately.

Vermont is still in position to contend for its third straight Northern Division title after coasting through the last two regular seasons and claiming the top seed by multiple games. After a miserable start to 20016, the Mountaineers are playing critical games once again.

NOTES: Four Mountaineers competed Sunday in the NECBL All-Star Game, which ended in an 8-8 tie. The Vermont-backed Northern Division jumped out to a 8-1 lead, with Mountaineers shortstop Michael Osinski reaching base three times and scoring twice. The South scored seven runs in the final two innings, with Keene reliever Michael LaBeau blowing a four-out save.

Vermont first basemen Mikael Mogues finished second in the Home Run Derby after putting on a show in the opening round. During the All-Star Game he drew a walk in his first at-bat and then came a feet shy of belting a two-run homer in the third inning. He settled for a fly-out to the warning track in center, then exited in the fourth after attempting to make a leaping catch over the tarp near the right-field line.

Mogues was the second-to-last hitter to go in the first round of the home run derby, launching a then-best seven home runs. He added two more in the final, but Newport’s Gabe Snyder soared above while playing in his home park. Snyder hit nine in the first around and 11 more in the second, totaling 20 to secure the victory.

Scocca entered in the fifth inning and played left field, flying out to center. Joe Tietjen reached on an error in a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning.