Tuesday's Probable Pitchers: NECBL Playoffs Day 2

Here are tonight's probable pitchers for day two of the NECBL playoffs as four teams sit on the brink of elimination.

No. 1 Vermont at No. 4 Laconia, Robbie Mills Field, 6:30 p.m. (Vermont leads 1-0)

Shea Spitzbarth (Muskrats): The league leader in strikeouts (50), Spitzbarth, a junior from Molloy College, looks to help Laconia fend off elimination. He averages almost 10 per nine innings and is 4-2 with a 1.92 ERA over seven starts and three bullpen appearances. Spitzbarth has faced the Mountaineers twice, once out of the bullpen and another time in a start. He's thrown eight innings against the Northern Division champions and racked up 11 strikeouts and has a 3.40 head-to-head ERA.

Daniel Koger (Mountaineers)*: Koger looks to carry the Mountaineers to the Northern Division finals as the lanky lefty from Auburn (transferring to Alabama-Huntsville) enters with a 2.31 ERA over seven starts. He's 4-1 and has five quality starts as well as five shutout innings on June 18th against the Muskrats. His last start was a seven-inning gem against Sanford where he allowed just one run while striking out four.

*Not confirmed

No. 2 Sanford at No. 3 Keene, Alumni Field, 6:30 p.m. (Keene leads 1-0)

Dominic Severino (Swamp Bats): The big Central Connecticut State rising senior looks to boost Keene to back-to-back division finals appearances as they look to defend their NECBL title. Severino has a 1.78 ERA over seven starts and an impressive 22:6 SO/BB ratio over 40 1/3 innings. He also has an amazing 0.84 WHIP and is holding opposing batters to a .191 mark. He's faced Sanford once and gave up just two runs over 5 2/3 innings while striking out two.

Richard Vrana (Mainers): The All-Star game starter for the Northern Division is 2-0 over six starts and has a 1.67 ERA on the season. Vrana, a southpaw from Marist, has an impressive 28:5 SO/BB ratio over 31 1/3 innings and also has a 1.15 WHIP. He held the Swamp Bats to just one run in his first start of the season over 6 1/3 innings, while striking out three and issuing a pair of walks. His last two starts since the All-Star game haven't been great, however, as he's given up six runs in just nine total innings of work.

No. 1 Plymouth at No. 4 Mystic, Fitch High School, 6:05 p.m. (Plymouth leads 1-0)

Nicholas Berger (Pilgrims): Plymouth, coming off their first playoff win in franchise history, look to sweep the Schooners behind the talented arm of Berger. A rising senior at Northeastern, Berger is a perfect 4-0 for the Pilgrims with a 0.75 ERA over eight starts and 47 strikeouts in 48 innings. He's faced Mystic three separate times for a total of 18 1/3 innings and is 2-0 and with a 1.50 ERA against the Schooners. His best pitching performance of the season came against Mystic- seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts.  He has 14 K's over his last two starts.

Nolan Long (Schoooners): The #2 NEC prospect ranked by Baseball America, Long passed up the minors after being drafted in the 38th round and has been solid in the NECBL. He's 1-3 with a 3.95 ERA but has 45 strikeouts in just 38 2/3 innings of work. A rising sophomore at Wagner College, Long is 0-2 against Plymouth. He's given up four earned runs over 10 innings against the Pilgrims but racked up 17 strikeouts.

No. 2 Newport at No. 3 Ocean State, Old Mountain Field, 6:05 p.m. (Ocean State leads 1-0)

Brett Hanewich (Stanford): Newport sends recent NECBL Pitcher of the Week Hanewich to the mound as the Gulls look to avoid being knocked out in the first round for what would be the just the second time in their illustrious history. Hanewich, a sophomore from Stanford, is coming off seven shutout innings against New Bedford in which he racked up 10 strikeouts. He is 2-3 on the season with a 3.58 ERA over six starts and is 1-0 against the Waves. Hanewich held Ocean State to just two runs on five hits over six innings while striking out five in one of two quality starts on the summer.

Steve Moyers (Waves): Ocean State, also coming off their first playoff win in franchise history, give the ball to Moyers- who's totaled just 16 1/3 innings over five starts on the season. The southpaw from Rhode Island who anchored the Rams staff has made two starts against the Gulls already. He was shellacked for five earned runs in the first start over just 3 1/3 innings, and has given up six total against Newport in five innings of work. He does have a 15: 2 SO/BB ratio and a 1.04 WHIP.

Saturday's Probable Pitchers

Newport starts talented Michigan State southpaw Anthony Misiewicz.
 /MSU Photo

Rainouts have already begun to plague the NECBL as Friday's slate of games was wiped clean due to rain and poor field conditions. Tonight is filled as the entire league plays with six games on the schedule. Here are tonight's probable pitchers- of course they're not set in stone and are subject to change.

Plymouth (3-1) at Ocean State (3-1), Old Mountain Field, 6:05 p.m.

Nick Berger (Pilgrims): The rising Northeastern senior hopes to replicate his season-opening performance against against New Bedford where he went 4.1 shutout innings while striking out four. The Huskies leader in inning pitched (91.2) this spring, Berger struck out 85- also first on the team- over 15 starts.

Steve Moyers (Waves): Moyers, another New England product, will be making his first start of the season in the Waves blue. His debut follows up a strong spring at Rhode Island where he went 2-5 with a 2.30 ERA in 13 games, all starts. He struck out 60 over 82 innings of work for the Rams.

Newport at Mystic, Fitch High School, 6:05 p.m.

Anthony Misiewicz (Gulls): Misiewicz held the Cape Cod League's Wareham Gatemen to two runs on six hits with nine strikeouts over six innings in an exhibition, and he looks to carry over that success in his first official NECBL start. The top pitching prospect in the Great Lakes League last summer, Misiewicz ranked second in the league with nine saves and gave up just three runs over 19 innings to earn All-League honors. The Michigan State sophomore was used mainly out of the bullpen but appears to be a mainstay in the Gulls rotation.

A.J Turnier (Schooners): Turnier, one of several returning Schooners from the 2013  Mystic squad,  appeared in 11 games last summer with a 2.18 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 16 innings pitched. The rising senior transitioned from the bullpen and became a strong part of the rotation at Southern Connecticut State as he posted a 3.04 ERA and picked up two shutouts. He's made one appearance in relief for Mystic so far and he retired all six batters he faced with two strikeouts.

Vermont at Danbury, Rogers Park, 6:30 p.m.
Westerners probable starter not available.

Jim McDade (Mountaineers): McDade already has a start under his belt and he went five innings against Valley. He picked up the no-decision as he gave up three earned runs but did strike out five batters. The lanky, 6-6 right-hander was the ace of Millersville this spring as he posted a 6-2 record with a 3.25 ERA and held opponents to a .216 batting average in a breakout season. He also ranked in the Top 10 D-II pitchers nationally for the majority of the season in WHIP and hits allowed per nine innings.

North Adams at Laconia, Robbie Mills Park, 6:30 p.m.

Jim Voyles (SteepleCats): A sophomore right-hander out of Florida State, Voyles went 1-0 over five appearances with a 4.05 ERA. He struggled in his season-opening start against Sanford as he gave up three earned runs and walked three while only going four innings in a no-decision.

Jordan Sheffield (Muskrats): The Vanderbilt southpaw turned in a strong start against the Mountaineers, only taking a loss because of defensive blunders. He went six innings without giving up an earned run while striking out five and giving up just four hits. Sheffield underwent Tommy John surgery and had to sit out his freshman year for the Commodores after being drafted in the 13th round out of high school.

Sanford at Keene, Alumni Field, 6:30 p.m.

Christian Lavoie (Mainers): Lavoie turned in one of the better starts by a Mainer this year against North Adams last week as he went six one-run innings (not earned) and gave up just three hits while striking out three in the no-decision. A right-hander from UMass-Lowell, Lavoie had a 4.13 ERA over 61 innings with 28 strikeouts this spring.

Dominic Severino (Swamp Bats): Severino dominated Laconia in his first start of the season, shutting them out over seven innings of work while giving up just two hits and striking out four without allowing a walk. The Central Connecticut State rising senior played in North Adams last summer but appeared in just two games, mainly playing in the infield. He had a 3.96 ERA over 36 innings for CCSU this spring.

Valley at New Bedford, Paul Walsh Field, 6:30 p.m.

Anthony Elia (Blue Sox): Elia allowed three hits, three runs, three walks and seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings of work against the Mountaineers. Only two of the runs were earned as he took a no-decision in the Blue Sox win. Elia, a Seton Hall rising senior, is expected to be one of the better pitchers in the league this summer after posting a 2.77 ERA over 74 innings for the Pirates this spring.

Tim Superko (Bay Sox): Superko's last outing in Plymouth was rocky, with seven hits and five walks in 3 2/3 innings of work. Two of the six runs he allowed were unearned but he consistently fell behind in counts and had to serve up hittable pitches, with the Pilgrims happy to take advantage of. He faced 11 batters over how many outs he got and now looks to bounce back against Valley. The Tufts sophomore can pitch well as he had a 2.64 ERA over 58 innings with 51 strikeouts this spring.