Day 2: NECBL Playoffs

Three teams were knocked out last night as just one series was pushed to the third and final game. Mystic continued their offensive outburst to win 7-1, eliminating Ocean State. The Schooners, who just a year ago was 9-31, have completed a turnaround with a sweep of the Waves and now have a matchup with Newport. The Gulls flew by Sanford 4-0, sweeping the Mainers and earning yet another spot in the Eastern Division championship. On the other side of the bracket, in the Western Division, Vermont knocked out North Adams in a 3-1, 12-inning affair. The Mountaineers earned the sweep, and now await their opponent for the division finals. Holyoke stayed alive with a 4-2 victory over Keene, setting the stage for a win-or-go home game three tonight.

Mystic Schooners 7, Ocean State Waves 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
OceanState	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	1
Mystic	2	0	2	2	0	0	0	1	x	7	11	0

MYSTIC, CT- Mystic went ahead in the top of the first, and added more runs throughout the game, backing Joel Rosencrance's strong outing, completing a two-game sweep of the #2 seeded Waves. Tyler Boyd knocked in two runs and Rosencrance threw seven innings of one run ball to drive the Schooners into the second round of the playoffs, a year after going 9-31.

Alec Keller had an RBI double in the first and came around to score on a wild pitch, giving the Schooners a two run lead they never lost. Mystic added two more in the third and fourth, going up 6-0 before Ocean State finally scored in the sixth on a Shaun McGraw RBI groundout.

Mystic chased Wave's starter James Bessell after just three innings of work, despite him allowing just one earned run. Bessell allowed four runs on five hits and walked three, and was handed the loss. Rosencrance picked up the win for a seven inning, five strikeout outing.

Keaton Flint and Keller both scored two runs while Boyd was the only hitter with multiple RBIs. The Schooners #9 hitter, Anthony Turgeon went 3-4 with a run and a RBI. Ocean State only had four hits, two of which belonged to leadoff hitter Evan Ocello, who also scored the Wave's only run.

Ocean State is done for the year, while Mystic will be traveling to Newport on Wednesday night for the first game of the Eastern division finals. The Schooners will be sending All-Star Kurt Sowa to the mound, who is 3-2 over seven starts with a 3.04 ERA, including a shutout. Newport's probable is lefty Mark McCoy, who is 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA over 10 appearances, including three starts.

Holyoke Blue Sox 4, Keene Swamp Bats 2

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Keene	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	1
Holyoke	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	x	4	6	3

HOLYOKE, MA- Down 1-0 in the series, and in a do-or-die situation, Holyoke righty Michael Burke (left) showed up for the Blue Sox. In a dazzling complete game where he held the best hitting team in the league to just two runs on six hits, a big sixth inning put Holyoke up for good and on their way to a game three.

Burke, who earned the win, threw 120 pitches while allowing two runs, neither of which were earned. He also struck out nine, including the 4-5-6 of the Swamp Bats order seven times. Burke also didn't walk a batter, and despite his defense committing three errors, he worked through it.

Keene struck first in the second inning, jumping out to a 2-0 on a 2-RBI single by shortstop Dylan Moore. Down 2-0, Holyoke battled back in the fourth against Nicholas Kozlowski. Brendan Hendriks had a RBI double to cut the Swamp Bats lead to two.

It stayed a pitchers duel, as Burke allowed just one hitter to reach over the next 12 he faced, and he was caught stealing. Kozlowski continued his dominant start, with seven strikeouts under his belt before he lost it in the sixth, giving up three runs, although none of them were earned.

Connor McKay reached on an error to lead off the inning, and shortly after the bases were loaded with one out, and Vahn Bozoian proved to be clutch with a 2-RBI single to give them a one run lead. Jason Lombardozzi worked a walk with the bases loaded again, and a two run lead was all Burke needed.

Burke earned the victory and threw his third straight complete game, and his fifth on the season. Kozlowski took the loss, despite allowing just one earned run. The series is all knotted up at one apiece, and tonight Holyoke will sent pitcher of the week Jordan Kutzer (1-1, 1.72 ERA) from Stanford to square off against Georgia's David Scosebee (4-2, 3.62) for Keene.

Newport Gulls 4, Sanford Mainers 0

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Newport	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	6	0
Sanford	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0

SANFORD, ME- A big second inning was more than enough for the Gulls, who threw a combined shutout between three pitchers. Sean Hartnett (right) got the start, and threw six innings allowing just four hits on his way to victory while Kyle McGrath and Kyle Wilcox finished the final three innings.

Newport went ahead early with three runs in the second on a Steve Anderson RBI double and Brett Winger's 2-RBI single. Up 3-0, the lead was more than enough as they were shutdown before tacking on another in the 7th on Shea Donlin's RBI single.

Sanford's Evan Hill picked up the loss, throwing four and two thirds and giving up three earned runs, all in the second. It wasn't easy for Newport's pitchers, as Hartnett walked five and allowed a base runner every inning but the sixth.

Hartnett got the win, giving the Gulls the series sweep of Sanford. Newport will head home and prepare for the Eastern Division finals, facing off against the upstart Mystic Schooners. The Gulls will send left hander Mark McCoy to face off against the Schooners Kurt Sowa.

Vermont Mountaineers 3, North Adams 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12		R	H	E
Vermont	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2		3	9	0
North Adams	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	9	1

NORTH ADAMS, MA- The two starters, Vermont's John Miles and North Adams Michael Murphy, went
a combined 18 innings, allowing just two earned runs, ten hits and combined for fifteen strikeouts. Neither of them picked up the victory, as it took late inning heroics and three crucial singles to give Vermont the victory and series win.

Bret Dennis hit a RBI single with one out in the eighth to tie it up at one apiece, and back-to-back RBI singles by Chandler Brock (right) and Kevin Krause in the 12th gave Vermont a two run lead going into the bottom half. 

The starters were incredible. Vermont's Miles was pounced on early, allowing a run in the third off a Joe Landi RBI single, but North Adams was shutdown after that. He threw 101 pitches and struck out six, allowing just six hits. He earned the no decision due to it going to extras, but turned in the pitching performance Vermont sorely needed.

North Adams Murphy had just as good of a start, striking out seven and carrying a perfect game into the seventh. He retired the first 18 batters he faced before giving up a double to start the seventh off to Thomas Roulis, He gave up a RBI single in the eight to tie it up and push it into extras.

Both teams were quiet until Vermont broke it out against SteepleCats reliever JoeAnthony Rivera in the bottom of the 12th. Rivera took the loss, while the Mountaineer's Brandon Alphin, who pitched all three of the extra innings earned the victory.

The loss knocks North Adams out of the playoffs, sending Vermont to the next round. Vermont will send Sean Meekins to the mound in the first game of the Western Division finals, but it is unknown who they will be facing. That's to be decided tonight in the do-or-die game three between Holyoke and Keene.

Day 1: NECBL Playoffs

Around the League

The Eastern Division racked up the runs in their two Sunday games, while the two Western Division matchups turned out to be a little more low-scoring. Mystic beat Ocean State 11-2 while Newport beat Sanford 11-4, totaling 28 runs scored. In the other divison, Keene beat Holyoke 5-4 and Vermont dropped North Adams 4-1. Only one lower seeded team earned a victory, as the #3 seeded Schooners shutdown the #2 Waves.

Mystic Schooners 11, Ocean State Waves 2

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mystic	0	1	1	0	1	6	0	2	0	11	15	1
OceanState	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	1

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI- A big sixth inning proved to be more than enough for the Mystic Schooners in their upset win over the #2 seeded Ocean State Waves. The Schooners cranked out 15 hits, five of them home runs. Brandon Cipolla (right in college uniform) led the way with a pair of home runs and three RBIs, and three other Schooners each had blasts.

Jeffery Stoddard turned in a solid outing for Mystic, going five strong innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits while striking out four, which earned him the win. Ocean State's Daniel Ludwig took the loss, going into the sixth before being pulled. He allowed four earned runs on three walks while striking out four.

The game stayed close early on, with the score 3-2 Mystic after five, until a big sixth proved to be the difference maker. Byron Campbell hit a home run to add to a pair of two-run blasts by Tyler Boyd and Cipolla. 

Mystic tacked on two more in the eight, but the game was already out of reach for Ocean State. The two play again on Monday night at 6:30, with James Bessell toeing the rubber for Ocean State while Mystic's starter hasn't been announced.

Newport Gulls 11, Sanford Mainers 4

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Sanford	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	4	7	1
Newport	0	4	2	0	4	0	1	0	x	11	10	1

NEWPORT, RI- Newport put four over in the second and another four in the fifth, and a quality start by Brett Graves (below) proved to be the difference in the Gulls 11-4 victory. Gulls leadoff hitter Shea Donlin went 2-4 with four RBIs as the Gulls pounced on Sanford starter James Bourque early.

Bourque went four and a third, allowing eight earned runs while walking four and striking out seven, and was handed the loss. The Gulls, however, couldn't have asked for anything more from Graves. Graves threw six and a third, striking out ten while allowing just two runs on two hits.

Graves was pounced on in the 7th when the Mainers made a late surge. Holding a no-hitter going into the inning, he allowed a leadoff single to Nic Wilson to end the bid. He left after allowing two runs, giving way to Eric Stone. Stone finished off the game for Newport. 

The two teams meet again Monday night at Goodall Park in Sanford, Maine. Newport will send Washington State junior Sean Hartnett (3-1, 1.81 ERA) to the mound to toe the rubber against Sanford junior Evan Hill (4-0, 2.88 ERA) from the University of Michigan.

Keene Swamp Bats 5, Holyoke Blue Sox 4

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Holyoke	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	6	4
Keene	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	2	x	5	8	0

KEENE, NH- Keene recovered from a early 3-2 deficit and a late surge by Holyoke to hang on to a 5-4 victory. Tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the eighth, Brian O'Grady's RBI sac fly and Tommy Monnots RBI single ended up giving Swamp Bat closer James Connell enough breathing room.

Nathan Kirby got the start for Keene, striking out 12 over six and a third allowing just three earned runs. He threw 97 pitches, with an impressive 67 strikes. Matthew Clancy (right) earned the win when he came in relief and threw an inning and two thirds with three strikeouts before handing it over to Connell.

Connell got out of a jam in the ninth after giving up one run to earn the save. He walked the first two batters to lead the inning off, but limited the damage to one run to allow Keene to capture the first game of the series.

Zach Lucas hit a two-RBI double in the second inning to give the Swamp Bats a 2-1 lead, and Zach Lauricella had a RBI fielders choice for the rest of the runs leading up to the runs in the eighth inning.

Kyle Rasmussen took the loss for Holyoke, despite not allowing an earned run over three and a third innings of work out of the bullpen. He walked two and allowed just three hits after coming in for Bowie Matteson who threw four and two thirds of zero-earned runs allowed baseball. 

The two teams will be in action again Monday night at MacKenzie stadium in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The Blue Sox will send Buffalo University ace Michael Burke (3-1, 0.55 ERA) to the hill against the Swamp Bats choice, Hofstra Universities Nicholas Kozlowski (3-0, 1.95 ERA). 

Vermont Mountaineers 4, North Adams SteepleCats 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
NorthAdams	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	6	2
Vermont	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	x	4	8	1

MONTPELIER, VT- Trey Oest (left) is set to leave in order to prepare for a transfer to a different college, and finished his Mountaineers season with a dominant, 84-pitch complete game performance. Oest allowed just six hits and one earned run on his way to the victory. A big sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and put the Mountaineers on top for good.

Mark Podlas reached on a error to lead off the sixth, and four consecutive Mountaineer singles drove in three runs, even chasing North Adam's starter Anthony Manuccia, who picked up the loss. Kevin Krause and Kyle Smith both added RBI singles. 

Smith had a productive game, going 2-3 with a pair of singles, a RBI and a walk. Krause also went 1-3 with a RBI, a run and a walk. 

Vermont went up early, tacking on a run in the bottom of the third. With runners on first and second, Thomas Roulis singled and the runner on second, Matt MacDowell, came in to score after a offline throw slipped by the catcher and rolled to the backstop.

The Mountaineers will travel to North Adams for game two at Joe Wolfe Field. The Mountaineers look to send Missouri junior John Miles (3-1, 1.19) to the mound to face off against Rider junior Michael Murphy (5-3, 3.46) for North Adams.