2014 Danbury Westerners Preview

Joey Swinarski at a PG Tourney /Perfect Game

NECBL.com has released the first of their team previews for the upcoming season, so I've decided to breakdown the lineups, rotation and bullpens of every teams to accompany their players to watch. Every team will be previewed by the season opener on June 5th.

Danbury missed the playoffs for the first time since 2009 last year, going 17-26. The oldest current franchise in the league celebrates their 20th season and look to win their first championship.

Assistant general manager Dylan Elber said in an interview with the New England Baseball Journal that this team has upside. "We have a very young and talented team," Elber said. "Although some of these players redshirted or didn't get too much playing time at their school's this year, they will have the opportunity to break out this summer.

Rotation

Like Elber said, many players redshirted or sat out- so stats aren't readily available. I'll do my best to draft a sample rotation. LIU Post senior Joey Arena headlines the list as he's posted a 1.75 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP over 10 starts and 61.2 innings. After Arena, Mississippi State's Glenn Irby didn't pitch this spring but was the #3 left-handed high school pitcher in Indiana (Perfect Game). Tulane's Corey Merrill (1.27 WHIP over 51 innings), Hartford's Brian Murphy (4.35 ERA over nine starts) and Mississippi State freshman Levi Mintz (2013 Alabama Class 1A Pitcher of the Year) round out the rotation.

Bullpen:
The Westerners brought in several strong relievers, including a lights out closer and a strong supporting cast. St Johns Joseph Kuzia didn't allow an earned run in his first 25 appearances and now has a 0.97 ERA over 37 innings- along with 13 saves, 17th in the country. Kuzia's supporting cast includes Seton Hall's Sam Burum (4.15 ERA, 17 appearances), Nebraska's Max Knutson (5.06 ERA, 5.1 innings) and Columbia's Ryan Marks (0.82 ERA, 1.00 WHIP over 11 appearances).

Offense:
Danbury stole AJ Ryan from the Mountaineers and three former MLB draftees make up their lineup, including Mississippi State's Joey Swinarski. Swinarski graduated from high school a year early but was projected as a 2014 Top-10 round pick and was given a 9.5 grade by Perfect Game USA.

Lineup
C         Brennan Morgan (R)
Kennesaw St junior hit .252 with 28 RBIs and 32 runs
1B       AJ Ryan (L)
2013 Mountaineer hit .343 this spring at Dayton, 33 RBIs
2B       Emmanuel Cruz (R)
SNHU sophomore hit .295 with 42 runs and 21 stolen bases
SS       Vimael Machin (L)
VCU senior was drafted by San Diego in the 29th rd in 2011
3B       Joe Poduslenko (R)
Seton Hall sophomore hit .353 in limited action, five stolen bases
OF       Chris DelDebbio (R)
Hartford junior hit .263 with 31 runs and 22 RBIs, six stolen bases
OF        Jake Ring (L)
Missouri sophomore hit .210 with 15 runs and 10 RBIs, 14 walks
OF        Joey Swinarski (R)
Projected as a top-10 round pick before graduating HS early to attend MSU
DH        Alex Tuccio (R)
Returning Westerner, hit .254 last summer with nine runs and 14 RBIs

Rotation
LH         Joey Arena
LIU Post senior had a 1.75 ERA over 10 starts, 0.83 WHIP
LH         Glenn Irby
Mississippi St, #3 LHP out of high school in Indiana
RH         Corey Merill
Tulane sophomore had a 1.27 WHIP over nine starts

RH         Brian Murphy
Hartford junior has 4.35 ERA over 39 innings
RH         Levi Mintz
Mintz was named Alabama HS Class 1A Pitcher of the Year in 2013

Player to Watch:
Joey Swinarski. The Mississippi State freshman was projected as a Top-10 round draft pick before graduating high school early. Baseball America's Clint Longencker scouted the 6-3 outfielder in September last year. "Swinarski could develop into an impact hitter at the college level with some developmental strides. He has good bat speed and some leverage in his swing that could enable him to grow into average or better power as his frame fills. Swinarski, who is very intelligent, has some looseness to his hands and natural hitting ability."

Mountaineers in the Tournament

The road to Omaha began today as the NCAA released the 2014 D-I baseball bracket field- 64 teams divided into 16 regionals, which match up with their super regional partners. The Mountaineers have nine 2014 players on three different teams in the tournament- all regional hosts. Here's a breakdown of each team, the players and when/who they'll be playing.

INDIANA (#4 Overall)
Mountaineers: RHP Evan Bell, 2B Casey Rodrique, C/OF Brad Hartong, RHP Christian Morris
Regional/Seeding: Bloomington (#1)
Teams in it: #2 Indiana State, #3 Stanford, #4 Youngstown State
First game: Friday, vs. No. 4 Youngstown State, 7 p.m. ESPN3
Notes: One of 16 regional hosts...The Hoosiers grabbed the Big Ten's first-ever national seed...Beat Nebraska 8-4 to win the Big Ten title...Began the season 9-8 and were 15-10 at the end of March...Went 33-5 to finish the season and win the regular season title...If they advance they host the winner of Nashvilles's regional, which contains Vanderbilt, Oregon, Clemson and Xavier.

LOUISVILLE
Mountaineers: SS Nick Solak, INF Blake Tiberi, RF Colin Lyman, LHP Robert Strader
Regional/Seeding: Louisville (#1)
Teams in it: #2 Kentucky, #3 Kansas, #4 Kent State
First game: Friday, vs. No. 4 Kent State, 6 p.m ESPN3
Notes:  One of 16 regional hosts...Cardinals won the American Athletic Conference regular season title...Lost the AAC tournament championship, 10-4 to Houston...Went 29-7 at home in 2014...Seventh postseason berth in the last eight seasons...If they advance they play the winner of the Tallahassee regional, which contains Florida State (5), Alabama, Kennesaw State and Georgia Southern.

VANDERBILT
Mountaineers: Nolan Rogers (CF)
Regional/Seeding: Nashville (#1)
Teams in it: #2 Oregon, #3 Clemson, #4 Xavier
First games: Friday, vs. No. 4 Xavier, 8 p.m. ESPN3
Notes: One of 16 regional hosts...Eliminated from the SEC tournament with losses to No. 14 LSU and No. 10 Ole Miss...Finished 41-18...26-9 at home...If they advance they play the winner of the Bloomington regional, which includes Indiana (4), Indiana State, Samford and Youngstown State.

2014 Laconia Muskrats Preview

Braxton Martinez /St. Louis

NECBL.com has released the first of their team previews for the upcoming season, so I've decided to breakdown the lineups, rotation and bullpens of every teams to accompany their players to watch. Every team will be previewed by the season opener on June 5th.

Last season was a disappointing one for the Muskrats, as Laconia failed to make the playoffs for the first time in their four-year history. They finished three games under .500 at 21-24 and just a game back from Sanford for the fourth and final playoff spot.

This season, general manager Noah Crane has high hopes for the upcoming season. In an interview with the New England Baseball Journal, Crane says to look for a balanced attack. "(Jordan) Sheffield and (Jared) Brasher will light up radar guns this summer. We have a great deal of team speed and should steal a lot of bases."

Of course, the biggest storyline going in is the Muskrats acquisition of Mariano Rivera Jr., the son of New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera. Crane mentioned this, "When Mariano Rivera Jr. pitches, there's a good chance his famous father will be in the stands."

Rotation

Last year, Laconia had a 1-2 punch in the rotation that was a fearsome combination. Josh Prevost and Will Blalock combined for a 1.41 ERA over 55 innings, and the rest of the rotation was solid as well. That trend continues this year, led by 13th round draft pick Jordan Sheffield. Sheffield, a Vanderbilt freshman, has a cannon of an arm. He ended up in Vanderbilt after getting Tommy John and not signing a contract out of high school. Perfect Game reported a range of 94-97 MPH fastball with an 81 MPH curveball and a 83 MPH slider, making him a guy to watch. After Sheffield, Molloy junior Shea Spitzbarth has the potential to be a solid No. 2. Spitzbarth has a 3.42 ERA over 10 starts, along with a 1.13 WHIP. After Spitzbarth, Florida Gulf Coast's Jack English looks like a strong No. 3 starter. English is 4-4 with a 3.00 ERA over 13 starts. After English, Mariano Rivera, Jr. and Jared Brasher could round out the rotation.

Bullpen

The 2013 Muskrats had a mix of several shutdown relievers and several guys who never found their strides. Laconia posted a 4.23 ERA, second-worst in the league and that was due to several pitchers getting hammered every time they went out there, mostly from the bullpen. This season, the Muskrats have a trio of strong relievers. Troy's Marc Skinner (1.80 ERA over 50 innings), Rutgers Max Hermmann (2.57 ERA over 22 appearances) and Samford's Parker Curry (3.68 ERA over 44 innings) have all had strong springs. Skinner could be the closer, as he's picked up five saves but it really is up in the air.

Offense

This year's Muskrat lineup is loaded from hitters 1-9. Corey Baptist is one of the most dangerous power hitters coming into the NECBL, and the combination of DJ Ruhlman, Braxton Martinez and Vinny Zarillo should be feared. Another thing to focus on is that several of these players are very fast on the basepaths, making this team dangerous in getting that extra base.

Lineup

C         Karl Ellison (R)

Vanderbilt sophomore hit .250 with seven doubles in 22 games

1B       Corey Baptist (R)

St Petersburg sophomore hit .379/.450/.675 with 41 RBIs and 44 runs

2B       Cornelius Copeland (R)

St Petersburg sophomore as well, hit .314 with nine stolen bases in 28 games

SS        DJ Ruhlman (R)

Seton Hall senior hit .384 with 14 stolen bases, 40 runs and 26 RBIs

3B        Braxton Martinez (R)

Highly anticipated St Louis junior, hit .299 with 28 runs and 28 RBIs

RF        Vinny Zarillo (L)

Rutgers senior hit .294 with 12 stolen bases and 11 doubles, 32 RBIs

CF        Jack Sunberg (L)

Speedy UCONN junior swiped 25 bases and hit .269 with 27 walks

LF        Christopher Beall (L)

Arizona St junior hit .306 with 14 runs and nine RBIs

DH       Benjamin Miller (L)

Nebraska sophomore hits .362 with 18 runs and 12 RBIs

Rotation

RH       Jordan Sheffield
13th round draft pick, can throw 98 MPH and has 80+ curve and slider
RH      Shea Spitzbarth

Molloy junior has a 1.13 WHIP and a 2.42 ERA in 67 innings

RH      Jack English

FGCU senior has a 3.00 ERA over 75 innings and 13 starts

RH      Mariano Rivera, Jr.

Son of Yankee great has a 5.62 ERA over 11 starts

RH      Jared Brasher

Samford sophomore has a 5.50 ERA over 10 starts, 1.84 WHIP

Bullpen

RH      Marc Skinner

Troy sophomore has a 1.80 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, 50 IP

LH       Max Herrmann

Rutgers sophomore has a 2.57 ERA over 22 appearances (1.33 WHIP)

RH       Parker Curry

Samford junior has a 3.68 ERA and 9.2 K/9 over 23 appearances

Player to watch:

St Petersburg sophomore Corey Baptist. Baptist is hitting .397 with an impressive 1.125 OPS. He's also slugged nine home runs in 48 games and 23 doubles to go along with 41 RBIs and 44 runs. Baptist could contend with former Muskrat Danny Collins NECBL record's in total bases, home runs, extra base hits and slugging percentage.

2014 Mystic Schooners Preview

NECBL.com has released the first of their team previews for the upcoming season, so I've decided to breakdown the lineups, rotation and bullpens of every teams to accompany their players to watch. Every team will be previewed by the season opener on June 5th.

Last season, Mystic surprised everyone with a first-round upset of second-seeded Ocean State before falling to Newport in the championship. The Schooners finished .500, at 22-22, with weak hitting (.237) and mediocre pitching (3.53 ERA). They did finish near the top in defensive stats, but they weren't a team that overwhelmed anyone.

This season, the Schooners bring in a trio of strikeout starting pitchers and return one of the best hitters in the NECBL last year, Tyler Boyd. The addition of Steve Laurino (right) and other strong hitters will help the Schooners attempt to get over .500.

Rotation:
Last season, Mystic had a decent rotation but no clear "ace". Kurt Sowa had a solid year, as did Jeffery Stoddard- but they didn't have the clear No. 1 that teams like Keene and Newport had. That could change this year, as the Schooners have assembled a trio of starters that have all had solid collegiate campaigns. The list is headlined by 2013 returnee Patrick Egan, a 6-4 lefty from Southern Connecticut. Egan had a 1.14 WHIP and 12 K/9 over 64 innings. After Egan, Heartland's Jacob Hendren (5-0, 3.73 ERA, 11.7 K/9) and another returnee, ASA's Michael Eckerle (6-1, 1.99 ERA, 10.4 K/9) are both potent strikeout pitchers. They're also bringing in Southern Connecticut's Cole Bryant, who was sidelined this year. As a sophomore he had a 3.48 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP over 62 innings. Southern Connecticut's AJ Turnier and Monroe's Alex Vargas could also see starts.

Bullpen:
In 2013, the Schooners had one of the best relievers in the league in Alex Gouin, and Joel Rosencrance was lights out as well. This year, Mystic brings in another elite arm- Hartford's Jeremy Charles. Charles has a 1.08 ERA over nine appearances for the Hawks and a 0.99 WHIP. He's joined in the bullpen by Wheaton's Miles Veth (2-0, 1.60 WHIP in 5 appearances) and Monmouth's Frank Trimarco (3.90 ERA in 14 appearances). None of the pitchers on the roster are closers for there college teams, but Charles could easily become one for Mystic.

Offense:
Led by the dangerous combination of Tyler Boyd and Jared Hendren, the Schooners have assembled a solid lineup with plenty of speed- six guys swiped more then seven stolen bases this spring. Hendren and Boyd are both candidates for the All-NECBL first team.

Lineup
C          Tyler Boyd (L)
Boyd returning is great news for the Schooners- all-NECBL second teamer (7 HRs)
1B        Steve Laurino (R)
Marist first basemen hit .301 with 20 walks and 10 doubles, 24 RBIs
2B        Dan Hoy (R)
Princeton second basemen hit .285/.361/.417 with seven stolen bases
SS        Chris Chiaradio (L)
Seton Hall junior had 17 walks and 10 stolen bases along with 24 runs
3B        Jared Hendren (R)
All around baseball player- .408/.493/.586, 37 stolen bases, 42 RBIs
LF        Zachary Weigel (L)
Another Seton Hall junior, hit .289 with 44 runs, 27:23 K/BB ratio
CF        Nick Ruppert (R)
Dartmouth junior hit .250 with 24 runs, five doubles and 10 walks
RF        Toby Handley (R)
Stony Brook sophomore hit .250 with 11 stolen bases and 12 walks
DH        Aaron Hill (R)
Connecticut sophomore (middle infielder), hit .214 with 16 runs and six stolen bases

Rotation
LH       Patrick Egan 
Egan can start and serve as a reliever- 3.38 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 64 innings
LH       Jacob Hendren
5-0 over 10 starts, 11.7 K/9 and 7:1 K/BB ratio
LH       Michael Eckerle
Impressive 1.99 ERA over eight starts, 45.1 innings, 10.4 K/9
RH       Cole Bryant
Missed this season but had a 3.48 ERA over nine starts and 62 innings, 1.29 WHIP
RH       A.J Turnier
Returning to Mystic, had a 2.81 ERA in 11 appearances out of the bullpen last season

Bullpen
RH        Jermey Charles
Hartford junior had a 1.08 ERA over 16 innings of work, 0.99 WHIP
LH         Miles Veth
Wheaton senior struggled in 13 innings of work, 8.10 ERA
LH          Frank Trimarco
Monmouth junior had a 3.90 ERA over 14 appearances and 32 innings
RH         Josh Pape 
Georgia Col&St senior had a 6.26 ERA over 27 innings
RH         Nolan Long
Wagner sophomore, drafted in 38th round by SF in 2012

Player to Watch:
The Hendren brothers. Both from Heartland Community College, they're good at what they do. Jacob Hendren is a solid pitcher with impressive control, as is evidence by his 11.7 K/9 and his 7:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Jared Hendren, on the other hand, is a very talented hitter and dangerous on the basepaths. He hit .408 with 42 RBIs, 56 runs and 37 stolen bases.

How and why the NECBL's Big Three dominate

Newport after winning in 2009. /BSU18

Stop me if you've heard this before: the Newport Gulls, Keene Swamp Bats and Vermont Mountaineers are all bringing in talented, deep rosters and are my favorites to win once again. Since 2000, 11 of the 14 NECBL champions have been one of the trio. It doesn't matter who you throw against these teams, they come out on top.

Last season, Newport coasted into the championship while Keene and Vermont battled for Western conference supremancy- the Swamp Bats came out on top in a dramatic-elimination game three. Keene downed Newport in the finals for their second title in three years.

There seems to be a pattern developing here- these three teams have a leg up on the rest of the league. The last six "Top Pro Prospects," an award given out at the end of the year? All members on one of these teams. All three teams have had strong managers over the years- including Vermont's John Russo, Newport's Mike Coombs and Keene's record four Manager of the Year winners.

However, we can't just assume that they'll all be great for another year. This is a summer collegiate baseball league with normally no roster turnover and any team can be the champion the next year...Right? Let's take a deeper look at how Keene, Vermont and Newport have evolved and got here and see if they're anywhere close to letting somebody else have a chance.

The Talent
Obviously, all of these teams bring in a lot of talent every single year. However, the blueprint that these teams follow is a combination of elite pitching and strong hitting. It seems simple but with over 50 summer leagues across the country competing, it can be hard to assemble a solid roster from top to bottom.

Let's look at last season, when the three teams finished 1-2-3 in the final standings. They combined for six of the ten postseason awards and had six guys on the All-NECBL first team. The basic structure of each team was the same.

They built around an ace- Newport's Brett Graves, Vermont's John Miles and Keene's Nathan Kirby- then added another strong pitcher who could be a No. 1 on a different team- James Mulry for the Gulls, Brian Hunter for Keene and David Hickey or the Mountaineers.

Then, the depth really swayed towards these teams. Each team added several strong arms and filled a rotation and some. The Mountaineers had seven pitchers start five or more games, and all but one of them had an ERA under 3.28. The same could be seen in the Gulls and Swamp Bats- deep rotations that gave way to elite bullpens.

Then there's the bullpens. This has to be these teams strongest unit as these teams held leads- 69-9 when leading after six innings. Each team had a lockdown reliever and a guy who could close games- Keene's duo of Matt Clancy and Paul Covelle was unmatched. Newport had Kyle McGrath and Kyle Wilcox while Vermont had Robert Strader and a closer-by-committee approach.

Keene's Sportman. /NEBJ

In terms of hitters, nobody was better then this trio. Keene's small confines of Alumni Field and a lineup tailor made for it resulted in 36 home runs, the league lead. Vermont played small ball and Newport hit a ridiculous amount of doubles.

Each teams also featured an outfielder that nobody in the league wanted to face- Keene's league MVP JP Sportman, Vermont's Chandler Brock and Newport's Ben Roberts. Sportman hit .340, Roberts added a NECBL record 18 doubles and Brock led the Mountaineers down the stretch with a .452 average in the last 20 games.

Last season, both teams featured deep rosters with plenty of great players and impressive depth. That's what the NECBL community has grown to expect from this trio of teams. If you're a fan of a different team, these next sections aren't going to cheer you up looking into the future.

The Brains

These teams are doing a lot right, so its not a surprise that each team has a had a steady front office guiding them to success. The trio of general mangers- Newport's Chuck Pavia, Vermont's Brian Gallagher and Keene's Kevin Watterson (who retired this year) have assembled talented rosters year after year and have brought in excellent managers who get the job done.

Combined, this trio of GMs have hired six mangers of the year to form an impressive resume. Pavia has five rings, Watterson has four and Gallagher has two.

Watterson helped assemble this years team before passing the reins over to former Manager of the Year winner Marty Testo. Testo, a longtime baseball guru, should bring an excellent approach to the job and continue Keene's winning history.

The Managers

Mike Coombs. John Russo. Marty Testo. Paul Swingle. Mike Sweeney. Kevin Winterrrowd. This is the list of Mountaineers, Gulls and Swamp Bats managers who've been named the NECBL manager of the year. Coombs even won twice!

The impressive track record of these managers has been a tip of the hat to these teams front offices. Year after year, this trio has had one of the best guys in the dugout managing the game.

Coombs returns for Newport- he's managed the Gulls since 2005 and holds an impressive career record of 256-121, winning two championships along the way.  Mountaineers longtime great John Russo handed his job off to SUNY-Cortland manager Joe Brown, and he posted a 24-20 record in his first season. It was a noticeable improvement on the 18-23 2012 mark.

Finally, Keene has cycled through several managers, settling on Kevin Winterrowd last season. In his first and only year at Keene, he posted a 29-13 record, won a trophy and was named manager of the year. Dan Moylan, a five-time assistant to new GM Marty Testo, will take over this season.

Is There Hope?
There you have it, NECBL fans. The Mountaineers, Swamp Bats and Gulls always have a deep roster and great coaching because of an impressive front office on every team. NECBL fans might as well get used to seeing these three teams in the conference finals, and if all continues according to plan, they'll alternate winning trophies for years to come.

But here's the catch. Things don't always go according to plan. Look at the last four second-place teams- just one was a member of the Big three. Summer collegiate baseball is all about assembling a roster and hoping everybody shows up.

Maybe a star pitcher, the ace of the staff, gets drafted and signs. Or an unlucky injury sidelines one of the teams best players. Or maybe another GM dives deep into recruiting and finds hidden gems who can upset the Big three's streak of consecutive championships.

Anything can happen. It's just harder to win against one of these teams.

Breaking down Martinez's first win

Martinez pitches. /AP Photo

Texas Ranger righthander Nick Martinez went up against the tough Detroit Tigers lineup (ranked 7th on FanGraphs) and shut them down over six innings of work, allowing just one earned run on eight hits while striking out two. The former Vermont Mountaineer has now completed back-to-back starts with five innings of one run ball and has really shone this year in the bigs.

Martinez has become a talented four-pitch starter, relying on his hard, 93 mph four-seam fastball and mixing in a variety of curveballs, sliders and changeups. He holds an impressive 2.16 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP over 33 innings.

In todays game, Martinez took the mound in throwback jerseys from the Fort Worth Texas Black Panthers, a former Negro league team. He threw his second highest amount of pitches in an inning, 18, and left runners at second and third by getting a popout.

He gave up his only run in the second on an Rajai Davis RBI double, but he picked off Davis to end the threat. Martinez's best inning was the third, as he used six pitches to set down Ian Kinsler, Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera on a variety of ground outs, line outs and flyouts.

The fourth was more of the same as he got the next three batters on the same combination of pitching to contact. He extended the streak to eight batters set down in a row into the fifth until he gave up back-to-back singles. Once again, Martinez worked out of the jam.

In his final inning of work, Martinez got an out before allowing three straight singles. A potentially disastrous situation was averted as he got Nick Castellanos to line into a double-play to escape yet another jam. Castellanos ended up being his last batter as he didn't come back in the seventh.

Martinez finished with 91 pitches, 55 of which were strikes. Quick numbers to look at:

• Martinez faced 25 batters, 13 of which he threw first-pitch strikes to.
• He threw his four-seam fastball 55% of the time with an average velocity of 93.1 MPH.
• His fastest pitch measured 95.2 MPH.
• He threw a slider 18% of the time and a changeup 13% of the time.
• The least amount of pitches he used in an inning was six, in the third.
• The most pitches he threw in an inning was 19, in the fifth.

Donley, Indiana down Michigan State 7-4

Scott Donley, 2013 Mountaineer. /NWITimes

The 4th day of the 2014 Big Ten baseball tournament kicked off today with Nebraska eliminating Michigan, but the real story was the second game of the day.

The game between No. 6 Michigan State and No. 1 Indiana- the matchup that featured 10 NECBL players from the past and set to play this summer.

Last year's league was flooded with talent by these teams- Scott Donley, Nick Ramos, Joel Fisher, Mick Van Vossen and Ryan Richardson.

That pattern continues this year with Brad Hartong, Blaise Salter, Van Vossen, Casey Rodrique, Anthony Misiewicz and Evan Bell all coming to diamonds across New England.

For that reason, today's matchup was intriguing so I tuned in on the Big Ten Network and followed along. Indiana went on to pull out a 7-4 win to end Michigan State's season and advance to the Big Ten finals. Donley came up clutch for the Hoosiers with a go ahead two-RBI double in the top of the ninth.

A very good game unfolded as 2014 NECBLers were given the nod to start. The Spartans sent out Misiewicz, a Gull, while Indiana countered with Bell, a Mountaineer. It seemed fitting that on a different level, Vermont and Newport were continuing a New England summer rivalry on a baseball field in Nebraska.

Both pitchers ran into trouble early as Bell gave up two runs in the bottom of the first. 2014 Gull Blaise Salter doubled and after an intentional walk, former Holyoke Blue Sox catcher Joel Fisher knocked in both runs with a double.

However, the game was evened quickly as Indiana came back against Misiewicz in the top of the second. Donley scored on a RBI groundout from Hartong and Dustin Demuth added a RBI single to tie it at two apiece.

Misiewicz. /MSU

After that, the pitchers settled down and pitched effectively. Bell retired eight straight at one point, and Misiewicz countered with an identical stretch. Bell left in the fifth after a solid first start, going 4.1 innings and allowing just two earned runs.

Misiewicz lasted just a little longer as he left after he allowed two quick hits to start the sixth. He struck out an impressive eight over five innings. The game really heated up after that, as one of the runners he left on came around to score to give the Hoosiers a 3-2 lead.

Michigan State came right back after Joel Pickens singled in Cam Gibson to tie it at three in the home half of the sixth. However, the back-and-forth style continued in the top of the 7th. Tim O'Connor knocked in Will Nolden with a RBI single to put Indiana up, 4-3.

Indiana held a lead until the bottom of the 8th when the Spartans tied it up. Michigan State got a runner on second with one out when Hoosiers manager Tracy Smith sent out Jake Kezler with a 0-2 count on Anthony Cheky.

Kezler got the strikeout, but a wild pitch advanced the Spartan runner, Gibson, to third. Salter came up and hit a ground ball to DeMuth at third, who bobbled it against his wrist and Gibson danced home with the tying run.

However, Indiana came right back in the top of the ninth. Spartan pitcher Walker Borkovich hit O'Connor to lead off the ninth and he was replaced by Friday starter Mick Van Vossen, a Newport Gull. Van Vossen hit Rodrique and gave up a single to Kyle Schwarber to load the bases. He got a fielders choice out before allowing a two-RBI double to Donley to put the Hoosiers up 6-4.

Van Vossen was replaced by Chase Rihtarchkik, who thew a wild pitch on his attempt to intentionally walk DeMuth. This sent Travis home for a 7-4 lead, more then enough insurance for Indiana into the home stretch.

Kelzer earned the win after closing out the Spartans in the ninth, while Borkovich was handed the loss. The Hoosiers advanced to the Big Ten final against Nebraska, which is scheduled for 2 p.m ET tomorrow.