Monday's Probable Pitchers: Playoffs

The NECBL Playoffs are underway tonight, with eight teams in action. New Bedford, Danbury, North Adams and Valley all went home empty handed.

No. 4 Laconia vs. No. 1 Vermont, Recreation Field at 6:30 p.m.

Jack English (Muskrats): The rising senior at Florida Gulf Coast toes the rubber against a Mountaineers squad he shut down last time out. On July 5th, he went seven shutout innings at Recreation Field and allowed just three hits while striking out five. He's an impressive 4-1 on the season with a 1.52 ERA over seven starts. He has 40 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings of work.

Ryan Davis (Mountaineers): Vermont sends Ryan Davis to the mound, a southpaw from Le Moyne who had success against the Muskrats on opening night- even earning him NECBL Pitcher of the Week honors. Davis went six shutout innings and struck out four while issuing just one walk. Laconia figured him out the second time around, however, as he gave up seven runs (three earned) over just 3 1/3 innings of work in his shortest start of the summer. He's currently turned in three straight quality starts and is 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA on the season.

No. 3 Keene vs. No. 1 Sanford, Goodall Park at 6:30 p.m.

Matt Blandino (Swamp Bats): A 33rd round pick last year, Blandino is a righty from Central Connecticut State. He's split his time between the bullpen and rotation for Keene, and has turned in a complete game effort in one of his six starts. Blandino has an ERA of 3.99 and a 2-2 record. His complete game was a gem as he allowed just two earned runs and issued a lone walk while striking out three.

Nick Poore (Mainers): A southpaw who is a rising senior from Boston College, Poore has been excellent on a Mainers team that ranks second in the NECBL in ERA. He's 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four starts and three relief appearances. He's yet to face the Swamp Bats, but has turned a pair of quality starts (back-to-back) and hasn't allowed more then an earned run per appearance. He also has 25 strikeouts in 25 innings and has issued just seven walks.

No. 3 Ocean State vs. No. 1 Newport, Cardines Field at 6:35 p.m.

Mitchell Jordan (Waves): A sophomore righthander from Stetson, Jordan has been the ace of the Waves rotation. He's made eight appearances, six of which were starts, and is 4-1 with a 2.20 ERA. It's first on the team among pitchers who have started more then two games and he's struck out an impressive 27 in 32 1/3 innings of work. He's faced Newport twice this season- in a start and out of the bullpen and has given up three earned runs over 6 2/3 innings of work while striking out three.

John Kilichowski (Gulls): A sophomore from the D-I champion Vanderbilt Commodores, Kilichowski has carried over his collegiate success to Newport. The righty pitched in the College World Series and was dominant over four starts with the Gulls so far this summer. He's 2-2, but hasn't given up more then one earned run in any of his starts and has turned in back-to-back double-digit numbers in strikeouts. In his last start, he blanked North Adams over seven innings with 12 strikeouts and has an impressive 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Perfect Game clocked him at 90 with a plus curveball and a rare changeup.

No. 4 Mystic vs. No. 1 Plymouth, Forges Field at 6:30 p.m.

Michael Concato (Schooners): Dartmouth's Rookie of the Year, Concato is a 6-1 righty who has been dominant through sevens starts. He's 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA and is currently on an impressive 21 scoreless innings streak. He's gone three straight shutout starts of 6, 8, 6 and has three quality starts on the season. Concato faced Plymouth on June 29th and went five innings, allowing three runs- just one of which was earned- on eight hits while striking out four and not issuing a walk. He has 36 strikeouts in 39 innings of work and has a 1.18 WHIP.

Thomas Jankins (Pilgrims): Jankins, a righty from Quinnipiac, started the season on a 29 2/3 scoreless innings streak and has been absolutely dominant for the best team in the South. He's 5-0 with a 0.40 ERA (which leads the league by 0.35 over teammate Nicholas Berger) and hasn't given up a run over his last 11 1/3 innings. He's made five starts, four of which where he didn't allow a run and all were quality starts. Jankins set down the side with a strikeout in the All-Star game and has yet to face the Schooners.

Northern Division Playoffs set

With a Keene win and a North Adams loss, the Northern Division playoff matchups are set. It did not go to playin games, or get complicated with tiebreakers.

1. Vermont Mountaineers (27-15)
2. Sanford Mainers (24-18)
3. Keene Swamp Bats (21-21)
4. Laconia Muskrats (20-22)
-------------------------------
5. North Adams SteepleCats (19-23)
6. Valley Blue Sox (14-28)

No. 4 Laconia at No. 1 Vermont (Recreation Field, Robbie Mills Field, Rec if necessary)
No. 3 Keene at No. 2 Sanford (Goodall Park, Alumni Field, Goodall Park if necessary)

Northern Division 3-4 seeds come down to final day

Keene looks to defend their crown. /Ryan Beal

The NECBL is never disappointing in terms of playoff races, and the 3-4 seeds in the Northern Division are still up in the air on the final day of the season. Keene, Laconia and North Adams are within a game of each other, with the Swamp Bats and SteepleCats both needing wins. Their are several scenarios, so I'll do by best to take you through them.

North Adams hosts Valley, while Sanford hosts Keene. The Mainers already have the No. 2 seed locked up.

North Adams wins, Keene wins
The Swamp Bats improve to .500 and take the No. 3 seed, while North Adams pulls into a two-way tie for fourth with Laconia. The Muskrats and SteepleCats will play a one-game playoff to decide who takes on No. 1 Vermont, and it will be held in Laconia as they're 4-2 against North Adams.

North Adams wins, Keene loses
Three-way tie for third! All team's sit at 20-22 on the season. Laconia wins the tiebreaker for third place because of head-to-head (per NECBL commissioners office). Then, North Adam's and Keene will play eachother in a play-in game.

I'm not 100% sure how the NECBL decided that. Here's the head-to-head records.
                             Laconia        Keene      North Adams
Laconia                      x               3-3              4-2
Keene                      3-3               x                2-4
North Adams           2-4             4-2                 x

North Adams beats Keene, Laconia beats North Adams. Kind of like rock paper scissors.

North Adams loses, Keene wins
North Adams is done. Keene get's No. 3, Laconia get's No. 4.

North Adams loses, Keene loses
North Adams is done. Keene and Laconia tie for third so it goes to head-to-head record. They've each picked up three wins against eachother, so it goes to head-to-head record against the first place team, Vermont. Laconia is 2-4, Keene is 2-4. Another tiebreaker! It then goes to record against the second place team, Sanford. The Swamp Bats are 3-2, while the Muskrats are 1-5 so Keene get's the No. 3.

Simplified (3/4 seeds)
Keene, Laconia- NA loss, KSB win or NA loss, KSB loss
Laconia, North Adams/Keene- NA win, KSB loss
Keene, Laconia/North Adams- NA win, KSB win

Mountaineers, Northern Division down Southern

A walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth carried the Northern Division to a 4-3 victory over the Southern Division at Sunday’s 2014 New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass. All four of the Vermont Mountaineers representatives- Blake Tiberi, Mike Vigliarolo, Trey Amburgey and Jared Gesell- appeared in the contest, the first between the newly aligned divisions.

Amburgey, a outfielder from St. Petersburg, hit in the three spot for the North and was arguably the team’s MVP. He hit a sacrifice fly to right field in the first and then came around to score after hitting a leadoff single in the fourth inning.

“This was an awesome experience,” the rising senior said. “It was a very long day, but I was surrounded by the best players in the league this year. It was a true honor and a blessing.”

He gave the North an early 2-0 lead, accounting for both of the division’s early runs. He drove in leadoff hitter Vinny Zarrillo, an outfielder from Laconia, who reached on a leadoff single. Amburgey scored his run when Zach Lauricella, a member of the rival Keene Swamp Bats- grounded into a 4-6-3 double play with the bases loaded.

Tiberi and Vigliarolo sandwiched Amburgey in the lineup, with Vigliarolo batting cleanup and Tiberi hitting second. Tiberi grounded out to the first basemen and reached on a fielders choice in his two at bats. Vigliarolo struck out and then laced a single into left field in his next at bat.

He moved to third and was off on the pitch with Laconia second basemen Matt Byrne at the plate. Byrne struck out swinging for the third out of the inning but Vigliarolo had slid in and would’ve been safe with what would’ve been just his second stolen base in 20 games.

The rest of the Northern Division were held in check by a strong Southern pitching staff until the rally in the ninth. Newport’s Armand Rugel, Danbury’s Andrew Schwaab and Ocean State’s Mitchell Jordan all had 1-2-3 innings in front of a large contingent of scouts from all the major league teams.

Meanwhile, the Northern Division pitching was strong as well. Laconia’s Jack English struck out the side in order in the third and they shutout the South up until the fifth inning. Ocean State’s Ryan Blanton hit a RBI double off of Sanford’s Christian Lavoie and teammate Drew Ferguson laced a two-run single down the line to pull ahead.

Vermont’s closer, Gesell, came on in the seventh. He struck out the first batter he faced, Mystic’s Tyler Boyd, looking before allowing Plymouth outfielder James Bunn to lace a single. He got Mystic second basemen Aaron Hill to ground into a fielders choice before his catcher, Conor Fitzsimons, threw Hill out at second.

"It was a really fun experience to be a part of," Gesell said. "I had fun just getting to know the other players and enjoying the great environment."

The North loaded the bases in the seventh with two outs against Newport reliever Marc Huberman, but Sanford outfielder Drake Parker went down looking. Just two pitches before, he hit a deep flyball down the right field line that just went foul.

Ocean State’s Jordan was in line for the win after his 1-2-3 fifth  inning. However, the Southern Division turned to Vincenzo Aiello, the closer from the league-leading Pilgrims, for the ninth.

Valley’s Angelo La Bruna reached on an error and prevented a double play by beating out a diving Hill at second after being off on the pitch. With one out, North Adams JC Cardneas came up clutch and laced a line shot down the first base line for a game-tying RBI double. The run was unearned, but Aiello ran into more trouble.

He walked Parker, and him and Cardenas pulled off a double steal with one out. Then, Keene’s Jared Mederos  hit a walkoff single through the right side of the infield to carry the Northern Divison to the 4-3 win. It prompted the dugout to leap the barrier and mob him at first after Cardenas scored the game-winner. Mederos was named the MVP, the fourth time that a Swamp Bat has picked up the honor.

Aiello took the loss, while Keene’s Benjamin Criscuolo picked up the win after working around a two-out single in the ninth.

Earlier in the day, the NECBL hosted skills competitions in front of the scouts. No Mountaineers participated, however. Newport’s Blaise Salter hit seven home runs over the course of three rounds in the Home Run Derby to down New Bedford’s Lorenzo Papa in the final.

Plymouth’s Michael Martin won both the 60-yard dash and outfield throwing accuracy competition. He ran a 6.4 60, with Richardson placing second. He also downed Ocean State’s Evan Ocello and North Adam’s Vladimir Gomez in the outfield throwing contest, which tested the arms from distances of 215’ and 250’.

Vermont has an off day tomorrow and are back in action on Tuesday when they head down to Mystic to take on the fourth-place Schooners. The Mountaineers didn’t list a probable, but the Schooners will send Chris Kalica to the mound. The right-hander has a 3.26 ERA over five starts and started with 19.2 straight scoreless innings before running into trouble in his last two appearances.

Top Five All-Star Game Performers

Cardenas tied the game with a RBI double and scored the game-winning
run, my pick for top performer. /Berkshire Eagle

1. JC Cardenas, SS, North Adams

Cardenas went 1-1 with a RBI double to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, stole third as part of a double steal and came home as the game-winning run to carry the Northern Division to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory. He also drew a walk in his other at bat as a replacement for starter Garrett Black (Valley).

2. Drew Ferguson, OF, Ocean State

Also not the MVP, Ferguson’s clutch at bat in the top of the sixth put the Southern squad up. Ater teamamte Ryan Blanton cut the North lead to just one, Ferguson hit a two-run single on a line down the first base line to drive in both the game-tying and go ahead run. He also swiped a bag and would’ve most likely been the MVP had Keene’s Jared Mederos not walked off.

3. Trey Amburgey, OF, Vermont

Another non-MVP, however , Ambrurgey accounted for half of the Northern Division runs in just two at bats. He hit a RBI sacrifice fly to right field in the first and then led off the fourth with a single on a full count. He eventually came home on bases-loaded double play.

5. Jack English, RHP, Laconia

4nglish, a rising senior at Florida Gulf Coast, stands just six feet tall but unleashed against the 9-1-2 of the Southern order and was the only pitcher to strike out the side. He threw just two balls to 11 strikes, and struck out Logan Koch, Toby Handey and Tommy Edman- two of which were looking.

5. Jared Mederos, SS, Keene

The MVP went just 1-3 but his lone hit was the biggest of the night. The Swamp Bat shortstop laced a single through the right side of the infield to walkoff, scoring Cardenas from third base. He flew out twice in his other at bats but carried the Northern Division to the victory.

Ranking the contenders' post all-star game schedule strength

The Pilgrims have a tougher road ahead then the Schooners,
but will it matter?

Here is how the schedules of top contenders stack up down the stretch in the two weeks following the NECBL All-Star game. With most divisional races extremely close, schedule strength is important. These notes are based on records going into Saturday's play and the schedules are ranked from toughest to easiest- included are all teams except for the three worst records (New Bedford, Danbury, Valley).

1. Vermont Mountaineers (most difficult second-half schedule)
Home/Away: Only three games at home, eight on the road
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: Nine.
Schedule Notes: Vermont is slammed with a five-game road trip against the best of the South- Newport, Ocean State, Plymouth as well as Northern Division rival Sanford. They only play two sub-.500 teams in their last 11 games- all of which they play in 11 games.
Big finish: Four games against Northern Division foes, including a matchup with second place Sanford that could have implications on who get's first place.

2. Plymouth Pilgrims
Home/Away: Five home, six away
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: Eight.
Schedule notes: The home/away may be balanced, but eight of the Pilgrims 11 games down the stretch are against good teams. They hold a reassuring four game lead on second-place Ocean State, but they will be challenged after several off days with Vermont, Ocean State and a double-header in Newport.
Big finish: The last game of the season is against Newport- which could also have seeding implications. Before that, they play Danbury after a brutal six-game stretch against teams ranked 2-4 in the Southern Division standings.

3. Ocean State Waves
Home/Away: Eight home, three away.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: Eight

Big Finish: May play more home games then away by a lot but they host Plymouth twice and have a double-header against .500 North Adams.

4-7. Hard to really differentiate between harder and easier, so here's a list.

 -Newport (seven home, six away; 8 against .500)

 -North Adams (five home, six away; 6 against .500)

 -Laconia (seven home, six away, 8 against .500)

 -Keene (six home, six away, 7 against .500)

8. Sanford Mainers

Home/Away: Seven home, six away.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: Six.

Big Finish: Double-header in Valley (worst in North) before finishing at home against Keene. 

9. Mystic Schooners

Home/Away: Six and six
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: Just four.

Big Finish: The Schooners close the season with the duo of New Bedford and Danbury- the two worst teams in the NECBL. 

2014 NECBL All-Star Game: Starters, scheduled pitchers

Jankins starts for the South. /Qunnipiac

In two days, scouts, fans and baseball players will flock to Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass. for the NECBL All-Star Game. The Northern Division will take on the Southern Division in the first meeting with realigned divisions and they will do so at 5:05 after a day of festivities, including a home run derby and outfield accuracy contest.

The parade of talent begins on the mound, with Thomas Jankins starting for the Southern team and Richard Vrana starting for the Northern team. Jankins is a right-hander from Quinnipiac and is currently 4-0 with a 0.27 ERA in nine appearances for the league-leading Plymouth Pilgrims. He pieced together a 25 2/3 inning scoreless streak to start the season as he's only given up one earned run in 33 innings.

The Northern team counters with the Marist senior Vrana, a southpaw on the Sanford Mainers. Second in the league in ERA, Vrana has a 0.39 ERA over four starts with 24 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings.

Headlining the starting lineups is Louisville's Blake Tiberi on the Northern team and Marist's Stephen Laurino on the Southern squad, both DHing. Tiberi leads the league in average for the divison-leading Vermont Mountaineers with a .398 mark, while Laurino ranks second with a .375 mark for the Mystic Schooners.

Starters (Northern, Southern)
C: Josh Graham (Valley) and Logan Koch (Plymouth)
1B: Mike Vigliarolo (Vermont) and Blaise Salter (Newport)
2B: Matt Byrne (Laconia) and Thomas Roulis (Plymouth)
SS: Garrett Black (Valley) and Tommy Edman (Newport)
3B: Braxton Martinez (Laconia) and Dave Mackinnon (New Bedford)
OF: Trey Amburgey (Vermont) and Toby Handley (Mystic)
OF: Zach Lauricella (Keene) and Jordan Mountford (Ocean State)
OF: Vinny Zarrillo (Laconia) and Michael Martin (Plymouth)
DH: Blake Tiberi (Vermont) and Stephen Laurino (Mystic)

After Jankins pitches the first for the Southern team, the following pitchers are scheduled to follow him on the mound, in order: Nicholas Berger (Plymouth), Jacob Hendren (Mystic), Marc Huberman (Newport), Mitchell Jordan (Ocean State), Max Knutson (Danbury), Armand Rugel (Newport), Andrew Schwaab (Danbury) and Vincenzo Aiello (Plymouth).

Following Vrana on the mound for the Northern team are Alex Robinson (Keene), Jack English (Laconia), Christian Lavoie (Sanford), Trevor Scott (North Adams), Matt Clancy (Keene), Cam Hatch (Sanford), Jared Gesell (Vermont) and Benjamin Criscuolo (Keene).