Mogues finishes second in Derby, All-Star Game ends in tie

Mogues has hit very well this summer for Vermont.

Vermont star first basemen Mikael Mogues gave it his all on Sunday at the NECBL's annual All-Star Game, and it was something to see.

Mogues finished second in the Home Run Derby after putting on a show in the opening round, drew a walk in his first at bat, then came just feet shy of a monster two-run home run in the third inning. He settled for a flyout to the warning track in center, then exited in the fourth after attempting to make a leaping catch over the tarp down the right field line.

For Mountaineers fans, it was nothing unexpected. Teammate Michael Osinski reached base three times and scored twice, and the duo combined for a strong showing at Cardines Field in Newport.

The Mountaineers-backed Northern Division built a big early lead, but faltered late. In typical, bizarre All-Star fashion, the game ended in an 8-8 tie, the first in NECBL history.

After the skills competitions, the North used strong pitching and an impressive offensive output to set a dominant frame early, as a throwing error put them up by a run in the opening frame. The South managed a lone run in the first six frames, falling behind 8-1 quickly.

Keene's Jordan Howard, who was held homerless in the Derby, launched a two-run shot in the third inning. Then, in the fourth, Valley's Erik Ostberg hit a two-run home run of his own, pushing the lead to five. Howard added a RBI fielders choice, and Sanford's Ako Thomas brought in another run with a double.

The South went 1-2-3 in the first inning against Keene's Tommy Doyle, who polished off a 10-pitch frame with a strikeout. A sacrifice fly from Ocean State's Grant Williams brought in their first run in the third, and they were quiet until the late innings. Danbury's Giovanni Dingcong brought in two runs with a double to the triangle in deep center field, and Newport's Stephen Scott cut the deficit to just three runs with a two-run shot. Two batters later, Plymouth's Cole Gordon made it a one-run game with a two-run double to right-center.

The North turned to Keene's Michael LaBeau for a four-out save, but the South tied it up via a RBI double from Brian Sharp. Back-to-back runners reached to open the ninth for the North, including Vermont's Joe Tietjen on an error, but New Bedford reliever Darrien Ragins entered and retired three straight to escape the jam.

The South loaded the bases with one out against LaBeau in the ninth, but he induced a game-ending double play.

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. Playing in his home park, Snyder hit nine in the first around and 11 more in the second, totaling 20 to secure the win.

Vermont's Troy Scocca entered in the fifth inning and played left field, flying out to center.

NOTES: Plymouth reliever Vincenzo Aiello allowed an unearned run in the seventh inning for the South, but what was surprising was the walk he issued to the first batter he faced. Aiello, one of the league's premier closers, entered having not given up a walk in 11 appearances... Winnipesaukee fan vote winner Jorge Jimenez faced two batters in the seventh, hitting a batter and recording a strikeout. It was the second straight year the Muskrats fan base won the contest to send an additional player to the game... The attendance was announced at 3,116, over 500 more then 2014's game at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass... Plymouth's Mike DeRenzi won the 60-yard dash with times of 6.26 and 6.32, the latter recorded in the head-to-head final against Newport's Travis Young, who ran a time of 6.47.

Game 27+28 Recap: Mountaineers sweep Nighthawks in rainy twinbill

TJ Santaigo struck out seven and allowed just two hits over 5 1/3 in the Game 2 win.

By surging into the All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Vermont Mountaineers have positioned themselves to make a run at a third straight Northern Division title in the final two weeks of the season.

After a nightmarish 2-11 start that saw them fall seven games out of first place, many believed that it simply wasn’t Vermont’s year. Weak hitting, an abundance of errors and bullpen woes saw the Mountaineers in jeopardy of even getting a chance to defend their league title in August.

Now, though, Vermont has won eight of its first 10 games in July, its latest victories coming in a doubleheader against the slumping Upper Valley Nighthawks with an 8-1 win in the opener before rolling to a rain-shortened 6-0 win in Friday’s nightcap.

“I told these guys, they’ve played the best baseball in the league the past three weeks,” Vermont manager Joe Brown said. “We don’t really care about the standings, we just need to keep playing well and we’ll earn an opportunity.”

The sweep puts the Mountaineers just two games under .500 and suddenly makes them contenders for a top spot in the division after a 5-13 June.

Upper Valley can’t say the same. The Nighthawks’ agonizing losing streak stretched to five games and they have managed just one win in their last 11 games. Excluding the one win, Upper Valley’s offense has been nonexistent. They’ve been shut out three times and scored a lone run in three other losses.

TJ Santiago made it look easy in the nightcap for Vermont on Friday, needing just 53 pitches to throw 5.1 scoreless innings in his longest start of the summer. He retired the first nine batters he faced and scattered two hits while striking out a season-high seven. He evened his record at 2-2 and had plenty of run support.

“He was on his game,” Brown said. “That was fun to watch. Things are going well, but we definitely need this break. We’re beaten up and tired, but we’ll come out ready to go with three games at home.”

Vermont scored two runs in the first, one in the second and three more in the third, jumping out to a 6-0 lead before Upper Valley had even recorded a hit. A wild pitch from Nighthawks starter Ryan Takacs brought in the first run, and Keegan Meyn drove in a run with a broken-bat blooper to left.

Trevor Ezell singled in a run in the second, and Troy Scocca added an RBI double in the third. A misplay by left fielder Joey Denison on the double allowed another run to score and Scocca coasted into third. He scored a batter later when Meyn grounded out to short.

Upper Valley loaded the bases against reliever Michael Fairchild in the sixth after Santiago exited, but he struck out back-to-back batters to escape the jam. Nighthawks reliever Mike Coss spun four scoreless innings to keep it somewhat close, but the offense wasn’t able to dig out of the early hole.

The game was called after heavy rain and lightning struck before the home half of the eighth inning.

The Mountaineers, who resumed play with a 4-1 lead, only needed Davis Feldman to shut out the Nighthawks in the opening part of the doubleheader, a continuation of Thursday’s rain-shortened contest. Feldman entered with a three-run lead to preserve and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced, working around a lone walk. Joe Jacques, who threw four innings on Friday, recorded the win. He allowed a lone earned run on two hits and three walks.

Backed by a four-run spurt from the offense on Friday, Vermont easily rolled to an 8-1 win during the opener. Scocca finished 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, three runs scored and an RBI. He doubled in a run in the seventh and then came around to score two batters later. Catcher Slade Heggen, who went 3-for-4 and finished a home run shy of the cycle, brought in a pair of runs with a triple to straightaway center. Michael Osinski went 3-for-4 and Trevor Ezell drove in a pair of runs for the Mountaineers, who piled up 13 hits in seven innings.

“I thought it was great to come out and put four runs up,” Brown said. “A 4-1 game can go either way. Then it was great to come out and swing the bats even more in the second game.”

Upper Valley starter Cordes Baker took the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings.

NOTES: Ross Caswell, a catcher from Randolph who’s playing his college ball at Nichols, was announced as the new catcher in the eighth inning for the Mountaineers, drawing a big round of applause from the fans at Recreation Field...Santiago’s start was the best by any member of the Vermont rotation this summer, accumulating a 71 Game Score, a stat devised by statistician Bill James...Vermont sends four players to the NECBL All-Star Game on Sunday in Newport, RI. Those are starters Mikael Mogues and Mike Osinski, as well as reserves Troy Scocca and Joe Tietjen...Vermont has three divisional opponents in a row — Winnipesaukee, North Adams and Sanford — at home following the All-Star break.

All-Star Pitchers and Postseason Awards

Houston Astros prospect Mark Appel started the 2010 All-Star Game as a member of the Newport Gulls.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Keene’s Tommy Doyle and Danbury’s Nick Gallagher got the nod last week as their divisions starters in Sunday’s NECBL All-Star Game, the league deciding they were the best of the best. If you look at their numbers, the spots are well-deserved: Gallagher leads the South in ERA, Doyle has an abundance of strikeouts and a microscopic WHIP and ERA.

A Jeff Zimmerman article I read a few years back, however, made me curious to see if either of the pitchers that got chosen as starters end up winning that season’s Robin Roberts Pitcher of the Year Award like Laconia’s Tim Viehoff did last season?

I decided to look back in the league’s history to 2002, which is as far as I could tell that the league began naming All-League Teams. Each season, the NECBL names a Pitcher of the Year, a Top Pro Prospect, and First and Second Team All-League. That makes for two awards a season that a starter could win, as well as a nod to one of the team’s.

First off, I looked at how often the Pitcher of the Year winner was that year’s All-Star Game Starter. Out of 14 possible Pitcher of the Year winners, seven — or 50% — of them started the All-Star Game. Three of those players have come in the last four years, with Viehoff, Plymouth’s Thomas Jankins and Vermont’s Alex Haines all earning the honor.

Last year’s matchup, between Viehoff and Mystic’s Willie Rios, was historic. Rios was named the Top Pro Prospect, just the fourth to win that honor and start in the All-Star Game. Rios was also a second-team selection while Viehoff was the first, so the two combined for four total honors – just the third in league history.

In 2011, Haines was both the Pitcher of the Year and the Top Pro Prospect, also earning a first-team selection. His opponent, Newport’s Dan Wright, was no slouch, as he was also a first-team nod. The other time two pitchers combined for four was in 2010, when Newport’s Mark Appel (Top Pro Prospect, first team) faced Danbury’s Mike Hauschild (Pitcher of the Year, first team).

Most of this makes common sense. To win an end of the season award, you have to have a good start to the summer. However, pitchers do tail off, which is why 10 of the 28 pitchers didn’t receive any sort of postseason recognition. That includes 2014 starter Richard Vrana (Sanford), 2013’s Will Blalock (Laconia), and 2011’s Justin Wiley (Laconia).

That makes this year so interesting. Doyle and Gallagher are among a talented group of pitchers dominating the NECBL this summer.  Winnipesaukee’s duo of Denis Lyman and Andrew Politi easily could’ve been picked over Doyle, and there’s strong cases for the likes of Sanford’s William Tribucher and Valley’s Mark Washington. Gallagher has plenty of competition as well. It’ll be interesting so see where the pair end up, as at least one starter each of the last 14 years has earned some form of postseason recognition.

Mountaineers build 4-1 lead

Valley News photographer Jennifer Hauck captured this picture of Nighthawks right-hander Cordes Baker
on the mound as the rain began to come down.

Inclement weather, which forced Vermont to play a doubleheader in the first place, once again interfered with the team’s schedule Thursday.

The Mountaineers were set to play a doubleheader of two seven-inning games on Thursday against the Upper Valley Nighthawks at Mayfield Sports Complex. Instead, the first game only made it to the fifth inning with Vermont up 4-1. The action was suspended with one out and will resume tonight prior to the teams’ regularly scheduled meeting.

The first game will likely begin at 5 p.m. They teams will play the completion of seven innings and then play a regular nine-inning game afterwards.

Thursday’s originally scheduled nightcap will be made up in Upper Valley on a later date, with an Aug. 1 doubleheader likely.

Upper Valley jumped out to a first-inning lead Thursday, loading the bases with just one out. Al Molina drove in a run with a single through the left side, but Vermont third basemen Jeremy McCuin relayed a throw to the plate in time to prevent a second run.

Nighthawks left fielder Joey Denison, who was attempting to score from second, appeared to get under the tag at the plate. But home plate umpire Al Libardoni called him out, much to the chagrin of Upper Valley manager Nick Cenatiempo. Cenatiempo, the assistant coach to Mountaineers manager Joe Brown at Cortland State, vehemently disagreed with the call. It was the first of several run-ins between Cenatiempo and the umpiring crew. Cenatiempo was also heated over a fifth-inning safe call on a stolen base attempt from Vermont.

The Mountaineers answered with a three-run second inning against Upper Valley right-hander Cordes Baker. Troy Scocca doubled to lead off the frame and scored on Slade Heggen’s bloop single. Mccain drew a two-out walk, and both runners scored on Trevor Ezell’s double off the wall in left field.

Vermont tacked on another run in the fifth. Joe Tietjen was hit to lead off the inning, moved to second on a groundout and stole third. With heavy rain coming down, Mountaineers shortstop Mike Osinski brought him in with a single to right field that Upper Valley’s Shea Sullivan couldn’t quite snare with a diving effort.

ROSTER SHUFFLING: With the league’s roster lock date approaching quickly, Mountaineers GM Brian Gallagher has been searching for players to add depth to the Vermont roster. With recent losses, including Louisville catcher Zeke Pinkham, Gallagher is still looking for a catcher, a fourth outfielder and an extra infielder. Pitching is also important, and a likely signee is Norwich pitcher and 2015 Mountaineer Billy Whaley, a graduate of Northfield High School.

FINAL VOTE: The league announces the winner of the All-Star Game Final Vote tonight. It is a contest in which a player from each team is nominated to join the festivities in Newport, R.I. The Mountaineers’ nominee was right-hander Jonathan Stiever, who enters Friday with a 1-1 record and a 1.90 ERA over 23-plus innings. He’s struck out 19 and allowed seven walks, holding opponents to a .180 average.

RAINOUTS: The rest of the league did not fare much better Thursday as much of New England was hit by storms. Mystic’s game against Valley and Winnipesaukee’s versus Keene were both cancelled due to rain. Three out of seven scheduled games were completed.

Parity in NECBL surprises

Managers exchange lineup cards before Vermont hosted Winnipesaukee. The Northern Division standings remain
incredibly close entering the All-Star Break.

This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, July 13th edition of the Times Argus. All numbers are as of Tuesday morning.

It’s the year of parity in the NECBL, when almost no one has managed to break away from the pack. Every team in the league entered Tuesday’s action with a record of .400 or better and the 13 teams are separated by a grand total of six games in the standings.

This sort of parity hasn’t been seen in years. Entering Tuesday in the Northern Division, three teams were within one game of first place with Winnipesaukee leading the division. North Adams trails by a half-game and Keene and Sanford are tied at one behind.

Over the past five years, dominant teams have run rampant.

Since 2011, the average distance between the first place team and the last place team in a division has been just over 15 games. Last year, it was the likes of Keene and Danbury, who both went 13-29 and finished 12.5 and 14 games out, respectively.

The Upper Valley Nighthawks find themselves in the basement right now during their inaugural season. Still, the Nighthawks, who have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games, remain just a half game back of the Mountaineers with a 10-15 record.

The clumping of teams is something Vermont Mountaineers general manager Brian Gallagher has been surprised with.

“Any team on any given night can beat anybody else,” he said. “It seems like all teams are struggling at certain times and then peaking, so nobody is running away with it. Everybody has similar records, and at some point something has to give.”

For Gallagher’s Mountaineers, it’s a welcome sight. After a shaky start that featured a seven-game losing streak, the closeness in the division standings have allowed his team to climb within striking distance. They sit just 3.5 games out of first, having used an impressive record at home to climb out of an early hole.

“It’s kept everybody in the playoff hunt, which is good,” Gallagher said of the closeness. “If you have four teams just running away with it, guys on the bottom teams that have no shot start to get tired or want to go home. It’s been great for us because the team is pulling together and (the players) have great chemistry now.”

Vermont has heated up and has one of the better chances at a top seed in the division, a remarkable feat considering Vermont’s poor start. The Mountaineers have the best ERA in the division thanks to a deep and balanced pitching staff. Timely hitting and an improved team defense have them in a good spot to vault into playoff position entering the All-Star break.

“I don’t know if I was necessarily positive,” Mountaineers manager Joe Brown said of the slow start. “They kept positive. These are good players and they had to get rolling. They hadn’t played in two or three weeks, some of them, and now they’re playing regularly so we’re finding a rhythm.”

Other teams have slowed as of late. Keene, which jumped out to an early lead in the division with an impressive 7-1 start, has dropped six of its last seven. The Swamp Bats have a negative-25 run differential, a troubling trend for a team that sits at just one game over .500. Valley, which seemed poised to pull away from the pack midway through June, has also plummeted, dropping five straight to fall below .500. North Adams, with a division-leading plus-22 run differential, has dropped six of 10.

The Mountaineers aren’t the only team trending upwards, though.

Sanford pieced together a five-game winning streak, while Winnipesaukee has been one of the hottest teams in the league. Winners of three straight, the Muskrats took sole possession of first place Monday night with a win over the Swamp Bats.

Still, there’s hardly a clear favorite. It’s been a constant shifting landscape in the North, and the same can be said about the South. When the season ends in just over two weeks, the NECBL could very well finish with some of its tightest standings ever.

The playoff setup — a trio of best-of-three series over the span of nine days — with this closeness in the standings will make it hard to simply predict the top seed to win it all.

Game 26 Recap: Mountaineers 7, Swamp Bats 5

Vermont catcher Ryan Fineman homered and has heated up as of late for the Mountaineers.

The Vermont Mountaineers showed a bit of resiliency -- against their opponent and the road atmosphere that has plagued them all season.

After falling behind 5-1, Vermont scored six unanswered runs to knock off the Keene Swamp Bats, 7-5. It's the Mountaineers first win on the road since June 19th and just the second all season, and it improved their record to 4-1 against the rival Swamp Bats this season.

Ryan Fineman went 2-for-4 with a decisive three-run home run in the sixth, taking a 6-5 lead with one swing of the bat. Joe Tietjen added a two-run shot in the fifth, his third home run of the season. Vermont relievers Sam Bordner and Chandler Sedat combined to throw five scoreless innings, shutting down a Swamp Bats offense and protecting a narrow two-run lead.

Fineman is working on a three-game hitting streak for Vermont, a promising sign after a slow start to the summer. He's raised his average to .215 and has driven in five runs over the last three games, going 4-for-12. The Mountaineers already have a deep lineup, but Fineman heating up is a welcome sight to see. It's expected from the Indiana product, who hit .268 in 54 games for the Hoosiers and was on the All-Freshman Big Ten team.

Bordner threw three innings in middle relief, scattering two hits and a walk while striking out three. Sedat, meanwhile, extended his scoreless innings streak to 15 1/3 innings to start the summer. The right-hander recorded his first save, striking out four and walking just one over two innings. His dominance has been unrivaled — he's struck out 19 and allowed just eight baserunners.

Vermont starter Joey Rocchietti threw four innings, giving up five runs, two earned, on six hits. Keene jumped out to a three-run lead in the second, using two hits and a pair of errors. Lucas Luopa reached and then scored on the two errors, while Brandt Stallings added a two-run double. They struck for two more in the fourth, scoring via RBI singles from Luopa and Joshua Shaw.

Vermont struggled early against Keene starter Tommy Doyle, the starting pitcher for the Northern Division All-Star Team. They eventually pushed across a run in the fourth via a Troy Scocca RBI single. Doyle exited after 4 2/3, allowing one earned run on two hits while striking out seven.

The Swamp Bats bullpen struggled, allowing five runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. Tietjen homered in the fifth, followed by Fineman's go-ahead shot in the sixth that made it 6-5. Vermont tacked on an insurance run in the ninth as Daniel Little scored on a passed ball.

Keene needed five different relievers to go the rest of the game, with Mike Crimi taking the loss, having given up both home runs.

Bordner earned the win in relief, while Sedat picked up the two-inning save. It was a big win for Vermont, who sit at 11-15 entering a three-game series against last-place Upper Valley (10-17). With a road doubleheader today followed by a home game, the Mountaineers are in good position to surge into the All Star break. The Nighthawks are on a three-game skid and have dropped nine of their last 10.

Game 25 Recap: Schooners 6, Mountaineers 2

Vermont's eight-game home winning streak was snapped by Mystic on Monday night.

With their bats finally catching up to their hitting over the past few games, Vermont faltered in the finale to a four-game homestand, committing three costly errors and leaving eight runners on base in a 6-2 loss to the visiting Mystic Schooners.

In a rematch of last year's NECBL finals, the Schooners scored a run in four consecutive innings, including a two-run fourth. They continued to hit the ball incredibly well, piling up 13 hits to win their second straight and move just a game back of the Ocean State Waves in the race for first place in the Southern Division.

Vermont rapped out nine hits, but baserunning blunders and some sloppiness on defense proved too much to overcome. They left the bases loaded and struck out 11 times, the highest total since their fifth game of the season, when they fanned 13 times against Winnipesaukee. The Muskrats lost Monday night, as did the last-place Upper Valley Nighthawks, so Vermont doesn't fall in the standings. They still sit 3 1/2 games back of first.

However, this loss will sting. The Mountaineers had a golden opportunity to win their fourth straight, wrapping up a perfect homestand that would've pushed them to just 2 1/2 back. Instead, old issues cropped up and the Schooners rolled to an early 6-0 lead and hung on.

Mystic starter Kevin Magee turned in a strong start, striking out eight over 5 2/3 while scattering seven hits and a walk. He allowed two earned runs, surrendering both of them on a RBI single to Ryan Fineman in his last batter of the night. Magee was arguably left in too long. He threw 104 pitches, and was cruising all the way until two outs in the sixth.

He was backed by a strong offense. Vermont starter Sean Callahan threw five innings after entering with just five innings under his belt this summer, and he gave up five runs, three earned. The Schooners jumped ahead against him thanks to a pair of errors from middle infielders Michael Osinski and Jeremy Giles in the second, leading to a RBI groundout from Scotty Bradley.

With a lineup featuring five All-Stars, the Schooners offense kept grinding. Nick Mascelli brought in a run with a single in the third and Ryan Ramiz followed the next inning with a RBI single. A throwing error on Vermont catcher Slade Heggen trying to catch a runner taking third brought in another run, Ramiz easily trotting home as the throw rolled to the bullpen.

Richard Slenker added a RBI single in the fifth, and CJ Moore capped the scoring with a single against Mountaineers reliever Fitzpatrick Stadler. Stadler threw four strong innings of relief, scattering three hits and a walk while striking out two.

Fineman's two-run single got Vermont on the board in the sixth. They had a big chance in the eighth against reliever Matthew Ardente, but baserunning cost them.

Daniel Little led off the inning with a single, then advanced all the way to third on a misplay in the outfield. Troy Scocca grounded one right back to Ardente, who looked to third and found Little cheating too far off the base. Ardente sprinted at him and tagged him out for the inning's first out.

A batter later, Keegan Meyn doubled to left. Scocca, however, pulled up at third base, much to the chagrin of manager Joe Brown. Scocca failed to pick up that Ramiz misplayed the ball in left, and was slow in getting the throw in. By the time Scocca realized, it was too late, and Vermont missed a big chance.

Brown sent Scocca when Jeremy Giles flew out to right, but CJ Moore displayed a strong arm in throwing him out by several feet.

It was a tough inning and a tough loss for the Mountaineers, who'll attempt to bounce back on the road tonight. They're facing the Keene Swamp Batas, who split a double-header with the Southern Division leading Waves last night. Vermont's had success against Keene thus far, going 3-1. They're also looking for just their second win on the road this summer, entering just 1-10.