Westerners turn to potential-filled youthful roster in 2014

In the next two-plus weeks leading up to Opening Day, the NECBL will unveil team-by-team previews for the 2014 campaign, one per weekday leading up to June 5.

Recapping 2013
The oldest active franchise in the league, Danbury reached the NECBL Championship Series for the fourth time since the team’s inception in 1995 two summers ago before bowing out to Newport. Despite the loss, the atmosphere at Rogers Park had been rejuvenated and expectations were higher than ever last summer in Western Connecticut.

Longtime manager Jamie Shevchik found his team in familiar waters near the midway point of the 2013 campaign, as Danbury entered July at 6-9, hovering near .500 for most of June but always feeling as if the team were on the precipice of something more. After all, it was Shevchik who orchestrated the Westerners’ magical second-half charge in 2012, leading the team from last place to second and all the way to the NECBL Finals.

That magic, however, eluded the Westerners last summer, as Danbury struggled through much of July en route to a 17-26 final record and sixth-place finish in the West. Danbury went just 4-9 in one-run games and, incredibly enough, was winless in all seven extra-inning contests it played last summer. The Westerners also ranked ninth in team batting average (.241), team ERA (3.73) and 10th in fielding percentage (.959).

Columbia right-hander Zachary Tax was a bright spot out of the bullpen, posting a 1.26 ERA in 14 appearances – fourth-best in the league’s ERA leader board. SNHU’s Riley Palmer lit up the scoreboard with six home runs, while Binghamton’s Zachary Blanden ranked fifth in the NECBL with 18 stolen bases.

Who To Watch For
Alex Tuccio, Sophomore, Siena – Danbury’s lone holdover from last summer, Tuccio recently completed his redshirt freshman at Siena this spring after transferring from Seton Hall. In his first stint with the Westerners he started off red-hot and settled for a .254 average and 14 RBI. Finishing this past spring with a seven hits in 25 appearances, Tuccio will look to improve on those numbers and should be a factor with a previous year of experience in the league under his belt.

Vimael Machin , Senior, Shortstop Siena – Originally tabbed to join the Westerners last summer, Machin will make his delayed debut in Danbury in 2014 after an injury kept him off the roster a year ago. A 29th-round selection by the San Diego Padres out of high school, the rising senior at VCU hit .320 (57-for-178) with 37 runs, 51 RBI and an impressive .872 OPS.

Joe Kuzia, Junior, RHP, St. John’s – Danbury should have one of the league’s more reliable arms in the form of rising junior Joe Kuzia. The Red Storm right-hander has gone over 30 consecutive innings without yielding an earned run. To date, he owns a 0.77 ERA with 28 strikeouts and just nine walks over 35 innings, holding opponents to a .161 batting average.

Max Knutson, Sophomore, LHP, Nebraska - Ranked as the 29th-best freshman in the country by Baseball America heading into the 2014 season, Knutson has appeared in just six games with the Huskers so far as a true freshman but brings plenty of promise in what could turn out to be a breakout summer in Danbury.

Manny Cruz, Freshman, SS, Southern N.H. – Drafted in the 39th round by the Cincinnati Reds last June, Cruz enjoyed a stellar freshman season with the Penmen, a perennial Division II power and a yearly feeder system of quality Danbury players. A second-team all-conference selection, Cruz batted .292 in 55 appearances and smacked 12 doubles while scoring a team-high 45 runs to help SNHU win the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference baseball crown as well as earning an appearance in the NCAA East Regionals.

The Coaching Staff
Jamie Shevchik returns for his seventh season leading the Westerners. The longtime Keystone College bench boss has garnered over 100 managerial victories in the NECBL, with the highlight of his time in western Connecticut coming in 2012 after guiding the Westerners to the league championship finals. At Keystone, he has led a squad that has won 10 straight conference championships while collecting over 300 wins in the process.

--

For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter and on Facebook.