Loaded ‘Skrats pitching staff has Laconia hopeful for fourth playoff berth in five years

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
One way or another, Laconia has found ways to make the most out of seemingly every playoff berth it played its way into.

Since the franchise’s relocation to the White Mountains in 2010, the Muskrats had never finished over .500 and had never won more than 20 games, but in each of those first three years, Laconia was a postseason qualifier, with the franchise’s most exciting run coming in 2011 when, after finishing the regular season 18-24, the Muskrats stunned top-seeded Newport in the opening round en route to a magical run to the team’s first-ever appearance in the NECBL Championship Series.

Last summer, with Laconia bidding for its fourth straight playoff berth, the Muskrats appeared well on their way to accomplishing that goal with just over a week to go in the regular season. Sitting at 21-17 overall with six games to play, though, Laconia ended the year on a six-game skid, falling into a tie with Eastern Division rival Sanford to force a play-in game for the final playoff spot.

Unfortunately for Laconia, that losing streak would extend one more game, as the Mainers kept the Muskrats out of the postseason for the first time in four years with a 4-2 loss to send the ‘Skrats home early.

Iona’s Joe Torres, one of four All-Stars for the Muskrats, gave the fans at Robbie Mills Field plenty to cheer for after leading the league with 28 stolen bases, while Arizona State’s Joey Bielek ranked third in the league with 15 doubles and second with 18 extra-base hits. Finally, Lipscomb’s Will Blalock was the starter for the East in the 2013 All-Star Game hosted by the Muskrats and posted a 1.69 ERA in five appearances with 22 strikeouts.

Who To Watch For
Jordan Sheffield, Freshman, RHP, Vanderbilt – One of many exciting pieces to what should be one of the top pitching staffs in the East Division this summer, Sheffield was a 13th-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in last year’s MLB Draft but elected to stay in his home state of Tennessee and opted for Vanderbilt, a perennial power year in and year out. A medical redshirt after recovering from Tommy John surgery, Sheffield will be seeing his first meaningful action since his senior year of high school at Tullahoma (Tenn.), where he was named a Rawlings First-Team All-American and member of Team USA’s Under-16 Team.

Jack English, Junior, RHP, Florida Gulf Coast – A 12-game starter for the Atlantic Sun champion Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, English is another power arm on a Laconia staff full of them. His 3.41 ERA was third-best on the team among starters; he also fanned 48 and limited opponents to a .257 average in 66 innings of work.

Mariano Rivera Junior, RHP, Iona – That name ring a bell? The son of the future Hall of Famer and best closer of all time, Rivera Jr. will certainly bring a buzz into the league last felt in 2012, when (hopefully) future Hall of Fame member Craig Biggio’s son Conor was a member of the North Adams SteepleCats. At Iona this spring, he struck out 50 batters in 70 innings while tossing all five of the Gaels’ complete games.

DJ Ruhlman, Senior SS, Seton Hall – The Co-Big East Player of the Year, Ruhlman brings an electric bat to Laconia this summer and should be a mainstay at the top of the lineup. The rising senior led the Pirates with a .364 batting average, posting team-bests in runs (42) and on-base percentage (.437) and finishing with an impressive .934 OPS. The versatile shortstop committed just six errors on the year and went 15-for-20 in stolen bases.

Corey Baptist, Junior, 1B, St. Petersburg – An anchor at first base for one of the top JUCO teams in the nation, Baptist ranked third in the nation in doubles with 23 and also slugged nine home runs for the Titans.

Ben Miller, Sophomore, LHP/DH, Nebraska – Listed as a pitcher on the roster, Miller could be one of Laconia’s most versatile two-way threats this summer. The Clive, Iowa native led the Huskers in hitting as a freshman, finishing with a .336 batting average.

The Coaching Staff
Matt Alison will return for his fourth season as the Muskrats manager in 2014. He has guided the Muskrats to three postseason appearances, including a trip to the franchise’s first-ever NECBL Championship Series in his first season back in 2011. Under Alison, the Muskrats have produced two NECBL MVPs, 14 NECBL All-Stars and have 20 former players are playing professionally.

--

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