With just a few nights to go till the playoffs, an offensive Tuesday night in the NECBL saw the North Division set its playoff bracket. North Adams swept their doubleheader against North Shore, while Vermont outdueled Sanford. Bristol rallied late and took down Ocean State. Newport shut out Martha’s Vineyard, the Schooners battled in a high-scoring win over Valley, and Danbury kept their playoff hopes alive with a win over Upper Valley.

South Division

Ocean State Waves vs. Bristol Blues 

Final Score: Bristol 6, Ocean State 2

Bristol, CT – The Blues hosted the Waves at Muzzy Field as the playoff race intensifies during this last week of New England Collegiate Baseball League action. Ocean State managed to get on the board first when Justin Hackett (Bryant) drove in two runs on a double to put the Waves up 2-0 in the top of the second. 

Bristol would strike in the bottom of the third inning when Timothy Cap (UConn-Avery Point) hit an RBI single to make it 2-1. In the bottom of the seventh, Bristol would rally to break the game open, starting when Dean O’Niell (UMaine) scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at two apiece. Tommy Ahlers (Keene State) would score the go-ahead run, also by scoring on a wild pitch, to give the Blues a 3-2 lead. Joey DiMucci (Penn State) then drove in another run on a single. Mikael Peterson (Brown) capped off the rally with a sac fly, putting Bristol up 6-2 going into the eighth. 

In the bottom of the eighth, the Blues would add a final insurance run when Trevor Hansen (Manhattan) reached first on an error by the third baseman, making his way to third base and driving in a run amid the chaos to put Bristol up 6-2. That was all the Blues would need, as they’d take the win at that score with help from Pedro Leon (Holy Cross), who came in to pitch the last two innings, striking out five and allowing no runs. 

Bristol improves to 26-17, having already clinched a playoff spot at number two in the South, while Ocean State falls to 16-27 at the last spot in the Southern Division. 

You can view the box score here 

Valley Blue Sox vs. Mystic Schooners 

Final Score: 

Mystic, CT – The Schooners hosted the Blue Sox for an incredibly entertaining matchup that was dominated by offense. Mystic would get on the board first in the bottom of the first inning when Eric Cha (Northeastern) hit an RBI double to make the score 1-0. Jake Kernodle (Princeton) would follow up by driving in a pair of runs on a single to put the Schooners up 3-0. Jack Harley (Stetson) would keep the rally alive by driving in Kernodle on a double, which was followed by Christian Scanlon (Merrimack) driving in another with a single to increase the lead to 5-0. AJ Aschettino (Northeastern) would cap off the rally when he reached first on an error, driving in another to put Mystic up 6-0. 

The Schooners wouldn’t let up, as in the next inning, Jack Harley (Stetson) would drive in Maddix Dalena (UConn) to give Mystic a 7-0 lead. They would keep the momentum going, as in the bottom of the third inning, David Mendez (Maryland) kicked off another rally with an RBI single to make the score 8-0. Jake Kernodle (Princeton) would strike again, driving in his second pair of runs with another 2-RBI single, putting the Schooners up by a whopping 10-0. 

Valley would strike in the top of the fourth when John LaFleur (Holy Cross) hit an RBI single to put the Blue Sox on the board, down 10-1. Luke Holland (North Carolina-Greensboro) responded in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to keep Mystic up by ten at 11-1. 

The Blue Sox would start to chip away at the lead in the top of the fifth when Isaac Waschmann (Creighton) hit a three-run blast, which was followed by a Nick Spaventa (UPenn) solo shot to put Valley down 10-5. The next inning, the Blue Sox kept at it when Sean Darnell (Troy) drove in a run on a groundout, and Isacc Waschmann (Creighton) hit an RBI single to make the score 11-7. Nick Spaventa (UPenn) struck again when he hit an RBI groundout, and Wyatt Hunt (Monmouth) drove in two on a double, now putting Valley down by just one at 11-10. 

The Schooners would not let the Blue Sox take a lead, as Troy Reader (Notre Dame) started the bottom of the eighth inning by driving in two runs on a single which was followed by David Mendez (Maryland) knocking in another pair of runs on a double to increase the Mystic lead to 15-10. The Blue Sox would show some fight in the top of the ninth inning when Michael Elko (Richmond) reached first on an error, driving in two runs to put Valley down 15-12. That wouldn’t be enough, as Mystic was able to hold it together after the ninth inning fiasco to take home the win. 

With the South Division playoff race in full swing, Mystic improves to 20-22, fighting with the 20-21 Danbury Westerners to secure the fourth spot in the South. With the loss, Valley falls to 19-23, with the fifth spot in the South. 

You can view the box score here

Martha’s Vineyard Sharks vs Newport Gulls

Final Score: Sharks 0, Gulls 4

Oak Bluffs, MA – The Newport Gulls came into Vineyard Baseball Park on Tuesday night and shut out the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks by a 4-0 score. Newport’s win comes off the backs of their pitching staff, who allowed just two hits all night, as well as timely hitting.

Gulls’ starter Tristan Bristow (Vanderbilt) and Sharks’ starter Aidan Dowd (Fordham) were both excellent to start off the ball game. Bristow allowed just two hits over four innings of shutout baseball, while Dowd completed three innings of shutout baseball himself. Next up for Martha’s Vineyard was Ryan Ashford (Miami), who was just as good as Dowd. Ashford threw two scoreless innings while Caden Connolly (Michigan) did the same for Newport.

In the seventh inning, the Gulls finally got on the board and pulled away pretty fast. Kyle Branch (Oklahoma) got on via a walk to start the inning. After advancing to second on a groundout and stealing third, Branch scored on an error by the catcher to make it 1-0. 

Will Fosberg (Northeastern) walked to put a runner on first, one out. Ryan Novak (Miami) drew a walk as well, and Matthew Bolton (Binghamton) followed with a single to load the bases. Michael Gupton (Memphis) walked to drive in Forsberg. During Colby Wallace’s (East Carolina) at bat, a passed ball allowed Novak to come across, and Wallace brought Bolton around with a sac fly to cap the inning off at 4-0.

Despite drawing seven walks as a team, the Sharks couldn’t cash in, leaving 10 runners stranded over the course of the night. Marcel Kulik (Virginia Tech) got the win for Newport for his two innings of no-hit baseball, while Morgan Davis (Milwaukee School of Engineering) took home the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) in 0.1 innings.

The Gulls will host the Mystic Schooners on Wednesday evening at 6:35 p.m., while the Sharks visit the Schooners on the road on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.

Box Score


Upper Valley Nighthawks vs. Danbury Westerners

Final Score: Danbury 9, Upper Valley 6

Danbury, CT – With Danbury battling Valley and Mystic for the South Division’s final playoff spot, the Westerners came into Rogers Park on Tuesday desperately needing a win. After dropping their last two, they needed a hot start, and got exactly that. With eight runs in the first inning, Danbury rode the early onslaught to a 9-6 victory, remaining in fourth place with two games left on the schedule.

In the big first inning, Michael Iannazzo (Maryland) and Diego Urreta (Farleigh Dickinson) reached on back-to-back walks before Jack Lutte (Denison) kicked off the scoring with an RBI single. Peter Link (Sacred Heart) followed with a three-run home run, giving the Westerners a 4-0 lead after just four batters. 

Two bases loaded walks later, the Westerners held a 6-0 lead, before Urreta’s second plate appearance of the inning drove in two on a single to finish off the early offensive explosion. 

To Upper Valley’s credit, they did not back down. Giving up five hits in the first, the Nighthawks' pitching staff allowed just three more the rest of the game. They also chipped away at the lead, scoring two in the second, sixth, and eighth, but ultimately could not complete the comeback. Nick Shuhet (Rider) and Michael Trommer (Bucknell) both had two-run homers in the loss.

Kenan Elarton (Houston Baptist), after going 6 innings with five strikeouts, earned the win for Danbury, while Teo Spadaccini (Yale) picked up the save. Matthew Direnzo (Worcester State) was issued the loss for the Nighthawks. 

With the loss and sitting just 18-25, Upper Valley has clinched the fourth seed in the North Division, while Danbury is 20-21 and just a half game in front of the Schooners.

Box Score