Original link: http://www.necbl.com/view/necbl/news-1185/news_534889
After a canceled 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic the New England Collegiate Baseball League finally returns to action on Thursday, June 3. The 2021 campaign marks the league’s 26th season and its Southern Division of seven teams are eager to get back on the field and chase the Fay Vincent Cup. Here’s a preview of the South’s season to come.
Bristol Blues
2019 Record / Postseason: 31-23 (2nd Place, FCBL Runner-Up)
Manager: Ronnie Palmer
Opening Game: June 3 vs. Danbury (6:30pm)
The New England League is eager to welcome the Bristol Blues to its ranks this summer. After joining the league prior to the 2020 season, the Blues will bring NECBL baseball back to the heart of Connecticut for the first time since 2010. Three University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies highlight the Blues’ 2021 roster as well as a pitcher from Virginia Commonwealth University. These four players will not only seek to hoist the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup this summer, but also will be competing for an NCAA Division I (DI) baseball championship, as their respective programs all qualified for the national tournament.
Danbury Westerners:
2019 Record / Postseason: 19-23 (4th Place; Missed Playoffs)
Manager: Ian Ratchford
Opening Game: June 3 @ Bristol (6:30pm)
The longest tenured team in the NECBL will be in search of their first league championship in their 26th season in 2021. The Danbury Westerners have not been to the postseason since 2016 and last competed in the championship series in 2015. With two returning players from the 2019 season in pitcher Christian Allegretti of Bryant University and outfielder Justin Jordan of Sacred Heart University, these two familiar faces are ready to end Danbury’s playoff drought. Allegretti made 13 appearances for the Bulldogs in 2021 and registered 24 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. The Westerners will bring on four players whose colleges are competing in the DI baseball tournament, all position players, of Georgia Tech, UConn and Fairfield University.
Martha’s Vineyard Sharks:
2019 Record / Postseason: 28-16 (1st Place; NECBL Championship Runner-Up)
Manager: Jay Mendez
Opening Game: June 3 at Mystic (6:30pm)
After making a splash in their debut NECBL campaign in 2019 that saw them reach the Championship Series before falling to eventual champion Keene, the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks will be looking for an equally impressive sophomore season. The Sharks’ roster is brimming with a league-leading 12 players whose schools will appear in the DI baseball tournament and a total of 10 competing teams across the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East Conferences. Martha’s Vineyard will have two returning players from 2019, pitchers Daniel Hegarty of the University of Kansas and Oliver McCarthy of Duke University. Hegarty appeared in 24 games in 2021 for the Jayhawks and struck out 26 to just eight walks allowed.
Mystic Schooners:
2019 Record / Postseason: 22-21 (3rd Place; Reached Wild Card Game)
Manager: Phil Orbe
Opening Game: June 3 vs. Martha’s Vineyard (6:05pm)
After losing the one-game wild card playoff against the Newport Gulls in 2019 the Mystic Schooners are looking to make a deep run into the NECBL postseason during their 10th season in the league in 2021. With a roster that features three returning players from 2019 and eight players who will also compete in the NCAA baseball tournament, the Schooners are ready to make the Shipyard the place to be this summer. Returning catcher Mike Caruso of Fairfield University highlights Mystic’s roster this season, as his school will play in the tournament; he was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Player of the Year for 2021. Caruso led the conference with a .413 batting average and a .535 on-base percentage, both stats ranking in the top 10 of the NCAA. Five other players for the Schooners took home 2021 conference awards across the country.
Newport Gulls:
2019 Record / Postseason: 27-17 (2nd Place; Reached Divisional Championship Series)
Manager: Kevin Winterrowd
Opening Game: June 3 at Valley (6:35pm)
After finishing the 2019 season as Southern Division runner-up champs, the six-time league champion Newport Gulls will be looking to raise their seventh banner -- and first since 2014 -- this summer. With a roster featuring 11 pitchers and position players from six schools featured in the NCAA tournament, the Gulls are eager to give themselves another chance at the Southern Division title this time around. Returning pitcher Jimmy Kingsbury pitched the second-most innings (64.2) for his Villanova Wildcats in 2021 and led his squad in strikeouts with 86. Tulane pitcher Jack Aldrich led the Green Wave in innings pitched (82.2), starts (14) and strikeouts (96). On top of those numbers, Aldrich possessed a 1.98 ERA in 18.1 innings over his last three starts for his school.
Ocean State Waves:
2019 Record / Postseason: 19-25 (5th Place; Missed Playoffs)
Manager: Eric Hirschbein-Bodnar
Opening Game: June 4 at Bristol (6:30pm)
After making back-to-back NECBL Championship Series appearances in 2017 and 2018, the Ocean State Waves will be looking to get back to that level this summer when the season kicks off. The Waves’ roster features 11 players from eight schools that are set to compete in the NCAA Tournament. Duke pitcher Jimmy Loper impressed in 2021 for the Blue Devils, pitching 42 innings and appearing in the squad’s ACC title-winning game. NJIT outfielder Albert Choi had a breakout sophomore year for the Highlanders, and was named the America East Rookie of the Year this past season. Choi started and led off the batting order in all 46 of NJIT’s games in 2021, leading them to the NCAA tournament. Ocean State will turn to these two to assist in leading them back to postseason contention.
Valley Blue Sox:
2019 Record / Postseason: 25-18 (2nd Place in Northern Division; Reached Northern Divisional Finals)
Manager: Hezekiah Randolph
Opening Game: June 3 vs. Newport (6:35pm)
The Valley Blue Sox will compete in the Southern Division in 2021 after spending most of the past decade in the North. The Blue Sox, of course, came close to a three-peat in 2019 before bowing out to eventual league champion Keene in a wild Divisional Finals series. The 2019 Northern Division champion runner-up will have a seasoned veteran in NJIT catcher Paul Franzoni, who most recently hit a home run in the Highlanders’ NCAA tournament-clinching game to lift NJIT to their first America East championship in program history. Franzoni and players from the Big East and the Ivy League highlight a roster that is looking to continue Valley’s streak of deep postseason runs.
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