Original link: http://www.necbl.com/view/necbl/news-1185/news_537174
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – With the first three rounds of the 2021 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) postseason completed, all that is left is the Championship Series and for one team to hoist the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup.
The fifth-seeded North Shore Navigators have fought hard both in the regular season and the postseason for their current spot, as have the fourth-seeded Danbury Westerners, as Game 1 of the series is set to begin at 6:30pm on Wednesday, August 11th, at Rogers Park, a rematch of the 2010 NECBL Championship Series in which North Shore came out victorious.
The North
The No. 5 seed, North Shore, have upset and defeated the fourth-seeded Vermont Mountaineers in the Wild Card round, upset and topped the No. 1 seed and defending NECBL champion Keene Swamp Bats in the best-of-three Northern Division Semifinals (including a decisive 14-3 series-clinching victory in Game 3) with both of their wins coming at the reigning champion Swamp Bats’ Alumni Field, and most recently swept the second-seeded Upper Valley Nighthawks.
Despite an up-and-down regular season for North Shore in which they finished with an overall record of 20-20-2, the Navs have shown out in the 2021 installment of the postseason. Infielder Jonathan Luders (Seton Hall University) touts a .350 batting average over the entire postseason thus far, leading the North Shore offense playing in all six games with seven total hits (tied with shortstop Matthias Haas), five runs, one RBI and a whopping four hit-by-pitches.
The aforementioned Haas (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) is batting .318 over the span of the postseason while also playing in each game thus far, boasting a double and a home run, seven RBI and two runs. Outfielder Joe Lomuscio (Stanford University) has come up big time for the Navs, similarly playing in all six games of the postseason for his team, batting .300 even with six total hits and six runs, eight RBI, five walks, two home runs and a double.
Outfielder Hunter Baldwin has tallied two home runs, his only two hits through four games played, along with six RBI and two runs.
The Navigators’ pitching has been lights out since the beginning of their postseason run. Starting pitcher Austin Amaral (Stetson University) has started in two games thus far, including Monday night’s championship round-clinching win, boasting a 2.25 ERA over the two outings through 12 innings pitched, allowing 11 hits, 3 earned runs and three walks while striking out eight batters along the way, possessing a 1-0 win-loss record.
Fellow starter Luke Marshall (Stonehill College) tossed a complete game in Game 1 of the Northern Division Semifinal against the Keene Swamp Bats at Fraser Field on August 4th, allowing just three hits, one earned run and four walks while punching out nine batters along the way and picking up the win. Jackson Emus (Princeton University), Zach Chappell (University of North Florida) and Graham Jeffries (Salve Regina University) have tossed fantastic outings themselves for their underdog squad over the last week.
The South
The fourth-seeded Danbury Westerners, the self-proclaimed grittiest team in the league, have certainly proven themselves to be true to that sentiment since the start of the summer.
The Westerners began the postseason by knocking the fifth-seeded Newport Gulls out of contention in the Wild Card round, followed by a series sweep of the No. 2 seed, the Valley Blue Sox, in the Southern Division Semifinals before most recently edging the top-seeded Martha’s Vineyard Sharks in the Southern Division Finals. As the oldest organization in the league, Danbury is still looking to win its first title in their 26-year existence and last reached the NECBL championship round in 2012 against Newport (a sweep for the Gulls).
Similar to the Navigators, the Westerners have dealt with their fair share of ups and downs through the 2021 season and have more than earned their spot in the Finals, not to mention home-field advantage in the best-of-three series. Danbury touted a 23-19 win-loss record in the regular season, a number that left them just one-and-a-half games back of the one-seed Sharks at the conclusion of the season.
While the Westerners may not own the top seed in the South, they have certainly played as if that is the case through three rounds of the postseason. Shortstop Sebastian Murillo (Long Beach State) has played in all six postseason games for Danbury and is boasting a .421 batting average, eight total hits, five RBI and walks, two runs, and one double, triple and home run each. Center fielder Henry Strmecki (University of Dayton) is performing just as well, if not better, owning a .471 average through five games played with eight hits and RBI, four runs and three home runs.
Third baseman Nicholas Lorusso (University of Maryland) is on fire alongside seemingly the rest of his teammates, hitting .409 through six ball games played, nine total hits, 6 RBI and runs, five walks, two home runs, doubles and stolen bases. Catcher Jack Payton (University of Louisville) has been a shining star for the Westerners through six contests himself, hitting .444 with eight hits, six walks, five RBI, four runs, two home runs and one double.
Danbury’s pitching has shown out, as well, in the 2021 edition of the NECBL postseason. Starting pitcher Kyle Roche (Franklin and Marshall College) has made two starts through 12 innings of work, striking out six batters and allowing as many earned runs and four walks on a 4.50 ERA and being awarded one win. Fellow starter Sean Hogan (Williams College) has made one start and lasted five innings, letting up just four walks and three hits while punching out five batters and allowing zero runs against the two-seed Blue Sox on August 5th to earn the victory.
Relief pitcher Ethan Clough (Long Beach State) has appeared in three affairs for the Westerners this postseason and tossed five total innings, allowing only two hits, one run and zero runs while striking out a whopping 10 batters and picking up a win in the process. Fellow relievers Coleman Picard (University of Hartford) and Blake MacMillan (Niagara University) have thrown numerous outstanding performances, as well, for Danbury this postseason.
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