NEWS

Reigning league champion Swamp Bats hoping second-half magic is prevalent throughout 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
By now, you’ve heard the story. And if you haven’t, well, you’re going to hear it again.

The Keene Swamp Bats: a perennial power in the New England League. The Keene Swamp Bats: three league titles, among the most by any franchise in the NECBL’s 20-year history. The Keene Swamp Bats: last place and looking like no end was in sight midway through the year.

That last part? It sure didn’t sit right with anyone in the league, who – regardless of where you might be – has always grown accustomed to seeing Keene at the top of the North or West or Central or whatever division they might find themselves in. Keene, one of the steadiest franchises year-to-year both on the field and in the front office, in LAST PLACE heading to July? Crazy talk!

You thought that was crazy? How about the historic second-half surge that the Swamp Bats used to tear just about everyone they saw to shreds the rest of the way.

Sitting at a league-worst 3-11 after 14 games heading to the month of July, Keene had just about enough of losing, and over the rest of the regular season would combine to go 14-6. Read that again: FOURTEEN AND SIX! A meager .700 winning percentage that would propel the Swamp Bats all the way from worst to first in the NECBL West en route to finishing 27-17 by season’s end.

That, of course, was just the beginning. For a team that had just won 14-of-20, going, at the worst, 6-3 the rest of the summer was certainly a possibility. Of course, Keene – which had rallied back from a historic deficit already – would have to play the maximum in each of its postseason series, starting with a Game 3 win against Holyoke in the NECBL West Semifinals before one of the best West Finals in recent memory against rival Vermont went the distance.

Trailing by five runs against the Mountaineers with two innings to play in its season, the Swamp Bats – similarly to what they did in the regular season – stormed all the way back with two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth to tie it before winning it in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 10th, setting up a date in the NECBL Championship Series for the sixth time in franchise history.

There, Keene would face Newport for the third time after losing to the Gulls in 2001 and 2002; and there, of course, the series would go three games. And there – of course (you see where this is going, don’t you?) – Keene would rally from a 1-0 series deficit and promptly outscore the Gulls by a 12-2 margin over the next two games to emphatically lay claim to the franchise’s fourth Fay Vincent Cup and first since 2011.

Plenty of factors swirled together to complete the Bats’ worst-to-first transformation: the league’s best offense (.278) sure didn’t hurt their chances; nor did the league’s third-best pitching staff ERA (2.87); nor their 16-6 home record (T-1st/NECBL); nor having two of the league’s top-10 leaders in batting average and ERA; nor having six NECBL All-Stars; nor…

That paragraph could probably extend another 100 words or so, but sometimes you just have to tip the cap; the 2013 Swamp Bats were quite the team of destiny, and the follow-up act this summer should be plenty fun to watch.

Players To Watch
Eric Gutierrez, Junior, INF, Texas Tech University - One of the returnees for the Swamp  Bats this summer, Gutierrez is coming off a year in which he hit .347 for the Red Raiders with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs, helping lead Texas Tech back into the national rankings for the first time in nearly a decade.

Connor Jones, Sophomore, RHP, University of Virginia - Jones stepped in right away and played a key role for the Cavaliers this spring, posting a 4-1 record and 2.36 ERA in 19 appearances out of the bullpen. He was a 21st-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2013.

Eric Lauer, Sophomore, LHP, Kent State University - As a freshman this spring, Lauer notched a 7-2 record with a 2.54 ERA and became a vital part of the rotation for the Golden Flashes. Lauer was a 17th-round selection of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013.

Alex Liquori, Junior, OF, Kennesaw State University - Liquori was named to the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman team in 2013 and followed that up by posting a .350 batting average and scoring 35 runs while also stealing seven bases.

Jarred Mederos, Senior, INF, St. John’s University - Mederos spent time at both the University of Miami and Santa Fe College before landing with the Red Storm. He immediately made an impact, hitting .363 with two home runs and driving in 34 runs.

Coaching Staff
Dan Moylan takes over the helm of the Swamp Bats this summer. Moylan, the head coach at Keene High School, played for the Swamp Bats during their inaugural summer of 1998 and spent time in the farm system of the St. Louis Cardinals. He will be joined on the coaching staff by Penn State Greater Allegheny head coach Jim Chester and Pascal Paul, who is completing his senior season at West Virginia University.

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