NEWS

Top seeds Vermont, Sanford, Plymouth, Newport advance to Divisional Finals!

2014 NECBL Championships Bracket

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – After a pair of sweeps from the top seeds and three-game series between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the opening round, the 2014 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Divisional Finals are set and will feature the top-two seeds from both divisions.

In the Divisional Semifinals, top-seeded Plymouth and Vermont faced little trouble in posting 2-0 series wins against fourth-seeded Mystic and Laconia, respectively. The other two series, meanwhile, were the polar opposite, as both No. 2 seeds (Newport, Sanford) were forced to rally from an early one-game deficit and stormed back to win their respective series in three games.

The Pilgrims, in the midst of an incredibly historic season in just their second year as a franchise, kept the magic going with their first two postseason wins in team history, as Plymouth topped Mystic by scores of 4-2 and 12-1 to advance to the South Division Finals. Vermont, meanwhile, continued to look the part of the class of the North, disposing fourth-seeded Laconia in two games (9-3, 7-4).

Sanford, seeded second in the North, knew it had its hands full when going up against third-seeded and reigning Fay Vincent Sr. Cup champion Keene, who was looking to capture the late-season magic that propelled the Swamp Bats to their fourth title in franchise history last summer. That appeared to be the case after the ‘Bats took Game 1, 4-1, but Sanford assured the series would go the distance by topping Keene on its home diamond, 3-0, sending the series back to Goodall Park. There, both sides would duke it out in an instant classic, as the Mainers prevailed, 4-3, in a 10-inning, walk-off victory to send Sanford back to the Divisional Finals for the first time since 2011 with Vermont awaiting them.

But perhaps the most entertaining series was the one featuring both of the league’s Rhode Island squads. Third-seeded Ocean State, which captured the Pell Bridge Series, 4-2, in the regular season, stunned second-seeded Newport in Game 1 at Cardines Field, only to watch as the Gulls built an 8-0 lead and held on for a 10-8 victory in Game 2 at Old Mountain Field. The Waves took the momentum right back with an early 4-0 lead in Game 3, but the Gulls, up-and-down for most of the regular season before finishing hot, stole the energy – and Ocean State’s playoff hopes – with a six-run fourth inning highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of Blaise Salter, as Newport buried the Waves in Game 3, 9-4, to advance to the Divisional Finals against Plymouth.

Series 5 (North Division Finals) - #1 Vermont vs. #2 Sanford
2014 Records: Vermont (27-15) | Sanford (24-18)
NECBL Championships: Vermont – 2 (2006, 07) | Sanford – 2 (2004, 08)
NECBL Finals Appearances: Vermont – 4 (2005, 06, 07, 09) | Sanford – 2 (2004, 08)
Season Series: Vermont won, 5-1

Series Schedule
8/7/14 at Vermont 6:30 PM
8/8/14 at Sanford 6:30 PM
8/9/14 if necessary at Vermont 6:30 PM

Series 6 (South Division Finals) - #1 Plymouth vs. #2 Newport
2014 Records: Plymouth (31-11) | Newport (25-17)
NECBL Championships: Plymouth - 0 | Newport – 5 (2001, 02, 05, 09, 12)
NECBL Finals Appearances: Plymouth – 0 | Newport – 10 (2000**, 01, 02, 04, 05, 07, 08, 09, 12, 13)
Season Series: Newport won, 5-1
** = Appeared in 2000 NECBL Championship Series as Rhode Island Gulls

Series Schedule

8/7/14 at Plymouth 6:30 PM
8/8/14 at Newport 6:35 PM
8/9/14 if necessary at Plymouth 6:30 PM

--

The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the NECBL started play in 1994 and has sent over 100 alumni to the Major Leagues. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter and on Facebook.