NECBL Weekly Roundup

August 3, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release

Newport Gulls Pitcher Matt Ruppenthal
(Newport Gulls)

Catcher

Louis Iannotti

Senior

Mystic Schooners

Quinnipiac

Iannotti had at least two hits in all three games he appeared in last week, racking up seven hits in nine at-bats to pace the league in batting average (.778); he hit safely in his first five at-bats - including two doubles - before adding two more hits in the Schooners' regular season finale. He drove in five runs, totaled four doubles, and scored six more runs in that span. He concluded the regular season with a .287 batting average (25-for-87) with 16 runs, eight doubles and 10 RBIs. He owns an .804 OPS heading into the postseason.

Pitcher of the Week

RHP

Matt Ruppenthal

Sophomore

Newport Gulls

Vanderbilt

Ruppenthal's efforts were downright dominant; he made two appearances and one start, and while his second appearance of the week was technically a relief outing after entering in the sixth inning of a suspended game, it was for all intents and purposes a second start. He was the league's only two-game winner, struck out a league-best 18 and gave up only one earned run over 13 innings while posting a 0.69 ERA. For the summer, he now stands at 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 23 innings.

Honorable Mentions

Joven Afenir (Newport/Kansas) - Finished with eight hits while scoring six runs and adding three doubles and three RBIs over seven-game span.

Derik Beauprez (Newport/Miami) - Ranked second in the league in strikeouts (12) while posting a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings and two starts (1-1).

Shawn Blake (Danbury/Elon) - Led the league with nine hits while batting .360; also tallied three doubles and three RBIs.

Garrett Copeland (Vermont/Austin Peay) - Posted a 7-for-11 clip at the plate, good for a .636 average with two runs, a double and five RBIs while swiping four bases.

Blake Morgan (Sanford/North Carolina Central) - Won only start last week after tossing seven scoreless frames with six strikeouts, two hits and one walk allowed.

Cornell Nixon (Valley/Kennesaw State) - Batted .400 on the week while scoring five runs and drawing a league-high

eight walks. Also added a triple to his resume.

Joseph Rivera (Mystic/UConn) - Fanned seven over six scoreless innings with only one hit allowed in a stellar relief outing.

Luke Olson (Plymouth/George Washington) - Finished the summer with a stellar 0.680 WHIP and eight saves after notching two more saves last week over two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Brent Rooker (Plymouth/Mississippi State) - Finished 8-for-21 (.381) with four runs, two doubles and one homer.

Timothy Viehoff (Laconia/SNHU) - Added eight more strikeouts to his resume in final start of the regular season, tossing seven innings with only one run allowed as part of a no decision.

2015 Player/Pitcher of the Week Archives

Week 8: Beermann (Newport)/Leland (Vermont)

Week 7: Starcun (Valley)/Schank (Plymouth)

Week 6: Burdeaux (Ocean State)/Mertz (Newport)

Week 5: Robinson (Ocean State)/Leland (Vermont)

Week 4: Hanley (Laconia)/Willeman (Keene)

Week 3: Alvarez (Plymouth) /Edwards (North Adams)

Week 2: Roulis (Vermont)/Mertz (Newport)

Week 1: Critelli (New Bedford)/Viehoff (Laconia)

2015 NECBL Postseason Schedule, Matchups

Series 1 (North Division Semifinal) - #1 Vermont vs. #4 Laconia

2015 Records: Vermont (25-16) | Laconia (21-21)

NECBL Championships: Vermont - 2 (2006, 07) | Laconia - 0

NECBL Finals Appearances: Vermont - 4 (2005, 06, 07, 09) | Laconia - 1 (2011)

Season Series: Tied, 3-3

Noteworthy: Vermont has qualified for the postseason in all but one of the franchise's 12 seasons ... After missing the postseason for the first time since relocating to Laconia in 2013, the Muskrats have qualified in back-to-back seasons as the No. 4 seed in the North ... This is a rematch of last year's divisional semifinal, which Vermont swept in two games (9-3, 7-4) ... That series was also the first time the two franchises had met in the playoffs, which they will do for the second straight year this week.

Series Schedule

8/3/15 at Vermont 1:30 PM NOTE TIME CHANGE!!!

8/4/15 at Laconia 6:30 PM

8/5/15 if necessary at Vermont 6:30 PM

Series 2 (North Division Semifinal) - #2 Sanford vs. #3 North Adams

2015 Records: Sanford (23-18) | North Adams (22-20)

NECBL Championships: Sanford - 2 (2004, 08) | North Adams - 0

NECBL Finals Appearances: Sanford - 3 (2004, 08, 14) | North Adams - 0

Season Series: Sanford won, 4-2

Noteworthy: Last year's NECBL runner-up, Sanford, is back in the playoffs as the No. 2 seed, as the Mainers have now qualified for the playoffs in eight straight years ... After missing the playoffs for just the second time in 13 years, the SteepleCats are back in the playoffs as the No. 3 seed ... North Adams has never reached the NECBL Finals and has only made it past the first round twice in 11 tries ... Sanford won the only two playoff series in 2003 (2-0) and 2004 (2-1).

Series Schedule

8/3/15 at Sanford 6:30 PM

8/4/15 at North Adams 6:30 PM

8/5/15 if necessary at Sanford 6:30 PM

Series 3 (South Division Semifinal) - #1 Newport vs. #4 Ocean State

2015 Records: Newport (27-15) | Ocean State (21-21)

NECBL Championships: Newport - 6 (2001, 02, 05, 09, 12, 14) | Ocean State - 0

NECBL Finals Appearances: Newport - 11 (2000**, 01, 02, 04, 05, 07, 08, 09, 12, 13, 14) | Ocean State - 0

Season Series: Newport won, 5-1

** = Appeared in 2000 NECBL Championship Series as Rhode Island Gulls

Noteworthy: Another first-round rematch from a year ago pits Rhode Island's two teams against one another for the second year in a row ... The Pell Bridge Series was dominated by Newport this year, as the Gulls won all but one of the six regular season contests ... The Gulls rallied from a game down in last year's divisional semifinal, winning, 10-8, on the road before capping the comeback off with a 9-4 home win on the way to the franchise's league-leading sixth Fay Vincent Sr. Cup ... Ocean State has qualified for the postseason in all of its first three seasons but is 0-2 in the divisional semifinal round ... Newport owns an incredible 29-9 record in postseason series since 2000.

Series Schedule

8/3/15 at Newport 6:35 PM

8/4/15 at Ocean State 6:05 PM

8/5/15 if necessary at Newport 6:35 PM

Series 4 (South Division Semifinal) - #2 Mystic vs. #3 New Bedford

2015 Records: Mystic (26-16) | New Bedford (22-20)

NECBL Championships: Mystic - 1 (1994*) | New Bedford - 0

NECBL Finals Appearances: Mystic - 0* | New Bedford - 4** (1997, 98, 2003, 06)

Season Series: Mystic won, 4-2

* = Won when franchise was the Eastern Tides from 1994 and championship format was based on points system, no series was held

** = NECBL Championship appearances all were as member of the Torrington Twisters (1997-2007)

Noteworthy: After a two-year absence, New Bedford is back in the playoffs for only the second time since relocating from Torrington and the 11th time in franchise history ... Mystic, meanwhile, has made it three straight years with postseason appearances after missing the playoffs for its first two years since relocating from Bristol ... This is the first-ever postseason meeting between the two squads.

Series Schedule

8/3/15 at Mystic 6:05 PM

8/4/15 at New Bedford 6:30 PM

8/5/15 if necessary at Mystic 6:05 PM

NORTH/SOUTH DIVISIONAL FINALS

(Best-of-3)

Series 5: Series 1 Winner vs. Series 2 Winner -- August 6, 7, 8 (if nec.)

Series 6: Series 3 Winner vs. Series 4 Winner -- August 6, 7, 8 (if nec.)

NECBL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

(Best-of-3)

Series 7: Series 5 Winner vs. Series 6 Winner -- August 9, 10, 11 (if nec.)

Mystic Schooners Catcher Louis Iannotti

Newport Gulls Pitcher Matt Ruppenthal

• Discuss this story on the New England Collegiate Baseball League message board...

New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 3, 2015

• Waves roll past Gulls in Game One, 6-5 - Ocean State Waves
• Gulls Drop Game One to Waves 6-5, Game Two Tuesday in Wakefield, R.I. - Newport Gulls
• Copeland Named to NECBL Weekly Honor Roll - Vermont Mountaineers
• Mountaineers Wallop Laconia in Playoff Opener - Vermont Mountaineers
• NECBL Weekly Roundup - NECBL
• Iannotti, Ruppenthal Are Final Weekly Winners of 2015 - NECBL

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