2023 NECBL Final Four Matchups Set
Published on August 2, 2023 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The Newport Gulls were the only higher seeded team to advance to the 2023 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Final Four Series, as the matchups were finalized tonight.
Joining the #1 seeded Gulls are their Final Four opponents, the #7 Danbury Westerners, as well as the other two semifinalists, #5 Sanford Mainers and #6 Bristol Blues.
The road to the Fay Vincent, Sr. Cup continues with the Final Four Series, beginning on Thursday, August 3 at 6:30 p.m., with all games streamed live on the NECBL Broadcast Network.
The two higher seeds in the reseeded bracket (Newport and Sanford) will have home field advantage in this best-of-three round. Games one and three (if necessary) will be played at the higher seed's home field, while game two will be played at the opponent's home field.
Winners of the Final Four Series will advance to the NECBL Championship Series, which is set to begin on Sunday, August 6. The Championship Series will be the same best-of-three format as all previous rounds.
#1 Newport Gulls vs #7 Danbury Westerners
The top-seeded Newport Gulls (31-11-1, Coastal Division Winner) will host the Danbury Westerners (21-22, Fourth Wild Card) in game one of the Final Four Series at Cardines Field on Thursday, August 3 at 6:35 p.m. Game two will be Friday night in Danbury at 6:30 p.m., and if necessary, a winner-take-all game three will be played in Newport on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m.
Newport and Danbury split their regular season series 1-1, with each team winning at home. In their first matchup on June 13, Danbury came away with an 11-6 home victory behind a dominant offensive performance. All-star Bobby Zmarzlak (Maryland College Park) went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs on the night, adding to his league-leading total of 10 home runs. Newport won the second regular season matchup 8-2 on June 28, led by Tyler Hare's (Georgia Tech) two hits and two RBIs including a solo home run in the sixth inning.
Newport had the league's best record for most of the regular season, clinching the Coastal Division with a six-game lead over the second place Mystic Schooners. The Gulls began the season with a 9-1 start and never looked back, posting a 20-4 record by the midway point of the season. Their longest win streak was eight games. Newport finished the season just one win shy of the 2006 Newport Gulls and the 2022 Bristol Blues and Vermont Mountaineers for the regular season wins record.
Newport advanced to the second round of the playoffs after a thrilling Opening Round Series against their in-state rival No. 8 seed Ocean State Waves. Facing elimination following a ninth inning defeat at Cardines Field in game one, Newport responded with an 11-4 victory at Old Mountain Field to force a deciding game three back at home. Michael Anderson (URI) led the way with two home runs and four RBIs, while David Horn (Vanderbilt) threw eight strikeouts across five scoreless innings out of the bullpen to seal the victory in game two. Newport closed out the series with a 7-1 victory at Cardines Field, highlighted by Billy Butler's (URI) three-run blast in the third inning. Gulls starter Jake Hunter (Eastern Carolina) pitched a gem with 11 strikeouts across seven innings, helping the Gulls clinch the series at home.
Newport's last trip to the Championship Series came back in 2014 when it won the Fay Vincent Cup. The Gulls currently lead all teams with six total championships, the most recent in 2014.
Danbury got off to a 4-8 start to the regular season but managed to hover around .500 after a four-game winning streak put them at 17-17 on July 17. Danbury went 5-5 in its final 10 games and finished the season on a four-game losing streak but still managed to clinch the seventh seed with a 12-9 divisional record on the season. Danbury led all teams with 44 home runs, in large part due to Zmarzlak's league-leading 10 home runs and 25 RBIs, tied for sixth in the league.
The Westerners completed a first round playoff sweep of the No. 2 seed Vermont Mountaineers, outscoring them 23-3, capped by a dominant 15-1 victory in game two led by Daniel Labrador's (Stetson) three hits and three RBIs including a two-run homer in the third inning. Zmarzlak went 4-for-8 in the series with two doubles and four RBIs to lead the way for Danbury. The Westerners also dominated on the mound, as Week 3 Pitcher of the Week Braden Quinn (UConn) allowed just one hit and struck out eight across six scoreless innings in game one.
Danbury currently has four Championship Series appearances, winning the Fay Vincent Cup for the first time in 2019 when it defeated the North Shore Navigators.
#5 Sanford Mainers vs #6 Bristol Blues
The Sanford Mainers (24-19, Second Wild Card) will host the Bristol Blues (21-18-4, Sixth Wild Card) in game one of the Final Four Series at Goodall Park on Thursday, August 3 at 6:30 p.m. Game two will be Friday night at Muzzy Field at 6:30 p.m., and if necessary, a winner-take-all game three will be played at Goodall Park on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m.
Bristol and Sanford split their regular season series 1-1, with each team winning a one-score game at home. Bristol won the first game of the regular season series 3-2 on June 22 with a walk-off RBI fielder's choice by Skye Selinsky (Columbia) which scored Pete Durocher (Manhattan College) in the bottom of the ninth inning. Just four days later on June 26, Sanford responded with a 4-3 walk-off victory of their own. Devan Bade (SUNY Binghamton) and Devin Russell (Maryland) scored the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure a dramatic victory for the Mainers and tie the season series against Bristol.
Bristol was in contention for the West Division championship until the final day of the season, but instead settled for the third Wild Card and sixth overall playoff seed. The Blues went 11-8 in the division and led the league with four ties on the season.
Bristol advanced through the Opening Round of the playoffs after defeating the Valley Blue Sox in three games, highlighted by a 5-0 shutout victory in game two. All-star starter Jagger Duquette (Wagner) led the way with seven strikeouts in a complete game shutout. The Blues continued their momentum with a dominant 10-3 victory on the road in game three. Luke Benneche (Northwestern) allowed just two hits along with six strikeouts across five scoreless innings to help Bristol advance to the Final Four Series.
Bristol is still looking for their first trip to the NECBL Championship series. Bristol was the No. 2 seed last year after tying the regular season wins record (32), but was knocked out by eventual 2022 champion Martha's Vineyard Sharks.
Sanford won ten games since July 14th to earn the fifth playoff seed and second wild card spot. The Mainers won their last ten regular season games against North Division opponents, finishing the season with a 14-7 record in their division despite coming up short of the North Division Champion Vermont Mountaineers.
The Mainers completed an Opening Round sweep of the No. 4 seed Mystic Schooners to advance to the Final Four Series, capped by a 2-1 pitcher's duel in game two. Seamus Barrett (Loyola Marymount) allowed just one run and struck out eight batters across seven innings to keep Sanford in the game, and all-star catcher Logan Poteet (Vanderbilt) brought home the winning run on an RBI single in the eighth inning to help Sanford advance to the next round. Justin Honeycutt (UNC Asheville) looked equally as impressive in game one, keeping the Schooners off the board through six innings in an eventual 11-6 victory.
Sanford won the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup in its first two appearances in the Championship Series, defeating the Newport Gulls in 2004 and 2008. Since 2008, Sanford has come up just short in the Championship Series against the Newport Gulls in 2014 and the Mystic Schooners in 2016.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 2, 2023
- Sanford to Play Bristol in Semifinals - Sanford Mainers
- 2023 NECBL Final Four Matchups Set - NECBL
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