The New England Collegiate Baseball League will begin its 30th season Tuesday, June 4. Bristol, Valley, North Adams and Danbury make up the West Division. The West welcomes 121 new players and 23 returners. 2023 was a tight race to the top of the West Division: the Blue Sox finished first, one game ahead of the Blues.
Bristol Blues
Bristol will host the 2024 NECBL All-Star Game on July 21 at 5 pm. The Blues welcome back head coach Tim Binkoski for his third season. Last summer, Bristol ended the year with the second-lowest ERA in the league at 3.24. The Blues had the highest fielding percentage, logging a .979. They finished second in the division and sixth in the league with a record of 21-18, one game behind the Blue Sox. The Blues have not yet clinched an NECBL title and lost in the championship last summer to Newport.
This summer, eight players return to Muzzy Field of the 35 roster spots: Chad Fedeli, a senior two-way player from Southern Connecticut State, hit .282 and pitched a 4.46 ERA this spring; Jack Kabel, a senior LHP from Quinnipiac, threw 30 strikeouts in 28.1 innings; Emmett Tolis, a senior RHP from Fairfield, pitched a 4.50 ERA through four appearances; Landon White, a sophom*ore RHP from Bryant, threw a 0.71 ERA through 10 appearances; Billy Sullivan, a senior catcher from Southern Connecticut State, hit .325; Cal Parrillo, a junior infielder from SUNY Stony Brook, logged a .409 on-base percentage; Jordan Peyton, a senior two-way player from Towson, pitched four strikeouts in two innings and hit .336 through 214 at bats; and Skye Selinksy, a senior outfielder from Columbia, hit .293.
Bristol begins its season on a road trip, starting with a visit to Danbury June 4 at 6:30 pm. The Blues return home June 7 to host Danbury at 6:30 pm.
Valley Blue Sox
The Blue Sox finished first in the west division and tied for fourth in the league with a 23-18 record. Pedro Santiago is coming back to Holyoke for his third season. Valley won back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018 but has not made it to the title series since.
This season, fans can expect to see a nearly new roster at MacKenzie Stadium. The two returners to Bristol include Nick Callano and John Kwiatkowski. Callano, a senior RHP from Salve Regina, logged an ERA of 5.40 in his spring season. Kwiatkowski, a junior LHP from Manhattan College, threw a 4.05 ERA. The duo will help welcome 33 new players to the Blues.
Valley plays the first game of the NECBL season visiting North Shore at 11:05 am on June 4. Its home opener is against Sanford on June 5 at 6:35 pm. Blue Sox home games will be exclusively streamed on ESPN+ this season.
North Adams SteepleCats
North Adam’s finished last in the west division and the league last summer with a 13-19 record. They ended on a high note with a four-win streak. Head coach Ryan Abel will look to lead the SteepleCats to their first NECBL title in his second season.
North Adams welcomes back a trio alongside 33 new players: Harper Flint, a junior RHP from Bentley, threw a k/9 of 9.22 this spring; Jonathan Peterson, a senior LHP from Sacred Heart, threw 23 strikeouts in 25.1 innings; and Sam Sherman, a junior infielder from Merrimack, totaled 12 hits and 12 RBIs.
The SteepleCats kick off their season visiting the Schooners at the Shipyard in Groton, CT at 6:30 pm June 5. North Adams’ home opener is June 6 at 6:30, when it hosts Newport at Joe Wolfe Field.
Danbury Westerners
Danbury welcomes back head coach Conor Farrell for his second season. Farrell was on the Westerners’ staff for their 2021 NECBL Championship win, their solo league title. Danbury closed out the season with a 21-22 record, ranked third in the west division and seventh in the NECBL. Its team fielding percentage was .971, the fourth-highest in the league.
The Westerners balance their 28 incoming NECBL rookies with 10 returning players: Anthony Leak, a senior RHP from Dominican University, threw 54 Ks in 53.1 innings; Alex Mach, a senior RHP, recorded a 3.78 ERA prior to transferring to UConn from Uconn Avery Point; Matthew Spada, a junior LHP from Wesleyan, pitched a 1.01 ERA; Carter Kelsey, a senior RHP from Seton Hall, pitched two strikeouts in two innings for the Pirates; Michael Szturma, a senior RHP from Southern Connecticut State, threw a 3.39 ERA; George Viebrock III, a senior LHP from Denison, tallied a 3.35 ERA; Roman DiGiacomo, a sophom*ore catcher from Duke, hit .286; Daniel Labrador, a senior catcher from Stetson, Hayden Miller, a junior infielder from College of Charleston, scored one run in one game started last spring; and Jakobi Davis, a senior outfielder from Cornell, hit .265.
Danbury will begin its season with a division matchup against Bristol. The Westerners host the Blues at Rogers Park June 4 at 6:30 pm.
You can check out who is coming to play for your favorite team by heading to their team page at www.necbl.com. Make sure to follow these players as they compete for their colleges and tune up for their summer in the NECBL!
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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 New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 230 alumni to the Major Leagues with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.
