The NECBL Eastern Division Champion Laconia Muskrats are excited to announce that season tickets for the 2012 season are now on sale. A season ticket gives you access to all 21 home games as well as any exhibition and playoff games. A 2012 season ticket is available for the incredible price of $50.

In addition to being a substantial bargain there is an added benefit to purchasing a 2012 Season Ticket. The Muskrats have partnered with the New Hampshire Humane Society during our Season Ticket Sales Drive. The Muskrats have set 4 benchmarks with corresponding donations to NHHS: 50 tickets sold = $500, 100 tickets sold = $1000, 150 tickets sold = $1500, and the ultimate goal of 200 tickets sold = $2500

There is no reason not to buy a season ticket for this summer! You get 21+ games for the price of 10, you aid the Muskrats in providing affordable entertainment to the Lakes Region, and you support the great work of the New Hampshire Humane Society.

Tickets can be purchased at Green Monster Sports in the Tanger Outlet Mall or by clicking on the Merchandise link on our home page.

The Muskrats begin their quest for an NECBL Championship on June 7th. See everyone at Robbie Mills Field, Go Muskrats!

The Laconia Muskrats are excited to announce their schedule for the 2012 New England Collegiate Baseball League season. The Muskrats are the reigning NECBL Eastern Division Champions after advancing to the championship series in 2011. The Muskrats will again play 42 games, 21 of which will be at the home of the Muskrats, Robbie Mills Field.

The defense of the Eastern Division Championship and the quest for an NECBL Championship starts on Thursday June 7th in New Bedford against the Bay Sox. The 2012 home opener will see the Sanford Mainers come to Robbie Mills Field on Friday June 7th. The Muskrats will play 9 home games in June and 12 in July. For the third year in a row the Muskrats will be home on July 4th. The Independence Day game will be played at 5PM, right after the Laconia 4th of July parade, and will conclude before the town fireworks show. The game will be a rematch of the NECBL Championship Series with the Swamp Bats traveling up from Keene. The final regular season home game will be on Tuesday July 31st. The 2012 NECBL playoffs will begin on August 3rd and conclude on the 11th.

The NECBL lineup has slightly changed from last season as the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide have left the league. The Mystic Schooners have joined the Eastern Division, in place of Old Orchard Beach, and the Western Division will play with 5 teams. Like the previous two seasons, the Muskrats will play the Western Division once home and once away. The Muskrats will play their divisional foes 3 times at home and 3 times on the road. To make up for the loss of Old Orchard Beach the Muskrats will play an additional home/away series with the Sanford Mainers.

2012 marks the third season for the Laconia Muskrats. In two years the Muskrats have welcomed over 15,000 fans to Robbie Mills Field. The goal of the Muskrats organization is to provide affordable family friendly entertainment and aid our players in the betterment of their baseball careers. The Muskrats are proud members of the New England Collegiate Baseball League which is one of the premier summer leagues in the country. The NECBL draws the top collegiate talent from all over the nation and boasts over 65 Major League Baseball Alumni.

The Laconia Muskrats have formally offered Terry Francona their managerial position for the 2012 season (see contract below). Francona was released from his contract with the Boston Red Sox today after eight seasons and 2 World Series titles.

“We know Francona will be a hot commodity and we wanted to convey our offer to him first,” said Muskrats General Manager Noah Crane. The Muskrats have faxed a contract to Francona’s agent Pat Rooney at SFX Baseball. Crane added, “Our hope is that he will trade Red Sox Nation for Muskrat Nation.”

In addition to a $6000 salary, the contract includes many perks for Francona. He will get a host family to live with during the summer, a free membership at Laconia Athletic & Swim Club, a personal parking space at Robbie Mills Field, 25% discount at Burrito Me, and 25 token cards at Funspot.

2011 Muskrats manager, Matt Alison, will be reassigned on the coaching staff should Francona accept the position. Former Gilford High School star, Luke Demko, will remain the pitching coach.

The Muskrats won the NECBL Eastern Divsion Championship in 2011 and the quest for a championship begins June 7 2012.

Chris Costantino (Walters St CC) was named the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s 2011 Rick Ligi Most Valuable Player for his two-way contributions to the Laconia Muskrats’ summer run to the Championship Series.

Costantino played the field for 35 regular season games and four postseason games for Laconia, along with ten starts on the mound for the Muskrats, including two postseason appearances.  At the plate, Costantino hit .303 in the regular season, and jumped up to .375 as the Muskrats’ second-best source of offense in the playoffs.

Even more notable this season was Costantino’s performance on the bump.  After starting out a rough 0-3, Costantino turned things around in a big way, finishing the regular season with three-straight wins.  On July 17^th, Costantino threw the League’s fifth-ever no-hitter against Keene.  He followed that up with a 14-strikeout outing against New Bedford, the most strikeouts for a starter in a game this season.

The strikeouts piled up for Costantino all summer. His 60 punchouts in the regular season led all starters.  He then added 20 more in the playoffs, for a grand total of 80 K’s, nine off the all-time League high set by Ryan Mullins in 2003.

The significance of the Rick Ligi MVP award is not lost on Costantino, a native of Lincoln, Rhode Island.  Ligi, a former URI baseball player, passed away in the summer of 1995 after his freshman year

Costantino was also placed on the 2011 All-NECBL Second Team, one of just two Eastern Division pitchers to receive All-League honors.  He was the Muskrats’ lone representative in the League’s 2011 season accolades.

The no-hitter thrown by Costantino against Keene could have easily been the biggest highlight of the Muskrats’ season and short, two-year history in Laconia.  But the Swamp Bats and Muskrats weren’t finished with their battle for New Hampshire, which they took all the way to the NECBL Championship.

In just their second year in the City on the Lakes, the Muskrats were crowned the NECBL Eastern Division Champions.  In one incredible week from July 31^st to August 7^th, Laconia went from just edging out New Bedford for the fourth-and-final playoff spot on their last day of the regular season, to celebrating at home as the last team standing in the East.

Laconia finished the regular season with a record of 18-24, a slight fall from last summer’s 20-22 mark, but still good enough for the exact same result as 2010; beating out New Bedford for fourth place in the season’s final games.  The Muskrats accomplished the feat this year through adversity.

Through the season’s final weekend and on to their three playoff series, the Muskrats made due with just one available player on the bench and a four-man pitching rotation.  Laconia lost the likes of LB Dantzler (State College of Florida), all-star second baseman and .300 hitter, Chris Burke (Iona), all-star DH and top-five in the League in stolen bases, Chad Wallach (Cal St Fullerton), Kevin Sah (Howard JC), Damien Magnifico (Howard JC), Charlie Steinman (Georgetown) and Corey Taylor (Harford CC) to injury or academic obligations in the final weeks of the season.

Yet, the remaining Muskrats formed a bond that only the Keene Swamp Bats could match, as chemistry played a large role in driving both teams toward the Championship.

The Laconia roster was defiantly confident about their first-round match up with the top-seeded Newport Gulls; in fact, it’s exactly what they wanted.  On Monday, August 1st, the team had a chance at climbing to third place in the East in a rain makeup game in Sanford.  In a rare instance, it was a good thing the team lost.  The boys in Muskrat blue knew what they were doing with that final playoff spot.

With Justin Wiley (Iona) set up on full rest to start Game 1 of the series in Newport, Laconia had the Gulls right where they wanted them.  Wiley was 2-0 against Newport in the regular season, including a win at Cardines Field in Rhode Island, with a 2.71 ERA and 13 strikeouts in three appearances.

Though Wiley didn’t get the win in Game 1 of the series, everything went according to plan, as he held Newport to three runs.  Laconia won 4-3 and would hand Costantino the ball at home for the knockout punch.  With that, the team that rode a 12-game win streak to the best record in the NECBL (29-13) exited the playoffs for the first time in their 11-year history.  Laconia swept the series against the number one Gulls 2-0.

Far less planning went into the Muskrats’ second round sweep of the Sanford Mainers, partly because of everything that went into winning the franchise’s first-ever playoff series, and partly because the Muskrats expected to see the North Shore Navigators.  But the three-seed Mainers met Laconia in the Eastern Division Final.  The two lower seeds would throw their three and four starters, and it was anyone’s series.

But Laconia stayed hot against a team they beat four out of six times in the regular season.  Contributions came from everywhere; Dylan Kelly (Middle Georgia College) led the offense in the series, going 4-7 with a home run and three RBI.  Bijan Rademacher (Cal St Fullerton) had the game-winning RBI in both games, giving him three in the postseason.  Regan Flaherty (Vanderbilt) hit his first three homers of the season in the playoffs.  John Ziznewski (Rockland CC) account for a quarter of Laconia’s runs scored by himself.

A run to the Championship Series and Costantino’s excellence were certainly the biggest storylines of the 2011 season for the Laconia Muskrats, but weren’t the only highlights.

The Muskrats got six players into the 2011 NECBL All-Star Game on July 27^th.  Prior to his departure due to injury, Dantzler was named the starting second baseman for the East.  Burke was the starting DH.  Due to a starter’s injury and his impression on Newport Manager Mike Coombs, Justin Wiley was named the starting pitcher for the East.  Kelly, Costantino, and Will Johnson (Vanderbilt) each represented Laconia in the game as well, as the East got a 3-1 win.

Though Team USA didn’t visit Robbie Mills Field, as they did many other venues around the League on an exhibition tour, a couple of Muskrats got to see them up close and personal.  Chad Wallach and Damien Magnifico had only combined to play two games for the Muskrats before being whisked off to Fenway Park to face Team USA as a part of the NECBL Select Team on June 27^th.  Representatives from each team were decided prior to the season and based on college statistics.  Magnifico hurled a scoreless eighth inning, turning heads as he touched 98 MPH on the radar gun, and Team NECBL defeated Team USA 3-2.

The second week of July brought dramatics to Robbie Mills Field, as the Muskrats celebrated three walk-off wins at home in a span of five days.  Dantzler ended a six-hour game, which featured a three-hour rain delay and extra innings, against New Bedford with a home run that came in the early hours of July 7^th.  Ziznewski did the honors on July 10^th with a walk off single that ended a wild game against Sanford.  And Flaherty was the hero July 11^th against the Raging Tide with a sacrifice fly.

It wasn’t apparent that Laconia would later be the Eastern Division Champs from their early match ups with the upstart Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide.  For the team that finished with a 9-33 record, at one point in the season the Muskrats had given the Raging Tide three of their four wins.  Laconia salvaged the season series at three games apiece.

The Boston Red Sox’ Wally the Green Monster even made an appearance at a Muskrats’ game this season.  In fact, Wally was in the house for Costantino’s no-hitter on July 17^th for Mascot Madness Night.  You can bet Laconia General Manager Noah Crane is in talks to get Wally at every Muskrats game in 2012!

The summer started with news of nine players with Muskrats affiliations being selected in the 2011 MLB Drafted. Casey Kalenkosky, who led the Muskrats in RBI in 2010, was taken by Washington in the 13th round.  Kalenkosky was third in the NCAA in home runs this spring.  Jarett Miller, John Polonius, Derek Trent and Garrett Jewell, who all factored for Laconia last summer, were 2011 MLB draftees.  Signing just before last week’s deadline, Chris Costantino made official his 43rd-round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals, and reported for Rookie Camp in Florida following the Championship Series.

Of course, there was the tremendous support and community growth around the Muskrats this summer.  With the announcement last week that the Muskrats will definitely be back next summer, and some planned additions to Robbie Mills Field that will enhance the fan experience, expect Muskrat Nation to continue to grow and reach new highs.  It also doesn’t hurt that the Muskrats played at a championship level.

Thanks to all the fans who came out and showed their appreciation for Muskrats baseball in the summer of 2011!  There wouldn’t be NECBL Baseball in the Lakes Regions without you!  The best fans in the League reside in the top state in the League, as New Hampshire owns the Fay Vincent Trophy.  Congratulations to the Laconia Muskrats, the 2011 NECBL Eastern Division Champions.  See you next summer Laconia!

A 7-3 victory for the Keene Swamp Bats Wednesday night brought the Laconia Muskrats’ storybook season to a close, and crowned the Muskrat’s New Hampshire neighbors NECBL Champions.

Keene’s high-powered offense got its revenge on Laconia’s Chris Costantino (Walters St CC), who no-hit the Swamp Bats on July 17^th.  Costantino ran his hitless innings streak against Keene to ten with a 1-2-3 first frame.  But in the second, hot-hitting Brett DeLoach (U Georiga) set the tone against Costantino, homering to lead off the inning.  Keene had their first hit.

They would add another run in the inning, another homer in the third, and a run-scoring triple in the fourth for a 4-0 lead.  Costantino got his second 1-2-3 inning of the game in the fifth, and then the rains came.

The game moved into a 45-minute rain delay, which would be the end of Costantino’s night.  Swamp Bats’ starter Whit Mayberry (U of Virginia) waited out the rains and went out for the sixth.

His first pitch when play resumed was the only offense Laconia would get, as Kevin Mortimer (Trinity) took the ball out of the yard for his first home run of the season.  Mayberry rebounded to strikeout the next three hitters.

Keene added a three-run seventh inning, which included DeLoach’s second home run on the night, and sixth of the postseason.

Costantino’s swan song lasted five innings, with five hits, four earned runs, two walks and eight strikeouts.  He finishes with a League-high 80 strikeouts on the summer, nine away from the NECBL record.  Costantino will report to St. Loius Cardinals’ Rookie ball as a pitcher on Friday in Florida.

Mayberry struck out 11 Muskrats, a high for Keene this season and four off of Costantino’s League-high from July 23^rd.  Mayberry picked up his second postseason win, and allowed his first and only run of the playoffs.  Every Muskrat hitter struck out at least once in the game, as the team was limited to four hits.

Laconia finishes with a postseason record of 4-2, making them 22-26 overall in 2011.  They team won a postseason game for the first time in its short, two-year career, swept the top-seeded Newport Gulls out of the first round for the first time in their history, and went on to be the 2011 Eastern Division Champions.  The Muskrats certainly exceeded all expectations this season.

Check back in the coming weeks for more perspective and review of the 2011 Laconia Muskrats season! Thanks to all who supported the team throughout the summer, and expect more great Muskrats baseball in the City by the Lake next season!

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