The Muskrats first trip to Cardines Field produced another Muskrats’ victory. Laconia’s pitching continued its dominance as 5 pitchers combined to strikeout 11 Gulls. The clouds threatened rain for the early part of the game but fortunately the teams were able to stay dry and complete the contest.

Evan Phillips (UNC Wilmington) made his first start/appearance of the 2013 season. Phillips didn’t have his best control, walking 6 batters, but he only allowed 2 hits and struck out 6. The Gulls 2 singles in the first inning were the only hits they had the entire game. Phillips went 4.2 innings, leaving two Gulls on in the 5th. Eddie Macaluso (Iona College) came in and got a big strikeout, stranding two Gulls on base. Macaluso then pitched a scoreless 6th inning to earn the victory. Three more Muskrat hurlers pitched scoreless innings of relief, Luke Stephenson (Vanderbilt), Dylan Parker (USC Lancaster) and AJ Longoria (Texas A&M Corpus Christi). The Muskrats team ERA leads the NECBL by a full run at 1.17.

The Muskrats used timely hitting and capitalized on the poor Gulls defense to post 7 runs. Laconia banged out 11 hits, the most in a game this season, and Newport committed 5 errors. Laconia scored 2 runs in the first inning and never looked back. They scored another run in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd and added 2 more in the 7th. The Gulls lone run came in the 1st inning.

Jordan Lee (Texas A&M Corpus Christi), Jake Peevyhouse (Arizona State), Carter White (Memphis) and Joey Bielek (Paradise Valley) all had 2 hits in the game. The Muskrats have another off day tomorrow before starting a stretch of 13 games in 14 days. Laconia moves to 5-1, its best start in franchise history. The Muskrats are tied atop the Eastern Division with the Mystic Schooners. Laconia and Mystic square off on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

The sun was out and no rain in sight as the Muskrats took on the visiting Ocean State Waves on Saturday night. Fans at Robbie Mills Field saw a quick, well pitched game with late inning heroics.

This game belonged to the pitchers, particularly early on. The Muskrat hitters could not solve Ocean State’s, James Bessell (Dowling). Bessell had a perfect game into the 5th inning before a Joey Bielek (Paradise Valley) walk. It wasn’t until the 6th that Laconia got a base hit. Both Joe Torres (Iona) and Jordan Lee (TAMU Corpus Christi) singled in the frame but neither scored. Muskrats starter, Will Blalock (Lipscomb) matched Bessell, tossing 6 shutout innings with 6 strikeouts and only 1 walk.

Blalock was relieved by Hayden White (East Carolina) in the 7th. White was unable to record an out, walking the two batters he faced. Nick Kevlin (Fort Scott CC) relieved White but was unable to strand the two inherited baserunners. A wild pitch, a balk and an RBI groundout plated two runs for the Waves. The Muskrats went three up and three down in the bottom of the 7th, leaving the score at 2-0.

The Waves went to their bullpen in the 8th and brought in sidearm pitcher Aaron Hill (South Carolina). Kaleb Barlow (West Florida) rudely greeted Hill with a leadoff double to left center field. After a Carter White (Memphis) sacrifice bunt moved Barlow to third, the Muskrats pinch hit with Tyler Campbell (Vanderbilt). Campbell hit a ground ball to Waves thirdbaseman Reed Gamache (Binghamton). Gamache fielded the ball cleanly but threw low to first base allowing Campbell to reach and more importantly, Barlow to score. The Muskrats were unable to score Campbell from second but did cut the lead to 2-1.

Newly arrived righthander, Ryan Tezak (West Virginia), pitched the 9th, inducing 3 fly ball outs. Tanner Hill (Galveston College) lead off the 9th with a broken bat bloop single to right field. Hill was then removed for pinch runner Wesley Rogers (Spartanburg Methodist). Jake Peevyhouse (Arizona State) then singled to give the Muskrats the tying run at second and the winning run at first. Joey Bielek laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up. Taylor Drake (McNeese State) sent the home crowd home happy with a 2 RBI doubled to right field scoring Rogers and Peevyhouse.

The win gives the Muskrats a record of 4-1 after the first 5 games. The Muskrats are on the road to Saratoga Springs, NY on Sunday and in Newport, RI on Monday. The Muskrats sit in first place in the Eastern Division.

The Muskrats made their one and only trip to Danbury, CT, last night to take on the Westerners. A 9th inning rally gave the Muskrats the win and made the 4 hour bus ride back to Laconia much more bearable. The Muskrats were rained out on Monday and off Tuesday, giving them back to back games with Danbury.

Evan Rahn (Wheaton College) made his first start of the year and continued the trend of strong starting pitching from the Muskrats. The junior righthander pitched 6 innings, scattering 5 hits, striking out 5 and allowing 2 runs. The Westerners scored 1 in the first with a leadoff double, a Muskrat error and 2 fielder’s choices. Danbury plated another run in the 3rd with a leadoff walk and a Westerners double. That was the only earned run allowed by Rahn in the game. The Muskrats trailed 2-0 but those 2 runs would be all that Danbury would get the rest of the contest. Rahn pitched 3 scoreless frames before giving way to Joey Donino (Columbia) in the bottom of the 6th. Donino was followed by Nick Kevlin (Fort Scott CC) who earned the win and Jacob Moody (Memphis) who got the save.

The Muskrats scored their first run in the top of the 6th inning after be shutout by Danbury lefty Cam Hatch. Tyler Campbell (Vanderbilt) led off with a single and promptly stole second base. After moving to 3rd on a Wesley Rogers (Spartanburg Methodist) groundout, Campbell scored on a squeeze bunt from Jordan Lee (Texas A&M Corpus Christi). The Muskrats tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the 7th. Tanner Hill (Galveston College) led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch. Newly arrived, Jake Peevyhouse (Arizona State) singled to put runners at first and second. Kaleb Barlow (West Florida) failed to get a sacrifice bunt down but singled with two strikes to load the bases. Tyler Campbell lined out to short to make the first out. Wesley Rogers singled to score the tying run but the go ahead run, Peevyhouse, was thrown out trying to score from second.

Peevyhouse started off the 9th with a double to right field. Kaleb Barlow then walked and both runners moved up on the Tyler Campbell groundout. After a Wesley Rogers strikeout, Joe Torres was up with two runners on and two outs. Torres was able to reach on the rare catcher’s interference, as Torres hit Nick Otavi’s mitt on a swing. Jordan Lee broke the game open with a double, scoring both Peevyhouse and Barlow. Torres, at third after the Lee double, then scored on a wild pitch to make the score 5-2. An RBI single by Taylor Drake (McNeese State) made the score 6-2 heading into the bottom of the 9th.

Lefty Jacob Moody struck out the side, while also walking 2, to seal the win for the Muskrats. The win sends the Muskrats to 3-1 and concludes their series with Danbury. The Muskrats would only play the Westerners again if both teams reach the NECBL Championship. The Muskrats will travel to Kingston, RI on Thursday to play the expansion Ocean State Waves.

The Muskrats fell to the visiting Danbury Westerners 7-6 to earn their first loss of the season. It was a sloppy game that feature 9 errors, 9 walks, and 4 hit batters. This game was a stark contrast to Saturday night’s game where the Muskrats needed only 2 hours to dispatch the Vermont Mountaineers.

Nevin Wilson (Vanderbilt) made the start on the mound for Laconia in his second summer in the Lakes Region. Wilson pitched 4.2 innings, striking out 2 and allowing 1 earned run. He worked out of trouble most of the night before giving way to reliever Hayden White (East Carolina) with 2 outs in the 5th.

The Muskrats scored first, plating a run in the bottom of the 1st inning on a fielders choice from Taylor Drake (McNeese State). The lead was short lived as the Westerners tied the game in the top of the 2nd. A pair of singles and a wild pitch allowed Danbury to score to even the game at 1. Laconia then added 2 runs in the 3rd. Kaleb Barlow (West Florida) grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to score Taylor Drake who singled to lead off the inning. Tyler Campbell (Vanderbilt) notched his first RBI with a single to right to score Tanner Hill (Galveston College) who also singled in the inning.

The Westerners scored a run in the 5th to make the score 3-2. The 7th was when the game got wild. Danbury scored 5 runs in their half, all unearned. The Muskrats made 4 errors and used 3 different pitchers in the 7th. Down 7-3 the Muskrats were gifted some runs in the bottom of the 7th as Danbury committed 2 errors in the frame.

The Muskrats got the lead runner on in the bottom of the 9th but were unable to plate him. Muskrat pitchers Wilson, White, Eddie Macaluso (Iona) and Dylan Parker (USC Lancaster) combined to strikeout 6 and walk 4 on the night.

The Muskrats hit the road this week with games in Plymouth, Danbury and at Ocean State before returning home on Saturday night. Laconia is 2-1 after 3 games.

The Muskrats’ first road trip of the 2013 season was across the Connecticut River to Vermont and the Western Division Mountaineers. The Muskrats made the most of their one trip to Montpelier as they came away with a 3-0 win.

The night belonged to Muskrat starter, Josh Prevost (Seton Hall). Prevost was masterful, pitching a complete game shutout with 9 strikeouts. The Mountaineers managed only 3 baserunners with 2 hits and 1 Muskrat error. Prevost needed only 81 pitches in silencing the Vermont bats. “It was one of the most dominating performances I’ve seen in the league in my 4 years,” commented manager Matt Alison. Prevost’s complete game came at a perfect time too as the Muskrat bullpen is not yet fully stocked. The Muskrats are playing with 19 players from a 30 man roster.

Laconia scored 2 runs in the 2nd inning on a Kaleb Barlow (West Florida) home run to left field. Carter White (Memphis) blooped a single into centerfield and was aboard for the Barlow homer. It was the Muskrats first homer of the season. Two was all the runs the Muskrats needed but they added another run in the 5th. Jordan Lee (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) plated Wesley Rogers (Spartanburg Methodist) with an RBI groundout to make the score 3-0. The Muskrats tallied 6 hits in the contest, 4 singles, 1 double and 1 home run.

The Muskrats improve to 2-0 and the Mountaineers remain winless at 0-2 on the young season. The Muskrats will host another Western Division rival in the Danbury Westerners tomorrow night at 6:30PM. It is Magnet Schedule Giveaway and Dollar Hot Dog Night at Robbie Mills Field.