Though it may have ended earlier than they would have liked, the Montpelier Recreation Field fans had plenty to get excited about during the 2024 New England Collegiate Baseball League season. Their hometown Mountaineers went 30–11 - tops in the league - boasting a .732 winning percentage during the regular season before bowing out to the rival Sanford Mainers in the playoff semifinals.
The team that lost in the postseason looked very different from the one that lit up the league during the two-month regular season. In recent years, there’s been a pattern with the Mountaineers struggling to hold on to some of their key contributors down the stretch. Part of it, said general manager Brian Gallagher, is because their athletes are college students.
Players finish their school seasons and come out immediately to play for the Mountaineers, meaning it has often been months since the last time they saw family. According to Gallagher, it makes sense why those guys might want a little bit of time at home. The contracts that players sign also allow them to opt out for pretty much any reason, whether that be injuries, innings limits imposed by college teams or MLB call-ups.
That hit the Mountaineers hard this year, with core players ending their seasons early. Right-handed pitcher Jack Eshleman of Hamilton College was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays. And Stowe product Ben Alekson, who pitches for Fairfield University, was on a 25-inning limit set by his college coach.
Max Jensen, an All-Star infielder from Cornell with an OPS around 1.100 — an elite offensive stat — was hampered by a wrist injury. Sam Angelo, a slugging first baseman from the University of North Carolina, was plagued by back issues.
“(Angelo) was looking like he might be our best hitter,” said Mitchell Holmes, Vermont’s third-year head coach Gallagher described it as a “domino effect”: When players go down, others tend to follow. “(We have a) 40-man roster but finished the season with 60 different players who had shown up and played,” he said. “It’s ridiculous what the turnover is.
” Holmes said he tries to plan for players to come aboard halfway through the summer. But the bulk of his recruiting takes place in September and October, so it’s difficult to plan ahead. And when elite players leave, the Mountaineers have to scramble to pick up the pieces on short notice.
“The guys we get in July are not typically the same caliber,” Gallagher said. “When you lose a dozen players, and you are trying to replace them with another dozen, it’s not apples to apples at that point.” Still, the Mountaineers battled over the course of the season.
After dropping their home opener to Sanford, the Mountaineers won their next five in a row. They lost their next two on the road to the Mystic Schooners and Keene Swamp Bats but then pieced together a nine-game win streak. The Mountaineers came into July hot with a 14–5 record and didn’t cool down.
They knocked off Sanford 6–2 on July 10 to kick off a 10-game winning streak that set a new league record. One memorable game was at home vs. the Bristol Blues on July 23.
The start was delayed over an hour by rain, and Vermont had already pulled the tarp over the field. “(It was) one of those games where we just played terrible all night long,” Gallagher said. The team was down 8–1 going into the ninth inning, and only a handful of fans were left in the stands.
“(I was) back behind the bleachers putting meals together for the visiting team,” Gallagher said. “Next thing you know, there’s a home run, a couple guys get on base, (we) clear the bases.” All-Star outfielder Josiah Ragsdale struck out with the bases loaded, leaving the Mountaineers down to their final out and still trailing 8–2.
Then Tyler Cox, a Dartmouth player in his third season with the Mountaineers, drew a walk to make it 8–3. The next batter, Beau Root, walked again to make it 8–4 with the bases still loaded. Designated hitter David Michael Jefferson hit a two-run double to left field to drive in Cox and shortstop Johnny Knox.
That brought up Carlos Martinez, who led off the inning with a solo home run. He was intentionally walked to load the bases again before Andrew Mannelly doubled, bringing everybody home and winning the game for the Mountaineers with a 9–8 victory. By the time things ended, it was close to midnight and only about 50 people were still in the stands.
What made the win even more special was that the eight-run comeback was off All-Star Bristol closer, Carson Renner. That was the ninth win of the Mountaineers’ streak, and they served up their 10th straight victory with a 6-4 win over the North Adams SteepleCats. “(It) kept the team going morale-wise,” said Gallagher.
Vermont’s run was ended on the road a few days later by Sanford, which wound up rattling off 11 straight wins to establish a new NECBL record. But the Mountaineers’ high spirits remained crucial to the team’s success during the long haul, and Holmes’ squad easily locked up the top seed for the NECBL playoffs. “We put a little bit less emphasis on strictly coaching and a little bit more emphasis on making sure guys are hanging out and having a good time,” Holmes said.
“Having that loose, fun environment is directly correlated to the on-field success we have.” The team enjoyed dugout traditions, like dropping curtains after a home run and bantering with opponents. “(They) did their chirping a little bit sometimes,” said Gallagher.
“I’d rather have that than have a team that’s sitting in the dugout not saying anything. Those are the teams that don’t have good chemistry.” A few days after the winning streak ended, the Mountaineers secured the Governor’s Cup for the third straight year.
The honor is bestowed to the winner of the regular season series between the Mountaineers and the Upper Valley Nighthawks, based in Hartford. It’s something people in Vermont really care about, Holmes said. Other highlights included six All-Star game appearances.
The starting pitcher for the All-Star game was DJ Helwig, while catcher Nathan Waugh took part in the Home Run Derby. Holmes was named manager for the game as one of the two coaches with the best records in the league at the time. The team also got some time in the national spotlight.
ESPN+ broadcast three of the Mountaineers’ regular-season home games and every playoff game this season. And there is a possibility that network will all of the team’s home games next season. In the playoffs, the Mountaineers routed the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks 11–1 in the series opener at home before heading to the coast for Game 2.
What started out as a beautiful day for baseball turned sour when fog rolled in, delaying the game for over two hours. And that led officials to suspend things after one inning. According to league rules, if a playoff game is suspended within the first five innings, the teams need to resume play the next day at the same field — meaning the Mountaineers had to find a hotel on a Friday night in Martha’s Vineyard with no reservation.
The Montpelier team went on earn an 1812 victory the next day, but the Mountaineers returned home around 4 a.m. with another game on tap in just over 14 hours.
The Mountaineers found themselves on the other side of the rule in the semifinals against Sanford. They squeezed in seven innings at home before the game was suspended due to poor weather. It was to be resumed at 5 p.
m. the next day in Sanford, with the first pitch of Game 2 in that series set for 6:30. Sanford ended up prevailing 7–4 in the resumed first game, and the teams had just an hour to get food and warm back up for the next contest.
The Mountaineers fought hard but lost 5–3, with Sanford scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh to clinch it. “It is a bummer that in that series we played more baseball on the road than at home,” Holmes said. “Not taking anything away from Sanford, who were playing amazing baseball,” Holmes gave particular praise to the Mainers’ talented pitching staff and deep bullpen.
And when push came to shove, Sanford found a way to win. “At a certain point, when you lose that amount of talent, it’s going to catch up to you,” Holmes said. “Ultimately it was what our downfall was.
But (I’m) still happy with the way guys responded.” Holmes said he’s already started building next year’s team. And he’s confident Vermont can get over the hump for the first time since 2015.
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