I was disappointed to see that D3Baseball did not select Coach Eygabroat from UMB for Coach of the Year, instead going with Coach Noone from Babson.      The Beacons were ranked in the top 10 nationally and number one in New England for the entire year (and for good reason)!  Coach Eygabroat had eight all-conference players selected in the stacked LEC and five all-region players this year.  The Beacons finished the year 37-10 with the #15 SOS in the country.  Let's hope the NEIBA gets it right!

They only have to win the conference tourney regardless of what their record is. Just like last year. But I gotta say, jconn,part of me poves this.
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kscer -- If I am interpreting your typo correctly, saying part of you loves this is a bit perplexing, and quite frankly a little heartless.  Why would you love to see a team start 1-7, especially when you know they have talent and are clearly not playing up to their potential?  Except for when the Beacons are playing their conference games, I am always hoping for the other LEC teams to perform well.  After all, having some many strong teams is what has garnered the LEC respect around the region and the country for so many years.

I saw the Beacons play down in Florida, and they just do not look like themselves.  Going into the season, I think most UMB fans felt confident about both the offense and defense, given that the team had 7 of 8 position players returning.  However, it is these two aspects of the game that have really let them down.  Through seven games (the stats for the second game versus Westfield are not up yet), the Beacons have committed 15 errors, 5 of which belong to Consiglio at short.  The usually steady infield looks rattled, and you have to wonder if their difficulties at the plate aren't affecting their gloves as well.  Many of these errors have led to big innings for other teams, resulting in 14 unearned runs for the Beacon's opponents.

The difficulties the offense is experiencing are mind-boggling.  Seven of the eight starters are hitting below .300, with freshman catcher Taylor Kapulka being the lone hot bat with a BA of .500.  The Beacons hitters seemed to have lost their approach at the plate and are routinely looking at the fastball and then swinging at the curveball in the dirt.  For a team that constantly put the ball in play last season, it is hard to make sense of 51 strikeouts in seven games.  Except for the first game against Thomas More, the Beacons are not driving the ball at all, which explains their measly three doubles.  Moreover, UMB has only worked 20 walks.  And without base runners, Coach Eygabroat is handcuffed and cannot execute the kind of aggressive, small ball offense that he is used to employing.  Losing all-region players Tambling and Fontaine from the line-up has proven to be a huge loss for the Beacons.  Fontaine is slated to return by the first weekend of conference play. 

If there is one stat that sums up the Beacons trip in Florida, it is going 0 for 8 in bases loaded situations.  Walsh, Reinfurt, McCormack and Grassetti have been up in countless big spots during the trip, rarely resulting in clutch hitting.  Coach Eygabroat has clearly tried to create a spark for the team by shuffling the lined-up, switching lead-off batters, giving freshman a chance to prove themselves and pinch-hitting late in games, but nothing seems to have worked.  However, having two freshman get picked-off in key spots and having guys run through stop signs does not help either. 

It is sort of amazing that despite these startling statistics, of the Beacons seven loses, three have been by one-run and another by two-runs.  Just a few key hits could have made a huge difference in the outcome of these games.  This team is too talented to not make the necessary corrections and get back on track.  But this trip to Florida will surely leave a bad taste in their mouths.

I will have to get back to you on the pitching; I am too fatigued after reliving the offensive and defensive situations to get into that now.

Thanks, Ralph.  I am curious if any of the other posters have some insight about their respective teams' rosters.  I know a lot of them are not online yet, but I would love to hear other peoples' thoughts.

UMB posted their 2011 roster.  With 7 of 8 starting position players returning, the offense and league-leading defense should be strong again.  Senior Andrew Tambling is gone, and the Beacons will definitely miss his bat and speed on the bases (.364, 9 HR, 34 SB).  Sophomore Nick Grassetti is slated to take his spot, and although not a big kid, word on the street is that he was swinging a good stick and running the bases well in the fall. 

In my opinion, the starting rotation should be better than last year's.  Dalton and Heefner provide a strong 1-2 punch, while Cole and a now healthy Gambill should give the Beacons solid mid-week starts.  I am expecting one of the new freshman arms to fill in the fifth spot in the rotation.  The bullpen will be young and untested; the loss of Tony Damon and making Heefner a starter leaves eight new freshman arms to battle it out as the go to late inning replacements.  With so many young arms, the Beacons really need catcher Tim Fontaine to be healthy, as mixing freshman pitchers with a freshman catcher could be costly for UMB.  If you remember, Fontaine was injured last summer in the final inning of the season with the Keene Swamp Bats.

Also, Coach Eygabroat brought in Mike Conroy as the new hitting and outfield coach, after Kupiec left to take the head job at Newbury.  Conroy is a former first round draft pick with 9 years of professional playing experience.  It should be interesting to see if he can continue to develop an already strong offensive team. 

Just saw on the UMB website that the 2011 LEC coaches Pre-season poll was released this afternoon.

2011 Pre-season Poll Results
Institution                   First Place Votes            Total Points
UMass Boston                      6                            61
Keene State                         1                            49
Eastern CT State                  1                            49
Univ. of Southern Maine        -                             42
Rhode Island College            -                             34
UMass Dartmouth                 -                            24
Western CT State                 -                             18
Plymouth State                    -                             11

I seems that the coaches feel that even though EConn lost their top two starting pitchers and four of their best offensive players, they still expect them to be a strong team.  In general though, I am not too surprised by the results.

My feeling is that since the write-up was featured on a website that is read by fans all over the country, to label KSC as one of "the big three" implies that they have the same level of recognition and success as USM and ECSU on the national stage.  While I am not refuting that Keene has done a great job with their program recently, I still assert that lumping them in with two national champions is a bit premature; if their regional appearances continue over the next few years, then it would be warranted.

Hobbsey -- In your rationale for why Keene should be considered part of "the big three," I was a bit perplexed by your comment about UMB having more world series appearances than Keene.  I never mentioned the Beacons in my previous post, and my loyalty to the Beacons has nothing to do with my statement about USM and ECSU being in a league of their own.

Hobbsey -- While I enjoyed reading your New England preview write-up, I was stunned by the glaring omission of Conference Pitcher of the Year, James Dalton.  Dalton dominated, going 8-2, without losing a game to a Little East opponent, and put up impressive numbers (2.82 ERA, 83.0 IP, 72:28 - K:BB, .246 OBA and 6 CG).  Dalton's effort was rewarded, being named Third-Team All-American and is without question, the top returning pitcher in the LEC.

Also, although I respect the KSC program, placing them alongside USM and ECSU as part of "the big three" is a bold statement.  USM and ECSU have multiple national championships each and decades of success.  KSC, although on their way perhaps, simply are not there yet.  I know this may not be the popular opinion amongst some of the regular posters, but the facts are the facts.

The UMB spring schedule is online, and Coach Eygabroat and the Beacons have a challenging trip ahead of them.  They will be facing four regional teams from 2010 (including CWS finalist Cortland St.), as well as Amherst and Bowdoin.   

Quote from: KSCfan on January 28, 2011, 07:20:23 AM
KSCer- I can see Nelson from Keene getting 5 wins, that would leave Davis, and Pelky to win 5 as well, who is the other one?  Their is no question Keene bats will pound the ball, I just hope the staff steps up.  When Keene made a couple of deep runs in the regional it was on their pitching and defense. 

Ms. Beacon- Good point about Vogt, but I think that you will see Keene go to him not just in save situations.  I could very easily see Keene going to him in the 8 and 9th in a close game, or if the owls are up 6 or 7 and the other team starts to rally Keene will go to him as well.  I think you are going to see Vogt put impressive numbers no matter what, you might not see a lot of save but I will gurantee that you will see a lot of innings for him, with a very low WHIP, and a high strike out total.

Also please dont tell Jconn that Lebrun and Andriano underpreformed, those two guys are his boys, he might dis own your from beaconville.  Dalton is very good and I was very impressed with him last year as he just tore teams up.  With a questionable bullpen will we see teams try and be more patient with him to run up the pitch count and get to the bullpen in the 6th or 7th?

LECfan- Good point about Keene playing some Northern games before going south.   I think that this will help the team shake out a little before going south.  Usually in years past spots have been won and lost on the Arizona trip, now maybe the Owls might be able to lock in that "weekend lineup" a little sooner and really dominate that trip to Florida.  Some big new england games on that trip.

Who has the best pitching staff in New England?   I am a big LEC guy but i dont really see the best staff in New England at any of the LEC schools.  Is it perhaps at a Babson, Wheaton, a Trinity or a Williams, a St Joes?  Someone help please

KSCfan -- I agree with you about Vogt.  If I were Coach Howe, I certainly would use him more.  And based on his performance last year, there is no reason to think he won't put up great numbers again.  However, it remains to be seen how his arm would respond with more use.  I still feel that in order to get All-American consideration, he needs to either pitch more innings while maintaining his numbers or improve his save totals.

I know Jconn always has the Beacons back, but if you look at their seasons objectively, LeBrun and Andriano did underperform.  LeBrun pitched all year with an injury (clearly not his fault), and although he collected four wins, with a 7.83 ERA, the offense clearly picked him up.  Andriano went 1-3 in starts and did not turn it on until the last four weeks.  It was nice to see both of these seniors go out with a bang, but Dalton, Heefner and Damon carried that staff.  And having the second best offense in the LEC wasn't bad either!

As for testing the young bullpen, Dalton pitched 6 complete games, so trying to get his pitch count up to get to the pen likely won't work well as a strategy.  The starting rotation overall should be strong and better than last year's staff looking one through five.

Quote from: kscer on January 26, 2011, 10:37:07 PM
This is my prediction on KSC pitching. They will have four pitchers who win 5 or more games and an All-American closer.

While I admire your enthusiasm for KSC's pitching staff, I think this is a pretty tall order.  Regional champs UMB finished the year with two pitchers with 5 or more wins, and runner-up Tufts had three pitchers on their staff with 5 or more wins.

While Vogt's numbers are impressive, the strong offense of the LEC may not provide him the opportunity to collect enough saves to be considered for All-American honors.  De Goti from Tufts had 12 saves last year, while Vogt only had 5.  I think he will need to improve significantly in this category in order to get a nod.

Although the Beacons lost three senior starters, my prediction is that their rotation will be better this year, since Gomez, Andriano and LeBrun all underperformed last year.  Dalton, coupled with either Cole or Heefner, provide a strong weekend combination.  However, the bullpen is a work in progress, and my hope is that some of the new untested arms can step-up and that the defense can continue to win games.

Quote from: keenONkeene on December 16, 2010, 11:49:08 AM
Love the Swamp.........just have questions.........this year above all others pitching will be key......the new bats will make a major difference. Keene is a notorious group for "thumping" the ball..not going to happen this year.  Games should be closer (conference), the day of the 10 to 15 plus runs a game will be few and far between. 
The teams that pitch and play defense will be the at the top of the LEC. 
Boston...read above, nice run last year.......but you are thin at pitching and defense was never really where you hung your hat.
Why do we fool ourselves, the teams to beat, as usual, will be ECONN and USM.  Why you ask....#1 best coaches in league....by far......#2 these teams dont hurt themselves, they will pitch and hit...and be in the right place...#3 USM and ECONN always bring in the best talent in the LEC, they dont "bridge" gaps they reload....
Should be fun!

It seems to be difficult for people to shake the old image of the Beacons. 

If you check the stats, UMB finished in the top three in the LEC for hitting, pitching and fielding in 2010.  In fact, they finished first in fielding and led the league in double plays; and that is even with having to replace their junior shortstop with an untested freshman midway through the season.  The Beacons should be able to put up solid offensive numbers again, since they lose only one guy from their starting nine.  With their combination of small ball (led the league in stolen bases and sacrifice bunts) and their ability to hit the long ball (led the league in homeruns), UMB is well positioned to make another run at the LEC title, even with the new bats.  However, I fully expect perennial powerhouses USM and ECSU to give them a run for their money.

BTW, word on the street is Church from ECSU had academic issues.