Aug. 3, 2011

How do you build a championship-caliber college wooden bat league team? With a lot of diligence, good contacts and a little luck.

The Nashua Silver Knights, with the backing of their operational managers, the Lowell Spinners, had all of that and, perhaps, more. That's why they finished the first-year Futures Collegiate Baseball League as the top seed and will host Game 1 of the championship series on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at Holman Stadium. A potential third and deciding game would also be played at Holman on Saturday at 7:05.

"Having the backing of the Lowell Spinners made it a lot easier contacting people I hadn't known before," said B.J. Neverett, the Nashua High School South baseball coach. Neverett is also a member of the Silver Knights coaching staff and did a lot of the legwork to procure players once the league was announced in mid-December. "It helped attract players and create the confidence that they would be treated well here."

Neverett handled a lot of the e-mails from college coaches and players who hadn't been placed for the summer. Silver Knights manager Mike Chambers also took part, as he was on the Franklin Pierce College coaching staff and able to see some players first hand. He had to focus on FP's opponents as rules prohibit him from approaching his team's players.

"It was a collaboration between myself and B.J.," Chambers said. "We covered a broad spectrum. It worked both ways, some of them came to us or we went to them. "But B.J. deserves a lot of the credit. He did a lot of the legwork. If you don't have good players, you don't win games."

Neverett was approached by the Spinners about serving on Chambers' staff and also helping to obtain players. "The next day I was on a conference call being interviewed by the Spinners front office staff, was offered the job and the next thing I knew I was at City Hall (for a press conference)," Neverett said. "There were kids from our area that I went after immediately - the Spinners were hoping to get local guys who people had a history with and who would help attendance."

So former Nashua North pitcher Alek Morency and Alvirne hurler Travis Terrill were immediately contacted, and that helped create a connection with Merrimack College. Morency (3-0) was invaluable as both a starter and a reliever, while Terrill (2-1, 3.11) did both as well.

The Spinners, according to Neverett, actually let the UMass Lowell program know about the club since they share quarters at LeLacheur Park in Lowell. The River Hawks had four players they suggested: outfielder Matt Jacobs, first baseman Mark Sanborn, third baseman James Katsiroubas and pitcher Geoff Fisher.

That foursome was the backbone of the team. Fisher went 6-0, 1.53 on the mound; Katsiroubas hit .312 with seven homers and a league best 39 RBIs. Sanborn, hitting cleanup, hit .306 with six homers and 35 RBIs, and Jacobs, batting third, hit .342. That's an ace righty and your Nos. 3-4-5 hitters. It also helped that Chambers, a Londonderry High School alum, knew Fisher, who is also from Londonderry. That helped them land Kyle Neverman (21 RBIs), a former New Hampshire Player of the Year.

"We got four good players," Neverett said of the UMass-Lowell products. "The Spinners kind of gave them the heads up."

Another top pitcher, lefty starter Eric Perrault (5-0, 1.57). was a player Neverett knew of when he pitched for Salem High School. Neverett and Chambers have a good relationship with the Keene State College staff and Neverett had heard Perrault, who pitched in the rival New England Collegiate Baseball League a year ago, didn't sign a commitment to stay there, so the Silver Knights pounced.

The way it normally works is many college players sign a binding commitment to return to their summer league teams, usually by the end of September. Thus Nashua and other FCBL clubs were somewhat limited in who was available. The Silver Knights' first official signing was former Nashua South standout Brandon Cox, who has hit .444 in mainly a pinch-hitting role this summer, also out of Merrimack College.

"I know there were guys we missed out on because we were late," Neverett said.

But there weren't many. The Northeastern University staff had a good relationship with the Spinners front office and the Silver Knights were able to snag Dylan Maki, who ended up as their closer with six saves and a 2.42 earned run average, and catcher John Puttres, who hit .299 with 11 RBIs this summer.

Meanwhile, Chambers was able to evaluate players while coaching in the Northeast-10. He saw plenty of Merrimack's Logan Gillis, the Bentley College starting second baseman, and loved him. So when word was Gillis wanted to play in Nashua, Chambers grabbed him and all Gillis did was lead the FCBL in hitting at a .376 clip.

"It helped that I had a relationship with guys in the Northeast-10," Chambers said. "Seacoast was also interested in him, but they seemed to drag their feet and I said `We have to get him.'"

And that has had ripple effects. When the team due to injuries needed more starting pitching in the last couple of weeks, Gillis recommended his Bentley teammate, 6-foot-2 righty Lamarre Rey. All Rey has done was go 2-0. 1.98 in his two starts, including the playoff clincher last Saturday, and was named FCBL Pitcher of the Week. He could end up starting the potential title game this Saturday.

Meanwhile, the team braintrust has already begun meeting to formulate next year's team. Commitment contracts will be offered to some currently on the roster, and the club, Neverett and Chambers say, will like to have 20 players inked by Oct. 1, and then leave spots open for players who pop up, as they undoubtedly will. Neverett did say that those who commit will have an opt-out if they have a Cape Cod League opportunity only.

One thing Chambers is against is trying to recruit players from opposing FCBL teams, who seeing the atmosphere at Holman Stadium, certainly would be interested in playing here. "I don't believe in that," he said. "But if they decide they don't want to go back to their teams, why wouldn't we take them?"

Chambers also said, as is the league philosophy, he'll stay with mainly New England players. They will be more apt to finish the season and not have to leave early for schools outside the region, and he'll be more familiar with them.

"I don't want to get guys with a lot of mystery," he said. But, says Neverett, there will be a lot of competition, because the league will likely expand to at least six teams for 2012.

"We'll start the whole process in a couple of weeks," Neverett said. "We've gained some credibility with college coaches. We've learned a lot from this first season." And won while doing it

It's still up in the air whom the Silver Knights will face in the inaugural FCBL Championship Series, as basically, beginning Monday night, Torrington and Martha's Vineyard are in what boils down to a best-of-three semifinal confrontation thanks to makeup games with each other that will conclude on Wednesday, at the latest.