With the loss of Old Orchard Beach and North Shore teams, the summer-collegiate New England Collegiate Baseball League will enter its 19th season with ten teams.
The ten members are: Danbury Westerners, Holyoke Blue Sox, Keene Swamp Bats, Laconia Muskrats, Mystic Schooners, New Bedford Bay Sox, Newport Gulls, North Adams SteepleCats, Sanford Mainers and Vermont Mountaineers. The NECBL fielded a 10-team league as late as 2001. The league will continue to have a team in every state in New England.
The Old Orchard Beach and North Shore teams are shifting to the summer-collegiate Futures Collegiate Baseball League.
The NECBL remains committed to its mission of bringing world-class baseball to New England communities. Four of the ten NECBL teams averaged over 1,500 fans per game last season while two more averaged over 950. Nearly 300,000 people saw an NECBL game in 2011.
The 2012 NECBL season opens on June 7.
RELATED STORIES: Salvi buys North Shore Navigators, shifts to FCBL; FCBL expands to Pittsfield, Old Orchard Beach, Wachusett
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