By Michael Letendre
The New England Collegiate Baseball League announced its 2023 All-League Selections on Thursday and several players from the postseason runners-up – the Bristol Blues – were on that impressive list.
The Blues made it all the way to the Fay Vincent, Sr. Finals, falling 2-0 to the New Port Gulls, in the best-of-three championship series.
In all, four players, including Bristol’s very own Jagger Duquette, were selected to either the first or second team All-League squads this year.
That’s high praise over a very busy summer of action around New England.
How were the NECBL All-League selections made?
All 13 on-field managers of NECBL franchises were able to vote for the team and the selections were made by using only regular season statistics and performances were taken into consideration during the selection process.
The list includes 47 players over three postseason tiers: the All-NECBL First Team, the All-NECBL Second Team and the All-NECBL Honorable Mention Team.
Bristol’s selections ended up on the First and Second Teams.
Each team was composed of one player at each non-outfield position (catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base), three outfielders, one designated hitter, three starting pitchers, two relief pitchers and one closer.
Here’s a look at the teams chosen for 2023, posted on the NECBL website (necbl.com):
All-NECBL First Team
Starting Pitcher – Jagger Duquette (Wagner College)
*Duquette was named Robin Roberts Starter of the Year after posting a league-leading 1.14 ERA along with a 0.81 WHIP and striking out 29 hitters across 39.1 innings of work. He had four scoreless appearances this season, allowing less than five hits in all but one outing, with his best appearance coming July 6 at Danbury, allowing one unearned run in 5.2 innings, allowing just four hits and striking out six. Duquette led the Blues to an NECBL playoff berth as the No. 6 seed, where they reached the NECBL Championship Series after defeating Valley Blue Sox and the Sanford Mainers in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Facing elimination in game two against the Valley Blue Sox, Duquette threw a complete game shutout along with seven strikeouts to secure a 5-0 victory and force a deciding game three.
First Base – Gavin Noriega (Bryant College)
*Noriega led the Blues in runs (21), hits (44), triples (3) and home runs (3) while finishing second in the league in RBIs (33), just one shy of first. He was also solid in the field, finishing with a .993 fielding percentage, 141 putouts and 11 assists across 165.1 IP. Noriega’s consistency earned him a spot on the West Division All-Star team as the starting first baseman. He also helped the Bristol Blues clinch the No. 6 seed in the postseason on their way to a Championship Series appearance for the first time since joining the NECBL in 2020.
All-NECBL Second Team
Second Base – Jordan Peyton – (Towson University)
*Peyton made an impact for the Blues this season, both in the field and on the mound. The Towson product played in 31 games for the Blues this season, as well as appearing in five games on the mound. At the plate Peyton hit .314 during the regular season, smacking 27 hits and eighteen runs scored, while driving in nine and drawing twenty walks. In the playoffs, Peyton hit .200 (6-30) with three RBI, six runs scored and six walks. On the mound, Peyton appeared in five games going 1-0, throwing 5.2 innings, allowing four hits, while striking out six. He was also named a West Division All-Star reserve for his efforts.
Relief Pitcher – Peter Phillips (Southern Connecticut State University)
*Phillips was a shutdown option out of the Blues’ bullpen this season, pitching in 18 games in the regular season, and in 20.2 innings of work pitched to a 0.87 ERA. Phillips only allowed one earned run during the entire length of the regular season, allowing less than two hits in every appearance.
