Over the course of my internship this summer with the Rhode Island Baseball Experience, I had a great opportunity to see and write about local summer collegiate baseball leagues and players. One of the leagues I covered over the past two months was the New England Collegiate Baseball League, one of the best summer collegiate wood bat leagues in the country. I went to some great fields and watched great players from all over the country representing many different schools. This league was new to me when I started and I had a great time experiencing the different game environments each team provided and watching some of the best college talent, especially the players from Rhode Island.  Here is a quick summary of some of the Rhode Island players I got to watch this summer in the NECBL.

Nicholas Conte is a pitcher from North Providence, RI and played for the Ocean State Waves this summer. This season he pitched in 15 games, had one save, 38 strikeouts, 13 hits and had an ERA of 4.30. This season he also made the NECBL All Star Team representing both the Ocean State Waves and the South Division helping his team beat the North Division 13-2. Nick Conte returns to Duke looking to improve upon his last season, and if this summer is any indicator, he should have a good year.

One of the players I had the pleasure of watching and talking to was M.T. Morrissey a pitcher from Portsmouth, RI. This summer was his first one playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League for the Bristol Blues. He pitched in 19 games and had a regular season ERA of 4.90, 18 strikeouts, and 18 hits. He returns to Bryant University for his junior year and second year with the Bulldogs. In his first season with the Bryant Bulldogs, Morrissey appeared in 14 and had a 4.90 ERA, 1 save and 17 strikeouts.

Another Bristol Blues player and RI native from Greenville, RI I was able to see play was Cal Parrillo who appeared in the first 19 games of the 2022 season. In his time with the Bristol Blues he had a batting average of .235, with 12 hits, 8 runs and 7 RBIs. On the defensive end Cal mainly played first base where he had a total of 86 putouts, 3 assists, 7 double plays and 3 errors culminating in a fielding percentage of .967. He is looking to continue a great college career in his sophomore year with the Rhode Island College Anchormen he had a batting average of .430, had 71 hits, 51 runs, 52 RBIs and only 19 strikeouts. On defense he had a fielding percentage of .977, 100 putouts, 69 assists and 4 errors.

Addison Kopack is another RI native that was an NECBL All Star this season. Addison Kopack is from Cumberland, Rhode Island, plays for The University of Rhode Island and has spent this summer and last summer (2021) playing in the NECBL for the Mystic Schooners. This season he played in 16 games, in those games he had 35 hits, 16 runs, 18 RBIs, and a batting average of .236. In his 2022 season with URI he had a batting average of .364, 71 hits, 52 runs, and 60 RBIs. 2022 has been a great year Addison Kopack, with URI he was apart of the 2022 Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team, All-Academic Team, was named player of the week on April 18th, 2022, and is now an NECBL All Star. As a URI graduate I’m excited to see what he does this coming season.

These are just a couple of players I got to spend my time watching this summer. There is so much talent in the collegiate summer wood bat leagues like the NECBL, Cape League, and The Futures League. I had a great time experiencing and learning about the leagues, teams and players. As I said earlier these leagues are new to me and getting to see how close each team’s community is such a great sight. You can tell the players want to win and the fans want them to win just as much. Every park I visited this summer it is evident that the community surrounding these teams and players love what they do and want to provide these players with the best possible experience. 

By Nick Lemley

Editors Note – Nick was a fantastic intern with a ton of initiative and has a ton of potential as a sports journalist. He is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island and a bright future, one that I am so blessed to have contributed to. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to engaging and informing us on a very cool summer of Rhode Island Baseball Experiences! Good luck in your next endeavors, Nick.

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