Heather Koontz
MONTPELIER — The Vermont Mountaineers ended their New England Collegiate Baseball League season with a final home game on July 31. The game, which resulted in a 4–4 tie, also ended the season for their opponent, the North Shore Navigators of Lynn, Massachusetts.
Of the 13 teams in the league, the Mountaineers ranked 11th with a win-loss percentage of 0.407. They finished the season with an overall win-loss-tie ratio of 17–25–1.
Team Highlights
While the Mountaineers didn’t clinch a playoff run, there are plenty of reasons for players and fans to celebrate. In fact, the team earned the league’s top spot for stolen bases (166) — only five shy of tying the league record.
The team allowed opponents a total of 307 hits, the second fewest in the entire league. And with 219 opponents crossing home base, the Mountaineers ranked fourth for allowed runs. Earned runs — a statistic exclusive to pitchers — totaled 184 and tied for third fewest in the league.
The team’s 331 hits was eighth-best in the league, and the Mountaineers tied for third place in doubles. With 14 triples, the team earned the top spot in the league. On the field, the Mountaineers earned fourth place for their fielding percentage of 0.963.
Player Achievements
Individually, Mountaineers players took home various accolades this season.
Both Alex Benevento (New Canaan, Connecticut) and David Alvarez (Toronto, Ontario) ranked in the top five league players for their batting averages. Benevento also ranked second in the league for his on-base percentage of 0.516.
Matthew Minckler and Elliot Miles — both shortstops from Portsmouth, New Hampshire — led the league in stolen bases, with 37 and 31, respectively.
Miles ranked fourth in the league for number of assists (78), and Sebastian Collender from Woodstock, Georgia, caught a total of 13 runners as they attempted to steal a base, earning him a tie for fourth place.
The Mountaineers also had a strong presence at the 2026 All-Star Game in Sanford, Maine. Both Alvarez and Benevento were chosen as starters, with Minckler, J.J. Parsons (Jamestown, North Carolina), and Jackson Hulcher (Ashburn, Virginia) on reserves.
Following a North Division shut-out win, Benevento was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. Vermont’s own Rex Hauser (Waterford) won the 2026 NECBL Home Run Derby, with 23 total home runs.
Community Spirit
As usual, Mountaineers fans packed the Montpelier Recreation Field for this season’s 23 home games. With an average of 1,250 people supporting the team, the Mountaineers ranked fourth for number of attendees at home games.
After the final game in July, the team thanked fans for their unwavering community support with an unofficial home run derby to close out another exciting summer of collegiate baseball in central Vermont.
