8-709: The Winnipesaukee Muskrats were a collegiate summer baseball team in Laconia, New Hampshire , playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), a wood bat league operating in the northeastern United States . The team's home field was Robbie Mills Field in Laconia. The Muskrats were an expansion franchise that was formed in 1999 and began play as the Manchester Silkworms of Manchester, Connecticut , in
16-622: The 2000 season . The team moved to Laconia for the 2010 season . The NECBL announced in November 2015 that the team would be called the Winnipesaukee Muskrats (named after the region's Lake Winnipesaukee ) in 2016. The Muskrats folded following the 2022 season. The Manchester Silkworms began play in 2000 as the third Connecticut -based NECBL team. The Silkworms' high water mark occurred from 2004 to 2008 when they recorded five consecutive playoff appearances. The team hosted
24-619: The 2004 NECBL All-Star Game and achieved a franchise best 24–17 record in the same season. After the 2009 season, Silkworms owner Ed Slegeski sold the franchise to a team of partners led by Jonathan and Noah Crane. The Muskrats name was selected from a Name-the-Team contest. In February 2012, the Laconia Parks and Recreation Commission approved a plan of the Muskrats to sell alcohol in a pavilion beyond left field at Robbie Mills Field that would be separate from general seating. On April 30,
32-538: The club announced the construction of a manual scoreboard patterned after the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston at the left-field fence. The wall, 17 feet (5.2 m) tall and 88 feet (27 m) in length, was built during the 2012 season. After the 2015 season, new general manager Kristian Svindland changed the name of the team from Laconia to Winnipesaukee, the name of Laconia's "Big Lake", to appeal to
40-496: The collegiate summer season. These draftees can remain with their collegiate summer team until they sign a professional contract. During the season, players are housed by volunteer host families and bussed to and from road games. The leagues vary greatly in their attendances, quality of play, and ability to attract scouts. The Alaska Baseball League (ABL) and the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) are considered
48-701: The common nickname of these leagues as "wood-bat leagues". Collegiate summer leagues allow college baseball players the ability to compete using professional rules and equipment, giving them experience and allowing professional scouts the opportunity to observe players under such conditions. To find a collegiate summer team, players work with their college coaches and prospective teams' general managers. They report to summer leagues after completing their spring collegiate season with their NCAA , NAIA , NJCAA , CCCAA , and NWAC teams. Some players arrive late due to their college team's postseason play, which sometimes runs into early June. In some cases, players are drafted during
56-683: The entire region. The Muskrats folded following the 2022 season after the league's governing board rejected the team's strategy to house players. Collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate from early June to early August. In contrast to college baseball , which allow aluminum or other composite baseball bats , players in these leagues use only wooden bats, hence
64-413: The two premier collegiate summer leagues. This list is organized by federation. Source: Chicago Suburban Baseball League Alaska Baseball League The Alaska Baseball League ( ABL ) is an amateur collegiate summer baseball league based entirely in southern Alaska . Players in the league must have attended one year of college and must have one year of NCAA eligibility remaining. In
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