Wachusett Dirt Dawgs


The Wachusett Dirt Dawgs were a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League of New England based in Leominster, Massachusetts. They played their home games at Historic Doyle Field in Leominster, Mass. 2012-2017. They are an expansion team for the FCBL and played their inaugural season in 2012.

Team History

Team's Inception

Futures Collegiate Baseball League Commissioner, Chris Hall, announced on June 19, 2011 that the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs will be added as the league's fifth franchise located in Leominster, Mass. The organization will be operated by local businessman, John Morrison, President of privately held polymer lens manufacturer, Fosta-Tek Optics. Fosta-Tek employs more than 150 people and has been an integral part of the greater Leominster business community for 20 years.

2012

The Wachusett Dirt Dawgs started their first year in the FCBL on the wrong foot, after falling in the team's first ever game 11-6 to the Torrington Titans, the Dirt Dawgs had a surprise in their home opener at Doyle Field. Besides falling to the Pittsfield Suns 13-5, the game was delayed for an hour because the sprinkler system turned on. The team eventually got their first franchise win on June 12, 2012 as Wachusett used a three run third inning to propel themselves to a 4-3 win over the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide. The team as a whole struggled, finishing the first season with a 9-42 record.. One highlight for the Dirt Dawgs was that in the 2012 season, Dirt Dawgs pitcher Ty Sterner was the first Dirt Dawgs to be drafted by a Major League team. Sterner was drafted out of the University of Rhode Island in the 2014 draft by the Cincinnati Reds in the 23rd round.

2013

In their second season in the league, the Dirt Dawgs started on the right foot, as the team won their opening game against the Torrington Titans 7-4. From July 11-14th, Wachusett set a team record for most consecutive wins with five. As a whole the 2013 season was not a wash, but it was a stepping stone for the future. The team finished with a 20-31 record, with an 11-game improvement from their first year.

2014

The third year was a record breaking season for the Wachusett Ball Club, as the team broke numerous records, for both the team and for the league. For starter two players on the 2014 squad went on to get drafted by an MLB team in future drafts. Their offense set multiple league records that season, including homeruns, RBIs. Individually, Mike Corin set a team record for homeruns, total bases, and RBIs. Fellow right hander, Joe Breen set the high mark for a 15-game hitting streak where he was 29 for 65 raising his batting average to.412. Breen also showed his power as he set the record for the most road homeruns and the highest slugging percentage. Unfortunately, the team fell one game shy of making the playoffs with a 26-29 record.

2015

The team took a step back in 2015 as they finished the season with a 22-30 overall record. The Dirt Dawgs struggled to keep pace with the power numbers of the 2014 team, as the offense combine to hit 36 homeruns, a little over half from the previous season. One of their strengths was their closer, as was the anchor of the pitching staff. The hard throwing righty set a team record with seven saves on the season while sporting a 1.78 ERA in 30.1 innings.

2016

In the Dirt Dawgs 5th season in the league, the team picked up their fourth consecutive 20+ win season, after finishing 21-34. The 2016 campaign featured a few record being broken, as set the record for triples, with three, while set the league record for hits in a season, while holding the team titles in batting average and on-base percentage. Outfielder swiped a team record 21 bases over the season. was named the FCBL Defensive Player of the Year in 2016, after finishing the season with a.979 fielding percentage over 52 games.

2017

After struggling in their first years of existence, the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs made major strides in their sixth season. They broke multiple records, including their first winning season and a team record 29 wins in 2017. Individually, re-wrote the Dirt Dawgs offensive record books, as the fourth year player in the FCBL set the league record for career homeruns, and a team record 18 longballs, 10 on the road and 50 RBI's. Out of the bullpen, both and tied the team record with 5 wins on the season, while appeared in 21 games and had a 0.75 ERA, both team records. The team had a stretch that they won 15 of 16 games in the middle to late June, giving them enough recognition to be ranked #20 in the Collegiate Summer Baseball national rankings. The team reached the FCBL playoffs for the first time in franchise history after clinching the #3 seed in the playoffs, but their playoff stint was a short one, as they lost to the Worcester Bravehearts 9-2 in the first round.

2018

Wachusett Dirt Dawgs sat out the 2018 and 2019 seasons as the city of Leominster terminated their lease at Doyle Field. The team could possibly relocate for the 2020 season.

Year-by-year

*=Team Highs

Team Records

Coaches

FCBL Players in AAA or Higher

FCBL

2017

2017