Futures Collegiate Baseball League Sets 2022 Schedule

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WEYMOUTH, Mass. (December 14, 2021) — Featuring a 64-game regular season, the Futures Collegiate Baseball League of New England (FCBL) today announced its schedule for the summer of 2022. All eight teams will begin the summer’s action on Opening Day, which is scheduled for Thursday, May 26.

The FCBL will feature the same eight-team lineup as a season ago, including the reigning champion and Organization of the Year, the Vermont Lake Monsters, as well as the Brockton Rox, Nashua Silver Knights, New Britain Bees, Norwich Sea Unicorns, Pittsfield Suns, Worcester Bravehearts, and Westfield Starfires.

After completing a safe and successful 2020 season in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FCBL continued its momentum as one of the nation’s top summer collegiate circuits last summer, which was highlighted by the return of fans to all eight stadiums. The league saw its membership grow with the arrival of two long-tenured affiliated clubs, Norwich and Vermont. More than 243,000 fans attended FCBL games in 2021.

“The Futures League couldn’t be more excited to take another step towards the 2022 season with the announcement of our schedule,” Commissioner Joe Paolucci said. “All eight franchises are hard at work putting together another outstanding summer of baseball for our loyal fans throughout New England. We’re already looking forward to May 26.”

The regular-season schedule will run from May 26 until Sunday, Aug. 7, with the playoffs following immediately through Saturday, Aug. 13. With the exception of Memorial Day (May 31) and Independence Day (July 4), Mondays will remain league-wide off days throughout the summer.

The 2022 season will begin with a matinee clash between the league’s two Connecticut clubs, Norwich and New Britain, at New Britain Stadium on May 26. The rest of the four-game opening slate features Nashua hosting Pittsfield at Holman Stadium, Worcester traveling to Campanelli Stadium to face in-state rival Brockton, and Vermont opening its title defense against the Starfires at Westfield’s Bullens Field.

Worcester and Pittsfield will open their respective home schedules at Hanover Insurance Park and Wahconah Park on Friday, May 27, while the Lake Monsters will do the same at Centennial Field in a rematch of the previous night’s game. Norwich’s debut at Dodd Stadium is set for the evening of Memorial Day, Monday, May 31.

On Tuesday, July 26, the league will gather in New Britain, Conn., as the Bees host the 2022 FCBL All-Star Game for the second consecutive year. Last year’s midsummer classic drew more than 3,000 fans to New Britain Stadium.

After the regular season concludes on Sunday, Aug. 7, the four-team postseason bracket will include the best-of-three series in both the semifinal and championship rounds. Vermont capped the 2021 season in title-winning fashion by defeating Pittsfield in the deciding game of a best-of-three series in front of a packed crowd in Burlington.

The first-of-its-kind “Home Run Derby Wins It” tiebreaker returns for the sixth consecutive season in 2022. Once again, all regular-season Futures Collegiate Baseball League games tied after one extra inning will be decided with a shootout-style home run derby.

Click here to view the complete 2022 schedule.