NEWPORT, RI — The playoffs for the New England Baseball League got underway this past weekend, but Tristan Salinas has enjoyed a very strong summer.
The 2023 Watauga graduate, who recently finished up his first season at Rutgers University, saw his summer 2026 season include a selection to the NECBL All-Star Game.
During the summer classic on July 26, Salinas got the start at second base for the NECBL-South All-Stars and had one of his team’s three hits during its 5-0 loss to the North squad.
Salinas, who has spent the summer with Newport Gulls, went 1-for-2 at the plate as he singled in the fifth inning.
Newport (27-18-1) qualified for the eight-team playoff (and the Fay Vincent, Sr. Cup), which began this past Saturday, as the No. 3 seed.
Newport drew first blood in its best-of-three series with a 7-5 win on Saturday night. Playing right field, Salinas finished 1-for-3 with a run scored; he also turned in one of the bigger defensive highlights of the night.
With his team holding a 3-2 lead in the sixth, a player from Bristol sent a shallow fly ball to Salinas, who laid out and made the diving catch. He then threw to second base to double off the runner for the inning-ending double play.
The No. 6 Blues evened the best-of-three series after a 5-0 win on Sunday. Salinas finished 1-for-3 at the plate in the game.
Tristan Salinas, seen here being congratulated by teammates earlier this summer, finished second on the Newport roster, hits, home runs and batting average this summer.
Photo courtesy of Michael Kiselka/Newport Gulls
Newport and Bristol were scheduled for a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday night, but inclement weather postponed that contest to Tuesday night. The winner will play the Sanford Mainers, starting on Wednesday night.
Before the postseason, Salinas finished second on the Gulls in batting average (.331), hits (40) and home runs (five). His five long balls were also tied for 11th in the NECBL.
He also drove in 20 runs, which tied him for fourth. On the field, the all-star finished with a .966 fielding percentage.
Jacob DilleyLike Salinas, Dilley’s Valley Blue Sox also made the NECBL playoffs as the No. 7 seed.
The Blue Sox were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the No. 2 seed Sanford Mainers, 5-2 and 14-5. Dilley did not see field time in either contest.
The UNC-Greensboro catcher saw action in 15 games this summer, sporting a .125 batting average.
Dilley drove in six runs on seven hits (including two doubles). His best game of the summer came in a 12-4 win against the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks, where he finished 2-for-5 at the plate.
Cooper CritcherAfter finishing the regular season in first place in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League, Critcher was a part of the Statesville Owls squad that won the SCBL championship.
The Owls (17-9) bested the Lake Norman Copperheads, 5-3, in the condensed SCBL playoffs (after several days of no baseball due to the weather, the decision was made to have a winner-takes-all game between the league’s top teams) to win the title.
According to Owls officials, it’s the first time the Owls have won the SCBL championship.
While playing catcher, Critcher saw action in 10 games and had a .214 batting average. He finished with six hits, one home run, and four runs batted in.
Cooper Critcher (5) was a part of the Statesville Owls squad that won the SCBL championship this summer.
Photo courtesy of SCBL