Dexter has it rolling
Brookline school seems perfectly set
Dexter baseball coach Dan Donato knows anything can happen on a given day. He’s also been around long enough to know a good thing when he sees it, and the team he watches on a daily basis is one with few flaws.
AROUND THE HORN Dan Ventura
Dexter enters the home stretch with a perfect 12-0 record, conjuring memories of the 2011 team that went 18-0 and featured future Division 1 college players in Johnny Magliozzi (Florida) and Barrett O’Neil (Virginia).
“We really haven’t been surprised that much,” Donato said. “We knew we were going to have good pitching, defense and hitting and we’ve gotten that. We might not have that one stud pitcher like Matt Tabor at Milton Academy, but we have five who can pitch and our defense hasn’t made an error in 10 games.”
The pitching staff is led by junior Anthony LoRicco and senior Matt Gray, both of whom have committed to West Point. Former Catholic Memorial standout Tyler Bell (Babson) and Chris Grome (RPI) are more than capable hurlers, while junior Jake Mello of Medway is starting to generate some Ivy League interest.
The offense is keyed by left fielder Chris Lanzilli. The Wake Forest-bound Lanzilli is currently on a power surge with six home runs in a four-game stretch.
“He’s going to Wake Forest on pretty much a full scholarship to hit, which is almost unheard of” as many colleges allocate their scholarship money to pitchers, said Donato, himself a former third baseman who got as far as Triple-A in the Tampa Bay organization. “He’s one of the best hitters in New England, he’s ultra-aggressive at the plate with a lightning fast bat.”
Lanzilli is joined in the outfield by junior center fielder Colin Mann and Bell in right. Junior Connor Bowman handles the duties behind the plate, while the infield consists of senior Ryan Hernandez at first, LoRicco and sophomore Alex Hill at second, senior Matt Graber and freshman Ben Meehan at short and Gray at third.
Mamma Mia
St. Mary’s senior softball pitcher Mia Nowicki had a week she won’t soon forget. In victories over Austin Prep, Arlington Catholic, Westford Academy and Woburn, the Assumptionbound ace struck out 76 batters and didn’t allow a run in those four wins.
Nowicki had a game for the ages against Catholic Central Large rival Austin Prep. She matched goose eggs with Cougar ace Logan MacDonald for 12 innings before she took matters into her own hands in the top of the 13th, depositing a pitch over the rightfield fence for the game’s only run.
“It felt pretty good when I hit it,” Nowicki said. “I wasn’t totally sure it was going to get over the fence.”
Nowicki then took care of business in the bottom of the frame, keeping Austin Prep off the scoreboard in finishing with 27 strikeouts. That performance ranks third in Eastern Mass. history, behind Lexington’s Maddie Orcutt (31 vs. Everett in 2014) and North Attleboro’s Meghan Colleran (30 vs. Quincy in 2011).
“I was shocked when they told me after the game,” Nowicki said. “During the game, I’m not thinking about that at all. My only concern was doing everything possible to make sure Austin Prep didn’t score.”
Something few teams have been able to do against Nowicki this spring.
Goossens to Hartford
The University of Hartford secured the commitment of one of the better junior pitchers in the state in Minnechaug’s Chris Goossens. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound left-hander entertained offers from West Point, Northeastern and Southern New Hampshire University before casting his lot with the Hawks.
“I decided on Hartford as it seems like the right spot for me and the best place for my growth as a player and person,” Goossens said. . . .
Closer to home, a pair of baseball players from the Northeastern Conference will be attending Cheshire Academy in the fall.
Malden’s two-sport standout Jared Martino is reclassifying as a junior at Cheshire in the fall. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder will compete in baseball and football. Swampscott catcher Louis Olivieri, currently batting better than .400, will do a postgraduate year at Cheshire as well.
Super night in store
The MIAA Super 8 Baseball Committee will have its work cut out for it over the next week, going through every eligible school in the state to find the eight teams for its tournament. The heavy rains of last week caused the postponement of many games, forcing teams to play four and five games a week, thus taxing their pitching staff.
The committee will meet on the evening of May 29 to finalize its selections. The MIAA’s standard baseball tournament will be seeded the following day.