New coaches aim to continue success in familiar places
Moments after Milton’s 10-2 comeback win over Bay State Conference rival Wellesley Monday afternoon, a roar went up from the Wildcats’ huddle in shallow left field.
Not only was it their first win of the year, and a resilient one at that, it was the first victory for first-year coach Greg Lannon.
Lannon is one of three new coaches for teams coming off deep runs in the state tournament — along with Casey Cummins at St. John’s (Shrewsbury) and Jon Dunn at Medfield. All three are at their alma maters.
After stepping in for Brendan Morrissey (who departed for Milton Academy), Lannon is tasked with continuing the recent success at 11th-ranked Milton (2-1), punctuated by backto-back Division 2 titles. Fortunately, he was on the bench for both those runs.
“I learned so much in all my years here, but especially the last two,” Lannon said. “How to handle the team and handle pressure situations, and I think that’s helped me immensely.
As the junior varsity coach and a varsity assistant the past five years, Lannon knows his relationships with the players will show through. The Wildcats return key juniors Scott Longo, who has committed to Northeastern, and Harry Hinckle.
“It wasn’t a seamless transition per se: it’s a different voice, but I think having some continuity for them really helped,” Lannon said.
In the opposing dugout Monday was Wellesley firstyear coach Ted Novio, who replaced longtime coach Rob Kane. He is well versed in the Bay State Conference after starring at Braintree (and later the University of Maine).
At No. 4 St. John’s (2-1), Cummins took over for longtime coach Charlie Eppinger, who retired. It’s a full-circle moment for the former Pioneer — after graduating St. John’s in 2008, he joined Eppinger’s staff as an assistant. After not making the varsity team at Merrimack, Eppinger was his first call.
“I knew my playing career at some point, whenever that would be, would end, and I already had an interest in coaching,” Cummins said. “The day I didn’t make the team at Merrimack, I was like, ‘Alright, now coaching has started.’ ”
After stops across the state — Nichols College, the Worcester Bravehearts of the Futures League, the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Bourne Braves, and Sutton High last year — Cummins returned to St. John’s hoping to join Eppinger’s staff. Instead, he was handed the keys.
“Coming back to St. John’s was always the goal,” Cummins said. “I’m fortunate enough to have the opportunity and to realize that it doesn’t come around very often. I truly appreciate the tradition of the program and the weight of the job.”
The Pioneers’ strength is in their pitching. Seniors Noah Basgaard (Stonehill) and Brady Shea (Salve Regina) lead the way for a squad hoping to push past the semifinals, where they were stopped last year by Taunton.
At Medfield, where the Warriors have finished as runners-up in Division 3 two of the last three seasons, Dunn takes the reins from Dave Worthley, who retired.
Dunn, who played collegiately at James Madison, graduated from Medfield in 1994. He spent a few years as an assistant after he returned to the school to teach math, but after taking time off to coach his three children through youth baseball, Dunn is back on the field he used to play on.
“Watching the success that they’ve had, I feel honored to continue that path and be a part of future success,” Dunn said. “It means a lot to wear the Medfield hat and be a part of the Warrior baseball program.”
The Warriors (0-2) graduated 10 seniors from a squad that fell to Oakmont in the state final. But Dunn sees promise in the returning core up the middle, anchored by senior Jack Iovino (Merrimack) in center field. They have a young team, but that’s fine with Dunn.
“I’ve been involved in the game at different levels, so being able to use the experiences that I’ve had and work with young kids to teach them some of the things I wish I had known in high school, that’s exciting to me,” Dunn said. “That’s the one thing that drew me back in, was just being able to work with the kids.”
Extra bases
R It was a memorable Wednesday afternoon for the Bushley family when BC High and Catholic Memorial met in a Catholic Conference matchup in West Roxbury. BC High senior righthander Charlie Bushley pitched to his younger brother, sophomore catcher Sam Bushley.
Adam Bushley, Sam’s twin, plays left field for CM. So on two occasions, Charlie pitched to Sam with Adam at the plate. In the first at-bat, Charlie struck out Adam on three fastballs. But in the second at-bat, Charlie plunked Adam in the head (by accident), which will surely be a topic of discussion at their Cohasset home.
R No. 14 Hanover received a pair of standout pitching performances from Owen Kennedy and Gabe Knudsen to open the season. A senior righthander, Kennedy fired a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts in Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Plymouth South before Knudsen, a Globe All-Star last spring as a junior, fanned 14 over six two-hit innings in Wednesday’s 6-1 win over No. 8 Plymouth North . . . Two-time Division 1 runner-up Franklin has lost six regular-season games the last two seasons. The Panthers started 1-2, but got back on track Wednesday with a 6-2 win at top-ranked Taunton. Jake Shaughnessy pitched 6„ innings of two-run ball to earn the win and Rex Cinelli slapped two hits and scored a run . . . Dover-Sherborn’s Brian Olson and Wellesley’s Luke Miele each hit three home runs Wednesday . . . North Andover righthander Cole Mullen threw six no-hit innings Wednesday as the Scarlet Knights topped Westford, 2-0, for a key nonleague win.