Seekonk among star-filled teams on diamond
Coming off its first state title and second straight Div. 4 final appearance, Seekonk is primed for another baseball run.
South Coast Conference MVP Tyler Kropis and Wheaton commit Declan Lush are two of seven starters returning. Sophomore shortstop Javy Borges is coming off a sensational freshman campaign. Grayson Baldizar, who walked off against Millbury in the state semifinals, and freshman Colin Lush will be players to watch out.
In the South Shore League, state runner-up Abington has seniors Steve Madden (SS), John Sellon (CF) and Henry Rogers (3B) to anchor the pitching staff with sophomore Ryan Solimini. With eight returning starters back, the Green Wave are ready to make a splash in the tournament.
Cohasset will be led by senior captains Luc LeFevre (P/1B) and Jack McSweeney (2B/P), and sophomore South Shore League All Star Kevin Sweet.
Out of the Cape Ann League, Hamilton-Wenhan made a run to the quarterfinals and return seven starters — senior captains Alec Cote and Aidan Clarke, senior Adam Green, junior captain and All-Scholastic Gian Gamelli, juniors A.B. Labell, Cole Scanlon and Jack Cooke, and sophomore Cormac Heney. Their pitching depth is impressive.
Lynnfield will be led by senior captains Dave Tracy, Owen Mullin and Anthony Grabau (Fordham). Junior captain Tyler Adamo and seniors Matt Papagikos, Ryan MacEachern, Dylan Damiani and Cole Hawes (C) will team with junior pitcher Madux Iovinelli for a formidable squad.
With the move to Div. 5 after a Div. 4 semifinal appearance, English is ready to make some noise. Seniors David Castillo and Sebastian Garcia and juniors Armanis Romero and Jordani Marcano will lead the Eagles out of the Boston City League.
Bourne will have junior left-handed power bat and arm Luca Finton and senior ace Ryan Sullivan to make some tournament noise after falling in the state final. Finton has a fastball in the low-to-mid 80s with the ability to rack up strikeouts. Sullivan has a career ERA of 2.00 and has the knack as a middle infielder to make any play ranging left to right.
Georgetown, also out of the Cape Ann League, has Div. 5 aspirations with a strong returning staff in seniors Carter Lucido, Ty Gilmore, Ethan Lee and ace Jake Gilstein, a threeyear starter. The outfield will also be a strength with Lucido, senior Jake Gilbo, senior Jason Gioia and junior Hayden Ruth.
In Div. 3, state runnerup Medfield returns seniors Jack Iovino (Merrimack commit, Tri-Valley League All Star honorable mention), Nick Hasapidis (Tri-Valley League All Star HM) and Alex Munz (pitcher) as well as juniors Sebastian Lacruz-Valiente (Tri-Valley League HM) and Danny Vazquez (No. 2 starter/right fielder).
Ashland, also out of the Tri-Valley League, will compete with seniors Dean Reap (catcher), Grant Reap (infielder/pitcher), Jerry Judge (outfielder/pitcher) and Ty Letichevsky (Northeastern commit/pitcher) leading junior Devin O’Brien (third base) and sophomores Chris Bratica and Oliver Lareau. Freshmen Michail Shreiber and Jarred Grunbaum are players to watch.
After a state semifinal appearance, Bishop Stang returns senior captains Nick Nasiff (SS/P) and Matt DeRosa (3B). Catholic Central League All Star pitcher and junior Matt Burt as well as junior Drew Taylor are talented. Sophomores Brock Winslow (CCL Rookie at second), Nathan Moniz (catcher) and Landon Cardoza (P) will help the reigning CCL champions.
St. Mary’s of Lynn will be competitive in Div. 3 with seven starters returning, including seniors Isaiah Weston, Chris Marks, Matt Lewis as well as juniors Jack Zimmerman, Shea Newhall and sophomore Michael Demaino (CCL All Star) at short. Junior Josh Soney and sophomore Jake Peterson will be other players to watch for the Spartans.
The Patriot League has Hanover with senior captains Gabe Knudsen (Patriot League Fisher Division MVP/pitcher) and John McDonald (Patriot League All Star/center fielder) to go along with senior Owen Kennedy (pitcher) and now sophomore sensation Cole Hendrickson (pitcher/third baseman).
In the Dual County League, Weston will be led by senior captain Marco Buchbinder at short and pitcher/second baseman Charlie Dickie. Junior Owen Jorajuria will star on the mound and swing a productive bat, as will sophomore Aidan Murphy.
Apponequet, out of the South Coast Conference, features seniors Nathan Levesque (pitcher/fouryear starter), Dylan Bradley (pitcher/infielder) and Caiden Cyr (first base), and junior Lucas Tremblay at third.
Division 3 Players to Watch
C: A.J. Baia (Greater Lowell), Brady Prindle (Lowell Catholic), Drew Siwik (Bedford), Chris Swirbalus (Archbishop Williams)
P: Chase Beach (Nauset), Matt Burt (Bishop Stang), Cam Cabral (Greater New Bedford Voke), Ryan Capobianco (Bedford), Matt Cooke (Tewksbury), Josh Doney (St. Mary’s), Jack Dyer (Arlington Catholic), Connor Finn (Sandwich), Nolan Gordon (Foxboro), Austin Harper (Wilmington), Tommy Jenkins (South Shore Voke), Gabe Knudsen (Hanover), Nate Levesque (Apponequet), Giacomo Martell (Gloucester), Dylan Matthews (North Reading), Dylan Maw (Tri-County), Jack Mulcahy (Sandwich), Tyler Nelson (Arlington Catholic), Teddy Peters (Holliston), Jake Schoenberg (Holliston), Seamus Scott (Lowell Catholic), Jack Shapiro (Latin Academy), Jake Torpey (Greater Lowell)
1B: Lucas LeTourneau (Dighton-Rehoboth), Tylor Roycroft (Wakefield), Wilfredo Santiago (Archbishop Williams), Nolan Stys (Greater Lowell)
2B: Caiden Cyr (Apponequet), Frank Leone (Wakefield), Ryan O’Leary (Foxboro), Lucas Poirier (Shawsheen), Connor Stick (Newburyport), Jack Tsoitsouras (Essex Tech)
SS: Nick Berube (Swampscott), Noah Bongiorno (Old Rochester), Dylan Bradley (Apponequet), Marco Buchbinder (Weston), Michael DeMaino (St. Mary’s), Brad Familia (Greater Lawrence), Joe Goffredo (Dedham), Sebastian LaCruz (Medfield), Aidan Murphy (Weston), Thomas Perkins (Hanover), Jack Sullivan (Newburyport), Aidan Virella (Lowell Catholic), Brock Winslow (Bishop Stang)
3B: Jason Bouffard (Swampscott), Anthony Burgess (Arlington Catholic), Colby Correia (Fairhaven), Cole Currier (Nashoba Tech), Cole Hendrickson (Hanover), Cam Kingston (Tewksbury), Ben Miller (Dighton-Rehoboth)
OF: Jacob Behn (Bishop Fenwick), Boston Bettencourt (Greater New Bedford Voke), Andrew Ferreira (Nashoba Tech), Andrew Haddigan (Southeastern), Jack Iovino (Medfield), John McDonald (Hanover), Ryuji Nawa (Weston), Brian Olson (Dover-Sherborn), Stephen Ondrick (Archbishop Williams), Jose Romano (Greater Lawrence), Riley Siereveld (South Shore Voke), Cam Soroko (Saugus), Stephen Woish (Wakefield)
Division 4-5 Players to Watch
C: Will Arsenault (Amesbury), Nate Dirado (Carver), Joey Foley (East Bridgewater), Brady Meyer (St. John Paul)
P: Jacob Bohlin (DennisYarmouth), Jared Coates (Upper Cape), Ben Conlon (Sturigs East), Dylan DiFillippo (Lynn Tech), Riley Fenerty (Salem), Luca Finton (Bourne), Troy Flood (Manchester-Essex), Gian Gamelli (Hamilton-Wenham), Matthew Griffin (O’Bryant), Finn Hyora (Monomoy), Tyler Kropis (Seekonk), Tyler Kutil (Upper Cape), Chase LaFountain (Old Colony), Jack LaSalle (Seekonk), Luc Lefevre (Cohasset), Jaden Lovell (East Bridgewater), Chris Luna (Charlestown), Jordany Mak (Charlestown), Brian Mancinelli (St. John Paul), Jack Mangone (Mystic Valley), Will McCafferty (Lynn Tech), Jackson McLane (Case), Trey McPherson (DennisYarmouth), Josuel Pena (Charlestown), Chase Robbins (Monomoy), Armanis Romero (English), John Sellon (Abington), James Sheedy (West Bridgewater), Josh Stover (Mystic Valley), Ryan Sullivan (Bourne)
1B: David Tracy (Lynnfield)
2B: Adam Gacie (Case), Liam Powers (Mystic Valley)
SS: Willy Acosta (Charlestown), Nate Baise (Ipswich), David Castillo (English), Casey Huse (Monomoy), Ayden Monteiro (Bristol Aggie), Liam Powers (Bristol Aggie), Tyler Ross (St. John Paul), Peter Silverman (Winthrop)
3B: Mario Giordano (Lynn Tech), Anthony Grabau (Lynnfield), Jordan Marcano (English), Julian Ortiz (Salem), Jack Reid (Monomoy), Tim Rosell (Mystic Valley), Isaac Strawn (Wareham)
OF: Pat Cummings (Abington), Lukas DeGuire (Mystic Valley), Sebastian Garcia (English), Derek Lopes (Carver), Logan Our (St. John Paul), Quinn Rocco Ryan (Salem), Edward Santana (O’Bryant), Ryan Triveri (Mashpee)