Div. 3

Austin Prep’s departure to the NEPSAC after rolling to an undefeated season and the Div. 3 state title last year has left a void that many MIAA schools are hoping to fill.

One team who has to be considered a contender is Newburyport. The Clippers advanced to the state finals where they gave Austin Prep all it could handle before falling, 2-1. Harvard-bound Owen Tahnk will be a force on the mound and when he’s playing first base. Charlie Forrest is an experienced arm and Connor Stick returns at second.

Pitcher Hayden Bessette and shortstop Benjamin Miller are the top returnees for a Dighton-Rehoboth team which advanced to the Div. 3 state semifinals. UMass-Lowell-bound third baseman Sean O’Leary and pitcher Nolan Gordon are among the key players back for state semifinalist Foxboro.

Medfield has been a Div. 3 power the past two seasons and pitcher Jack Collins and catcher Scott Donahue lead a group hoping to maintain the recent tradition of excellence. Aiden Cardoza figures to be one of the top pitchers in the Catholic Central League, while catcher Ryan Jones is back in the fold. Pitcher/first baseman Zach Morris returns for Gloucester.

Others looking to crack the upper echelon are East Bridgewater, Norwell, Middleboro, Ashland and Dedham.

Manchester-Essex simply knows how to win in the postseason as evidenced by their strong postseason run to another Div. 4 state title. Catcher Mike Deoreo, outfielder Henry Otterbein and third baseball Troy Flood will provide the offense, while a slew of young arms should provide the Hornets with quality innings.

The Cape Ann League is one of the perennial better leagues around and in addition to Manchester-Essex, watch for Hamilton-Wenham and Amesbury. Sophomore ace Gian Gamelli and outfielder Connor McClintock are back for the Generals, while Amesbury will look to outfielders Drew Scialdone and Trevor Kimball.

Boston English should be the team to beat in the Boston City League as pitchers David Castillo and Nanfer Duarte, middle infielders Justin Peguero (Dayton commit) and David Ballenila and catcher Braylin Gonzalez return. Shawsheen will look to pitcher Aiden McLeod, shortstop Mavrick Boudreau and first baseman Mike Maselli.

Seekonk had a storybook run to the Div. 4 state finals and have pitcher Kevin Crowe and third baseman Jaden Arruda back. Case advanced to the quarterfinals and will rely on third baseman Jacob Poitras and shortstop Adam Gracie.

Over in the South Shore League, Abington has catcher Spencer Merrick and pitcher Steve Madded back, while Mashpee returns shortstop Colton Colleran, second baseman Robert Ryder and first baseman Sean Fancher.

Bourne should be among the top EMass competitors for a Div. 5 state title. Back for the Canalmen are pitchers Chris Klueber, Luca Finton and Damon White. Others to watch include state finalist Georgetown, Rockland and St. John Paul.

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN DIV. 3

P: Dylan Amaral (Diman), Hayden Bessette (Dighton-Rehoboth), Jack Birtwell (Norwell), Aiden Cardoza (Bishop Stang), Jack Collins (Medfield), Colby Correia (Fairhaven), Nick Cross (Weston), Charlie Forrest (Newburyport), Luke Gomes (Fairhaven), Nolan Gordon (Foxboro), Jared Graca (Southeastern), Jimmy Hanney (Dedham), Austin Harper (Wilmington), Gabe Knudsen (Hanover), Jaden Lovell (East Bridgewater), Harry Lynch (Essex Tech), Tyler Nelson (Arlington Catholic), Orlando Justino (Latin Academy), Trevor Kamuda (Pentucket), Ty Letichevsky (Ashland), James McConnell (Greater Lawrence), Cam Napior (Martha’s Vineyard), Ray McNaught (East Bridgewater), Luis Ortiz (East Boston), Brennan Shapiro (Latin Academy), Jake Torpey (Greater Lowell), Justin Tullish (Middleboro), Nate Tullish (Middleboro), Colin Wilbur (Bristol-Plymouth), Casey Williams (Watertown)

C: Byron Bell (Diman), Eddie Correia (Bristol-Plymouth), Scott Donahue (Medfield), Ryan Jones (Bishop Stang), Mitchell Norkevicius (Sandwich), Nate Rodrigues (Greater New Bedford), Kyle Ventura (Pentucket)

1B: Zach Morris (Gloucester), Brian Olson (Dover-Sherborn), Owen Tahnk (Newburyport), Nick Villano (Bishop Fenwick)

2B: Anthony Musto (Southeastern), Connor Stick (Newburyport)

SS: Alex Carucci (North Reading), Aidan Hassey (Fairhaven), Nathan Levesque (Apponequet), Benjamin Miller (Dighton-Rehoboth), Joel Valera (East Boston)

3B: Cam Cabral (Greater New Bedford), Connor Cowern (Ashland), Sean O’Leary (Foxboro)

OF: Costa Beechin (Bishop Fenwick), Aidan Blake (Pembroke), Joseph Celli (Stoneham), Alex Gentile (Lynnfield), Anthony Jorajuria (Weston), Griffin Link (Norwell), Devin Rocheleau (Greater Lowell), Jack Shapiro (Latin Academy)

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN DIV. 4/5

P: Tim Adams (St. John Paul), Hunter Alten (St. John Paul), Christian Bates (West Bridgewater), Braden Brophy (Wareham), Tavis Burns (O’Bryant), David Castillo (Boston English), Morenel Castro (KIPP), Andrew Clifford (Monomoy), Kevin Crowe (Seekonk), Ruben Diaz (Snowden), Nanfer Duarte (Boston English), Luca Finton (Bourne), Gian Gamelli (Hamilton-Wenham), Matthew Griffin (O’Bryant), James Hereford (Sturgis West), Chris Klueber (Bourne), Carter Lucido (Georgetown), Aiden MacLeod (Shawsheen), Steve Madden (Abington), Ryan Maiorano (Bellingham), Eoin McDonagh (Blue Hills), Joseph McGrath (Northeast), Matt McGuiggan (Old Colony), Sean McNamara (Lowell Catholic), Patrick O’Rourke (Upper Cape), Damon White (Bourne), Ian White (Rockland), Josh Wiggin (Cape Cod Tech)

C: Mike Deoreo (Manchester-Essex), Braylin Gonzalez (Boston English), Chanel Gutierrez (KIPP), Colin Kinsella (Winthrop), Spencer Merrick (Abington), Argelis Nunez (Nantucket), Brady Prindle (Lowell Catholic)

1B: Sean Fancher (Mashpee), Mike Maselli (Shawsheen), Will McCafferty (Lynn Tech), Joshua Stover (Mystic Valley)

2B: Michael Murphy (Rockport), Robert Ryder (Mashpee), Connor Travis (Bishop Connolly)

SS: David Ballenila (Boston English), Mavrick Bourdeau (Shawsheen), Colton Colleran (Mashpee), Adam Gracie (Case), Tyler Kutil (Upper Cape), Colin Lynch (Nantucket), Justin Peguero (Boston English), Edward Santana (O’Bryant). Peter Silverman (Winthrop), Jamison Steck (Sturgis East)

3B: Jaden Arruda (Seekonk), Alberto Curet (Charlestown), Troy Flood (Manchester-Essex), Luc Nivaud (Cohasset), Jacob Poitras (Case), Drew Raphel (West Bridgewater), Yonael Valerio (Snowden)

OF: Eamon Godzik (Rising Tide), Jack Guelli (Rockport), Finn Hyora (Monomoy), Trevor Kimball (Amesbury), Anthony Lum (Tri-County), Connor McClintock (Hamilton-Wenham), Henry Otterbein (Manchester-Essex), Drew Scialdone (Amesbury)

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