LINCOLN – Even though nearly half of the ball club is brand new, it seems like the Upper Deck Post 86/14 American Legion baseball team is picking up where it left off last summer.
The defending state champions raised their Senior Division record to 9-1 (6-1 in league play) on Monday night at Chet Nichols Field by picking up a 9-0 triumph over Bishop Hendricken’s Senerchia Post 74 squad, a game that saw Lincoln’s Trevor Marques pitch a no-hitter and his team avenge its only loss of the season.
“I’m pleased with our 9-1 record,” Upper Deck manager Steve Reynolds said after the win. “I think we could be better, but I can’t complain. I think we’re picking up a little steam at a good point of the season, so hopefully, we can keep things moving.”
Marques, who recently graduated from Lincoln High, where he was named this year’s Outstanding Male Athlete, is one of eight newcomers on Upper Deck’s 18-player roster, which contains five players who were the captains of their high school teams and another five who finished their freshman seasons playing college baseball.
Some of the big names back from last season’s team, which went 38-7 and was two victories away from capturing the Northeast Regionals in Bristol, Conn., are middle infielders Josh Brodeur (who was named Cumberland High’s Athlete of the Year) and Tyler Calabro, right fielder Tyler Walsh, outfielder-pitcher Ryan O’Neill, and starting pitcher Alex Levin.
“Calabro and Brodeur have been here for four years,” reported Reynolds. “They were starting for us when they were 15. Not too many guys play four or five years of Legion, that’s for sure.”
In Monday night’s game with Senerchia, Brodeur batted in the leadoff spot of the lineup, while Calabro and Walsh, who wrapped up their freshman seasons at Wheaton, hit second and third. Walsh was tied for second on the Lynx in runs batted in with 30 this spring.
Batting cleanup and fifth were two of the team’s top newcomers, Cam St. Amand, a Cumberland native and a senior-to-be at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass., and Chris Wright, who recently graduated from Cumberland and will continue his baseball career at Bryant University.
“Cam played for us a couple of years ago,” added Reynolds. “He’s a catcher and first baseman and a big left-handed bat. He’s actually committed to another team this summer, but he’s going to be here for about 10 games. And Chris Wright is a big pickup. He’s one of our top pitchers, and he’s another big bat.”
O’Neill and Rhode Island College catcher Jake Petrin, who along with Walsh, are the 19-year-olds on the roster, are also in the lineup, as are outfielder-pitcher Ryan Hanuven, who sported a 2.59 ERA and a 1-0 record in nine relief appearances with Roger Williams University this spring, and Nate Donovan, who can also play second base and shortstop.
Donovan and Marques, who “gives us another big left-handed bat,” added Reynolds, are two more newcomers, and also included in that group are Cumberland High southpaw reliever Nick Crowe, outfielder Drew Szafranski, pitcher-infielder Mike Bogolowski, and Lincoln High corner infielder Steve Andrews, who is another “big left-handed bat who has had a pinch-hit home run and a game-winning double for us already,” added Reynolds.
Of the other returnees, catcher-outfielder Jason Doris is back after spending his freshman year playing for Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vt., and so are pitchers Ryan Brehio and Dom Cunha, who are also key arms on a deep pitching staff.
“We have six or seven guys that we can give the ball to as starters,” added Reynolds. “We’ll have to start to trim that down once we hit New York (for the Cooper’s Cave Tournament from July 5-10 in Saratoga Springs), and once we do that, our bullpen will get stronger.”
Upper Deck’s pitching staff was on full display during a five-game, eight-day stretch that was wrapped up by Marques’ masterpiece on Monday night. Marques, who will continue his baseball career at Wheaton next spring, struck out six and walked just two in his gem, and only one runner advanced as far as second base off him.
Offensively, Upper Deck did all its scoring late, tallying four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, a pair in the fifth, and three more in the sixth. Brodeur collected two hits and St. Amand delivered a run-scoring double and walked twice.
Prior to that game, and a 13-3 non-league victory over Schnectady, N.Y., the previous day, Upper Deck picked up a pair of victories over Providence, the first one coming by an 18-7 score and the latter being a closer 5-0 game that saw O’Neill blank Providence on two hits and throw just 69 pitches.
In the first game, Calabro collected three hits, two of them doubles, and Doris had two singles and a double, and in the rematch, Walsh drove in the first run with a first-inning double and Calabro added a bases-loaded triple in the second.
On June 21, Upper Deck suffered its loss to Senerchia in a game that saw Post 74 grab a 5-1 lead after two innings of play by taking advantage of five hits and four walks. Donovan’s RBI single in the second and Marques’ two-run homer in the seventh accounted for Post 86/14’s runs.
Upper Deck is back in action on Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. contest at Warwick Vets High against New England Frozen Lemonade-Shields Post 43, and before the locals leave for New York to defend their Cooper’s Cave tournament title next week, they will take on two difficult opponents in South Kingstown Post 39 and La Salle Academy’s Senior Division team.
“We have some tough games coming up,” added Reynolds. “But our goal is obviously to get back to the championship. With what we had last year, we don’t really talk much about it, but I know the veteran guys have spoken and I know they have some goals that they set.”
Town:
Lincoln
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Cumberland, Lincoln area
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Upper Deck Post 86/14 pitcher Trevor Marques was the player of the game in his team’s 9-0 win over Senerchia Post 74 on Monday night at Chet Nichols Field. The Lincoln High graduate, who will attend Wheaton College this fall, threw a no-hitter that saw him strike out six batters, walk two, and allow just one runner to advance as far as second base. (Breeze photo by Eric Benevides)
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ERIC BENEVIDES, Valley Breeze Sports Editor
Defending American Legion state champions storm out to 9-1 start
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sports@valleybreeze.com
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