Prep Baseball Report

2022 Spring Team Preview: Franklin


Bruce Hefflinger and Dylan Hefflinger
PBR New England Senior Writer and Editor in Chief/Scout

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2022 New England High School Team Previews

2022 Spring Team Preview: Franklin

FRANKLIN, Ma. - A veteran team featuring four Division I commits is expected to have Franklin in the running for success in 2022.

“This year we’ll be experienced, but that alone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” warned Franklin head coach Zach Brown. “It’s got to be quality experience. But we are excited about a lot of these guys.”

It starts with the one-two pitching punch of Jacob Jette and Alfred Mucciarone, a pair of UMass-Lowell commits. Jette, the 17th-rated senior left-handed pitcher in New England, is the staff ace who will play DH or first base when not on the mound. Mucciarone is the 54th-ranked junior right-handed pitcher in New England who a year ago was the number two pitcher on a Franklin team that finished 16-2, winning its second consecutive league title before falling 5-4 to Xaverian Brothers, the eventual state champion, in the sectional finals.

Seniors Ethan Voellemicke, a southpaw, and James Kuczmiec, a righty and last year’s closer, bring additional arms to the staff as “a two-headed monster out of the pen” according to Brown.

“The top four are back that pitched the most innings last year,” noted the Franklin head coach, who is entering his ninth season at the helm of a program that won the Super 8 in 2018 while also capturing league titles in 2017, 2019 and 2021.

“The hallmark of our team is always pitching and defense,” Brown explained. “If you’re sound in both you’re going to have a shot in most games. Offensively, we just want to be dynamic in one thing, long ball or small ball. We want to do what works on that day against an opponent.”

Outfielders Chris Goode and Ryan Garety are back to propel the offense. Goode, a senior captain who plays left field, is a Merrimack signee while Garety, a junior headed to Northeastern, is the center fielder and left-handed batting leadoff hitter for the Panthers.

Eisig Chin, the fourth-rated junior outfielder in New England, is penciled in to play right field.

Jack Marino returns to play second base after leading the team in RBIs as a junior with Henry DiGiorgio the returning shortstop after becoming the first freshman at Franklin to ever start a year ago. Ben Yuknis, a sophomore who batted fifth last season, will play third with first base up in the air after the graduation of Nate Cook, an all-league player in 2021.

Also gone is catcher Jake Fitzgibbons, now playing at Hartford, with senior Joel Tirrell, last season’s backup catcher, expected to take over.

Jase Lyons, an athletic junior who played in a reserve role a year ago, will be a DH/utility player this season with a pair of sophomores, Jake Shauhnessy and Rex Cinelli, looking for playing time. Shaughnessy is the ninth-rated 2024 left-handed pitcher in New England who also plays first base while Cinelli is an outfielder/pitcher.

“I feel we have depth in terms of pitching, along with athleticism, and we can move the pieces around to avoid potential problems from an injury,” Brown said. “With a young group last year they held up well in some of the big pressurized games. I really like their level to compete and their grittiness.

“The number one keya will be staying healthy and building up the rotation properly. Hopefully, our pitching will keep us in most games and our defense is sound until our offense comes around.”

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