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Burr & Burton Hoping To Continue Tradition Of Success

MANCHESTER, Vt. - Ed Lewicki has led Burr & Burton Academy to a pair of state championship game appearances with one title in five years at the helm of the program.

While there was hope last year of making another strong tournament run, this year is filled with questions after the cancellation of the 2020 campaign.

“We only have two players back,” pointed out Lewicki. “I’ve been together with the coaching staff for five years now, but the freshmen and sophomores this year we’ve not seen in a high school setting. Some of the sophomores are pretty talented and we would have been able to watch them last year but that didn’t happen. It’s a big learning curve so we’ll have to see.”

Senior outfielder Brandon Burns and junior catcher Will Addington, a DH in 2019 who batted .300, are the lone returnees from two years ago when Burr & Burton last took the field for a regular-season high school game.

“We’re looking at them to provide leadership,” Lewicki said of the two lettermen back.

Talent is not lacking in the eyes of the Burr & Burton head coach, however, highlighted by sophomore Trevor Green, a left-handed pitcher and first baseman.

“He’s very athletic,” Lewicki related. “He’s one of the best athletes at the school. He’s 6-5 and the upside on the mound is huge.”

Still, Green has not been in varsity action and that brings concerns at the vital position on the mound.

“Our issue is going to be pitching,” Lewicki pointed out. “Last year that would have been a strong point with two senior pitchers. This year it’s going to be by committee.”

Junior Coleman Reece and sophomore Nathan Snilko are promising middle infielders according to the Burr & Burton head coach along with junior Ian McArdle, a pitcher/MIF/OF, and freshman catcher Danny Scarlotta. Reece is the 37th-ranked 2022 second baseman in New England while McArdle is the 30th-rated junior second baseman.

Another player to watch is senior left-handed pitcher Sammy Steinman, a move-in from New York.

“We’re certainly athletic,” Lewicki assessed about this year’s team. “I think we can be athletic at every position. Historically, we’ve hit well and been able to manufacture runs and play defense. The weakness this year is we don’t have an ace. Hopefully, we have somebody that can emerge as an ace.”

After the difficulty of missing the 2020 season, Lewicki has high praise for today’s student-athletes.

“With everything that has gone on with missing a season and the kids fighting to be in school and not in school, I like the enthusiasm and that they’re willing to do everything they can this year to have a season,” Lewicki explained. “I coach hockey and it amazes me that the kids keep such a great attitude when they’re going through things that nobody has gone through before … like masks and checking temperatures. I have so much respect for high school kids across the country.”

The hope is the 2021 season is a memorable one.

“We’ve built a tradition of winning baseball and trying to compete with some of the much bigger schools in other parts of the state,” Lewicki concluded. “We want to keep that up.”

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