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2020 VT Spring Team Preview - Rice Memorial

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The top five players from last season have graduated, including the best hitter and pitcher from a 10-6 squad.

“We still have a lot of starters back defensively in the outfield and up the middle,” pointed out Rice Memorial head coach Jamie Merchant. “We should be able to pitch the ball pretty well.”

A trio of returnees headline this year’s squad.

Sophomore left-hander Tanner Wolpert is expected to be the ace of the staff this season with senior righty Alex Messinio next in line on the mound. Wolpert will be in center field when not pitching while Messinio is back at shortstop.

Helping up the middle is the return of senior second baseman Ethan Fischer, a .333 hitter for Rice Memorial a year ago.

Depth on the mound will come from senior J.B. Bahrenburg, a right-handed outfielder/pitcher, and junior Garrett Cardin, a left-handed first baseman/pitcher. Another newcomer being counted on by Merchant is senior catcher/third baseman Ted Sheahan.

“Catching and hitting are the biggest concerns,” noted Merchant, who must replace the likes of Griffin McDermott, an RHP/first baseman who led last season’s team in batting at .432, and pitcher Matt Guyette, who had a 5-2 record a year ago.

“We’re going to be a lot younger than the last few years,” explained Merchant, whose team lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2019. “Staying healthy will be one of the keys. We’ve already lost a couple guys with injuries in basketball, one with an ACL and the other a broken ankle.”

The sixth-year head coach has had success during his time in charge of the program, winning back-to-back state championships in 2014 and 2015.

“We run a college-style program,” noted Merchant. “We try to get kids ready as much as we can to go on to college. We play the game the right way with a lot of hustle. We’re all about team.”

Merchant looks at Champlain Valley as the team to beat again this season in the state.

“You always gauge yourself on how you do against them,” Merchant said.