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2022 New England High School Team Previews

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2022 Spring Team Preview: Dexter

BROOKLINE, Ma. - If pitching comes around, it could be another stellar season for Dexter in 2022, which a year ago finished 14-2.

“Our lineup is well balanced and we will have dangerous hitters up and down the order,” noted assistant coach Brian LaRochelle.

Vanderbilt commit Ivan Arias, the third-rated senior shortstop in New England, headlines an impressive group of returnees along with infielder Matt Hatfield, first-baseman/outfielder Ryan Grundy and catchers Matt Conte and Eddie Morrissey other position players back.

Hatfield, a Fordham football signee, averaged .333 while scoring 11 runs last season. The left-handed hitting Grundy, the number one-rated junior first baseman in New England, hit .447  with 20 RBIs a year ago. Conte, a Wake Forest recruit ranked 17th in the nation behind the plate among sophomores, averaged .333 with four doubles and seven RBIs while Morrisey, a left-handed hitting sophomore, hit .393 while driving in eight a year ago.

Damon Alexander and Dante Pavone are the top returning pitchers for Dexter, which lost three key components from a year ago including Josh Baez, the 54th pick in last season’s MLB Draft by the Cardinals. Griffin Cofsky, currently at Babson College, and Zak Thomas, now at Quinnipiac, are others that graduated.

Alexander, an outfielder/pitcher who had a 1.057 OPS and the top returning pitcher in innings and strikeouts, is a Bentley commit while Pavone, the 73rd-ranked junior RHP in New England, is a Bucknell recruit.

“We lost almost 70 percent of our innings pitched from last year’s team, but we like our staff,” LaRochelle said. “Everyone will be adjusting to a larger role.”

Help is on the way from a host of newcomers including pitchers Andrew Middleton, the seventh-rated 2023 LHP in New England, junior John Hernandez, sophomore Dillon James and freshman Chase Hartsell.

Juniors Austin Hartsell and Matthew Lussier, a pair of left-handed hitters, bring additional talent to the program. Hartsell, the fourth-rated 2023 shortstop in New England, is a Boston College recruit while  Lussier, the 14th-ranked junior outfielder in New England, is a Fairfield commit.

“We have a good mix of new and experienced players,” LaRochelle explained. “We spent a week in Florida in mid-March and we can tell that we have a team that is not only going to compete but have a lot of fun while doing so. I like our infield defense and depth. We have lots of athletes who can play multiple positions so we can mix and match lineups. We’re solid up the middle - we have two experienced varsity catchers and Lussier should capably man center field. Arias and Austin Hartsell are among the better infielders in our area.

“The key is to get our pitchers experience and confidence on the prep level. James and Hernandez threw significant innings at their former schools, and Chase Hartsell is ready to compete for innings as a ninth grader.

“We’ll need to do a good job producing runs situationally against the better arms in our league,” continued LaRochelle. “Baez, Thomas, and Cofsky were big offensive producers last year, and will be missed. But we like the versatility of our offensive attack this year. We can mix and match lefty and righty bats and have a lot of guys who can force the action with their legs.”

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