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2022 New England High School Team Previews

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2022 Spring Team Preview: Smithfield

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - There is a lot to like about the 2022 edition of Smithfield baseball.

It starts with pitching led by a trio of seniors - Matt Belleavoine, Zac Lavalle and Luca Maiello. Belleavoine, a Saint Anselm commit ranked 11th among 2022 first basemen in New England, was first-team All-State a year ago when the Sentinels went 9-4, winning a division championship before losing in the quarterfinals of the tournament to Central. Lavalle and Maiello, a Anna Maria College signee, both throw right-handed like Belleavoine, who hits from the left side.

Juniors Jordan Hurst, Nick Collins and Chris Lopez bring depth to the staff. 

“All are very cool, calm and collected,” Smithfield assistant coach Tyler Duffy said about the pitchers on the squad of head coach Jimmy Connell. “They don’t get rattled. They’re very accurate, they hit their spots and do a great job of getting ahead in counts.”

Senior Jack Dwyer, a St. Thomas Aquinas College commit, and junior shortstop Bradyn Shadoian are other returning starters for Smithfield.

“I like the tenacity with this team, they’re always fired up and always giving 100 percent effort,” Duffy related. “We have a lot of new guys, so offensively we have a lot of work to do, but our defense is phenomenal making the basic plays and laying out on tough plays. They’re very gritty.”

Lopez is expected to lead off and play third base with Shadoian batting second. Dwyer, “who has a great approach at the plate” according to Duffy, is slated to hit third and play left with Belleavoine the cleanup hitter, who belted three home runs last year, at first or pitching. Senior utility player Nick Tsonas will bat fifth and play second, short, catcher or first.

Four juniors will fill out the bottom of the order with second baseman Ryan Kennedy batting sixth followed by Hurst in center field, Collins in right and Ryan Flynn behind the plate.

“We’re going to struggle offensively,” admitted Duffy. “We have a lot of new guys that are new to varsity baseball, so putting the ball in play will be a challenge.

“For us the key will be making the basic plays defensively and mentally being sharp,” Duffy continued. “Timely hitting will be important. When we get guys on base we have to drive them in if we want to make a run at this.”

But the Smithfield assistant is confident that a program that won the Division 2 state championship in 2004 is up to the challenge 18 years later.

“The season is going to be a grind and we’ll be in a lot of close games,” Duffy said. “It’s going to come down to a lot of one-run games. But if we come together as a unit and believe in each guy, if we do all that, we’ll be very successful.”

 

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