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Belmont Hill

BELMONT, Ma. – “I’m just building on a really strong program.”

And doing it quite well.

“When I got here the program was in real solid shape,” explained Belmont Hill head coach Michael Grant.

Success has followed for a program that has won 15 Independent School League titles, more than any other.

Grant has done his part after replacing legendary mentor Edward Gallagher. Since taking over the program in 2011, Grant has an overall record of 130-35 and a league mark of 100-21. After finishing second his first two seasons at the helm, Belmont Hill captured three consecutive league championships in 2012-14. The Sextants have been second the last four seasons, including a 12-3 ISL record a year ago.

While there were big losses from a squad that concluded the 2018 campaign with an 18-5 overall record, the Sextants will be reloading not rebuilding in 2019.

“We return the bulk of our lineup,” pointed out Grant, including a trio of first-team all-league players from a year ago in Evan Sleight, Jake McOsker and Jaylen Bailey.

Sleight, a four-year starter and a Virginia commit, is the 10th-rated senior in New England. The 6-1 210-pound three-hole hitter bats left and plays center field for the Sextants. McOsker, a left-handed pitcher, has an 11-2 record with a 1.43 ERA and more than 100 strikeouts over the past two years. A Holy Cross commit, the 6-0 185-pounder is rated 135th in the 2019 New England class. Bailey, a left-handed hitting leadoff hitter that plays left field, is a Princeton recruit in football and baseball. The 5-10 200-pounder, who led Belmont Hill in home runs and stolen bases last season, is the 30th-ranked senior in New England.

Three other seniors give depth to a lineup that must replace key losses in Sam Rohrer, Spencer Smith and Bryan Gotti, all playing baseball in college. A right-handed pitcher now at Williams College, Rohrer was 5-0 with a 0.87 ERA. Smith, a shortstop, is playing for Northeastern while Gotti, a first baseman that led Belmont Hill in RBIs a year ago, is at Bates.

Pat Walsh, Gabe Peckler and Mike O’Brien are being counted on to be key contributors for Grant and company. Walsh, an infielder who also gives Belmont Hill more pitching depth,

Is ranked 145th in the New England 2019 class and headed to Tufts next season. Peckler, a Bowdoin recruit, is a 5-9 175-pound left-handed hitting right fielder rated 432nd in the New England 2019 class while O’Brien is a Bobson recruit that will catch for the Sextants.

“We have a good lineup, we just need to figure out a way to score against good quality arms,” Grant noted. “But we’ve got a deep lineup that should be able to swing it. I like are chances.”

One key addition is Will McFadden, a newcomer to Belmont Hill. The 6-7 220-pounder is rated 12th in New England and 53rd in the country among 2020 left-handed pitchers.

Two additional juniors that will see the field are left-handed pitcher Ben Reyes and third baseman Bennett Teceno. Reyes, a 5-9 160-pounder, is rated 118th in the New England junior class while Teceno, a 6-1 195-pounder, is ranked 48th.

“We have an experience-heavy lineup that is used to high level competition,” Grant noted. “But the arms in the ISL and New England Prep are really high-level and we tend to face most of them. We need to be able to produce runs against the top arms around.”