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Dexter

BROOKLINE, Ma. - After winning the small school state championship three years in a row, Dexter School is facing a huge challenge in 2019.

“We’ve joined a new league, the Central New England Baseball League,” explained head coach Dan Donato. “I think it’s the best baseball league in New England. We’re the only non-postgraduate school in the league, but I like to challenge our kids and this is the best way to do it. It will be better for our kids to see front-line pitchers.”

Dexter, whose most famous alum is the 35th president of the United States John F. Kennedy, has the talent to do that with four key returnees that will be college bound after this season.

Josh Richardson, a Yale commit who pitched in the state championship game a year ago, headlines the staff after going 6-1 with a 1.32 ERA in 2018. Right-hander Ben Mlavsky, a 6-2 200-pounder ranked 152nd in New England’s senior class, is a Union College recruit and gives Dexter another strong arm.

Left-handed hitting right fielder Bobby Pearl, who will play hockey and baseball at Bowden, batted .410 a year ago and returns. First baseman Tyler Gray, a 6-2 215-pound right-hander, is committed to West Point.

“We have some good pitching and hope to be a factor in the league, but we don’t want to set the bar too high,” admitted Donato, a 12th-year head coach at the school who played baseball for five years in the Yankees organization and one with the Rays.

Big shoes to fill include the loss of RHP Anthony Loricco, now a pitcher at Army, two players now at Trinity and a starting catcher.

The return of junior outfielder Daniel Donato, the head coach’s son, will help ease the losses. The 6-3 215-pounder, a D-I college football recruit at wide receiver, hit .350 a year ago starting every game for Dexter.

Two other juniors are also expected to play important roles in catcher Evan Gibb and middle infielder Francisco Rodriguez. Sophomore Griffin Cofsky, a 6-2 165-pounder ranked third in his class among LHP in New England, will also be a contributor. Boston College and Virginia Tech have shown interest in Cofsky, an outfielder when not on the hill.

“We had a tremendous year last year going 17-2-1 and winning the small school state championship,” Donato said. “We were 22-0 two years ago, the second unbeaten ever at our school. We were the number one ranked team in New England.

“But this year will be a challenge. We lost a good senior class and are in the new league. We’re going to need to be mentally tough enough to make plays in the new league. Good defense is a big key for us. Richardson throws 84-87, he’s a ground ball guy. If we defend and throw strikes and manufacture runs, we’ll be right there.”