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Milton Academy

MILTON, Ma. -  For the first time in the tenure of Matt Petherick, Milton Academy finished with a losing record. But that was 2018.

The 11th-year head coach of the Mustangs is looking for that to change in 2019.

“A lot had to do with the overall strength of the league and we also had three of our top four pitchers down at some point,” explained Petherick, whose squad finished 6-9. “Excuses aside, we were in a lot of games but didn’t come through and that lies with the coaching staff.”

Four college commits lead the way for Petherick and company this spring, including Northeastern recruits James Quinlivan and Ryan Cervone. At 6-7 and 200 pounds, Quinlivan is the second-ranked senior left-handed pitcher in New England while Cervone, a left-handed hitting center fielder and three-year starter for the Mustangs, is “one of the best pure hitters around” according to Petherick.

More talent comes in the way of Peter Sakellaris, a 6-0 185-pound right-hander rated 63rd in the 2019 class, and Vicker Deigradio, a two-time captain at Milton who bats leadoff.

“For us, when he goes we go,” Petherick said of the all-league performer a year ago. “He’s a great team leader.”

The two biggest losses from a year ago are catcher Liam Kennedy, now at Brandeis University, and third baseman Ethan Murphy, now at Division III Hamilton College.

“The strength of this team is the senior class, providing we stay healthy,” Petherick noted. “We’re hoping our pitching is strong.

“The biggest concern is staying healthy. We don’t have a ton of depth after the top 12. There’s a drop off, especially on the pitching mound.”

Three newcomers expected to play prominent roles this year are Boston College commit Sam McNulty, a 6-1 185-pound sophomore shortstop rated 11th in the 2021 class in New England, Ethan Hillenberg, a sophomore catcher, and Sam McGregor, a junior pitcher.

“We look for him to have a bigger role on the mound this year,” Petherick explained about McGregor, a 6-1 200-pound right-hander  “He’s up to 87 so we hope he’s a big part of the rotation.”

Both corner infield and one outfield positions are up for grabs at Milton, with four or five players in the running for the three spots according to the head coach.

“We play in an incredibly difficult league,” Petherick pointed out about the Prep School League. “Out of 15 games, we face nine to 12 Division I arms. Our expectation is to finish in the top third out of 16 teams.

“But what we want to do is just go out and compete hard, get better and get the kids exposure and ready to play at the next level. We’ve got a lot of talent on paper, but we were 6-9 last year.”

So what are the keys for success?

“Depth on the mound is a big one,” Petherick noted. “We’re look for a fourth and fifth after the top three. Finding a little pop in the lineup is another key. We’ll have to play more small ball this year to generate runs.”