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Bedford

BEDFORD, N.H. - Four consecutive trips to the state championship game has Bedford and head coach Billy Chapman reloading for the 2019 campaign.

“We’ve tried to build a program that’s sustainable in terms of winning,” explained Chapman, now in his 10th year as a head coach, the last eight at Bedford. “It all starts at the freshman level all the way up to varsity. Everything is the same. We might add a few new things higher up, but the basic philosophy and mentalities stay the same.”

It has certainly worked for Chapman, with Bedford winning a state title in 2016 to go along with runner-up finishes in 2015 and the past two years.

“In 2016 we had lost 14 players (to graduation) and we went on to the state championship and won,” Chapman reflected. “This year could be like that. In terms of starters, we only have three or four back and only two started consistently. But we have a group that’s talented.”

It starts with the one-two pitching punch of senior Avery Mosseau and sophomore Zach Fletcher.

Mosseau, a 6-2 165-pound left-hander ranked 253rd in New England’s 2019 class, threw 16 innings with a 2.20 ERA picking up two wins during a 21-2 season a year ago by the Bulldogs. Mosseau, whose brother Geoff is redshirting at St. John’s after winning eight games for Bedford last year, is a Saint Anselm commit and will play outfield or DH and bat in the middle of the lineup when not on the mound. He hit two home runs a year ago.

Fletcher, the 33rd-ranked 2021 left-handed pitcher in the country, batted .280 with a .514 on-base percentage as a sophomore. The 6-2 165-pounder, the seventh-rated sophomore in New England who is getting looks from the likes of Connecticut and Maryland according to Chapman, will also play outfield in addition to pitching.

Trevor Anibal is a junior captan that will see time at shortstop, second base and pitcher. The leadoff hitter, whose brother plays at Endicott, batted .338 with 26 runs scored and a .477 on-base percentage last season.

Sophomore Michael Pratt, a left-handed hitting outfielder rated 248th in the 2021 class, is a newcomer looking to make some noise. Another is sophomore catcher Kyle Lavigne, whose brother Grant, the 2016 and 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year in New Hampshire, was the 42nd selection in last year’s MLB Draft and signed with the Rockies.

“We have some young, hard-working athletes,” Chapman said. “That also presents some weaknesses. There is some uncertainty with a lot to prove with a young and inexperienced team. We need to take it one pitch at a time.”

With Portsmouth, Glasstown and Windham all moving up to Division I, Chapman knows the challenges ahead.

“Exeter (which beat Bedford in the state finals the last two seasons), like us, is a talented team, Pinkerton has a lot of players back and Bishop Guertin does as well,” Chapman noted. “The keys to success for us is starting pitching. If Avery, Zach and Trevor call all throw strikes and not give up free passes we’ll be alright. With hitting, we need to attack the fastball and not try to do too much.

“We’ll play a little small ball,” Chapman added. “We need to be more of a contact-hitting team this year. If we have a good approach at the plate, we’ll have good success.”