Follow @pbrnewengland

Interested in attending a PBR New England event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

To view the commitment tracker, click here.
To view the uncommitted spotlights, click here.

Colchester

COLCHESTER, Vt. - Tom Perry begins his 12th season at the helm of the Colchester baseball program with an optimistic look. And why not, since taking over the Lakers Perry has led teams to four state semifinals and one final.

“The key is having baseball players,” noted Perry, whose team finished 16-4 a year ago losing in the state championship game to South Burlington. “The coaches set up a system to help out the kids.”

It certainly has worked and Perry hopes the 2019 campaign is no different.

“The kids had such a great experience last year, we only want to build on that,” Perry said. “All the excitement makes it fun. To me, the challenge ahead is when you hit adversity. How do we handle that moment?”

If senior leadership has anything to do with it, Colchester may not have a lot of adversity in the coming season. Five important clogs in last year’s lineup are back for their final year in the royal blue-and-green uniforms.

“The majority of players that made a major impact last year are back,” Perry pointed out. “We lost one kid who is going to Southern Maine (Tom Vesosky, Metro League Pitcher of the Year) and a bunch of role players. This will be the first senior-heavy team we’ve had in a long time.”

Saul Minaya is expected to take over as the number one pitcher for the Lakers. The Franklin Pierce middle infield commit was all-conference a year ago after going 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA.

Catcher Lucas McClanahan (.250), infielders Eben Provost (.323) and Justin Dattilio (.298) and outfielder Tyler Daniels, a Keen recruit who hit .364 and played second base a year ago, give Perry experience back with the ability to hit. McClanahan, a 5-11 185-pounder ranked 505th in the New England 2019 class, is being recruited by Colby-Sawyer College and Keen according to Perry.

Junior outfielder/pitcher Chase Carey (top average on team at .509) is another veteran back for Colchester after earning first-team league honors a year ago along with Dattilio and Minaya. Daniels and Provost were both honorable mention.

“We have a solid lineup,” Perry said. “If you look at our first seven, I think all of them are really good hitters.

“I also like our chemistry. After competing for the highest level and falling short, a lot of them are excited to take another shot at that.”

There are concerns, however, for Perry.

“Beyond Minoya our pitching is touch and go,” Perry said. “We have four or five pitchers, but I’m not sure the quality all the way down. We also are replacing our entire outfield, so I’m not sure how we’ll be out there.”

As usual, the battle for league supremacy will be a good one.

“It’s always a solid league,” Perry noted. “Year in and year out it’s the best in Vermont. Some of the teams are always good. Every year you’re thinking the same way, try to compete your best and see what happens.

“If we can find some pitching depth and play solid defense in the league we can be right up there. Anything else is refinement.”