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South Burlington

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Three juniors will lead the way this season as South Burlington looks to make a repeat. The Wolves finished 15-5 last year, beating Colchester in the Division I state finals.

“We were deep with pitching,” head coach Luke Goyetti said about the 2018 South Burlington team. “Eight graduated from that team, a lot of solid kids.”

However, three key contributors are back led by 6-0 195-pound right-handed pitcher Jack Ambrosino. The 66th-ranked 2020 in New England, a Division I recruit, was 4-2 last season with 44 strikeouts and 15 walks.

Catcher Seamus McGrath and middle infielder Nolan Antonicii, a second baseman a year ago who batted .400, are other vital returnees for Goyetti’s Wolves.

“Our strength last year was depth,” Goyetti said. “This year we have to teach the game again to get them up to speed.”

The biggest lost from a year ago is Samuel Premsagar, a shortstop who was the Metro League Player of the Year.

“The first thing we need to have happen this year is guys working together,” noted Goyetti, who is looking for help from the likes of sophomore catcher/third baseman Raymond Cheung. “If we’re not all going in the same direction we’re not going to succeed. Defense and pitching will be the key to our success.”

And success is something South Burlington has experienced this century. The program won a state title in 2005 when Goyetti was in his first year with the Wolves as a middle school coach. Two years later, when Goyetti was the junior varsity coach, South Burlington claimed another state crown.

Goyetti took over the program in 2010, with last year’s crown the first under his leadership. The Wolves are 102-61 in his eight years in charge of the Wolves.

“When I first started we had guys that played other sports and just played baseball,” Goyetti reflected. “Now we have baseball guys that not only play in the spring but also are committed in the summer. We have more kids that appreciate the game now and want to learn about it instead of just playing for two months.”

Goyetti looks forward to another season with conference play strong once more.

“The league is pretty competitive again,” noted Goyetti, pointing to bigger schools Champlain Valley and Essex as teams to watch in a league now consisting of all Division I teams. “I don’t know if there is one dominating team this year, but I think we’ll be in the mix.”

A five seed in the tournament a year ago, Goyetti feels last season can only benefit the 2019 squad.

“We have guys with experience playing in the finals,” Goyetti said. “That should help us a lot.”