The Winthrop High baseball team is readying for its season opener, which is set for next Wednesday when the Vikings will make the trek to Malden to meet Mystic Valley.
Coach Frank DeMarco returns nine seniors from last year’s squad, led by captains Dan Gillis, who was a Northeastern Conference All-Star in 2018, and Miles Albert.
“Dan has been accepted to Bentley University and is planning to continue both his education and his participation in baseball at the next level,” said DeMarco. “Miles will be our catcher. He has improved every year and that is not an accident. Miles is always working on his game.
“We are fortunate to have strong leadership from both Dan and Miles,” added DeMarco.
Returning infielders for the Vikings are Angelo Robertson, Sid Albert, Dan O’Neil, Dan Gillis, Colby Dassau, and Ryan Skoczylas.
“Most of these players can play multiple positions in the infield, allowing us to create a positive and competitive competition for time on the field,” noted DeMarco.
In the outfield are seniors Andrew Love, Ryan Buccini, and Christian Natareno. Jonathan Applebee is returning to the team as well.
Rounding out the Viking varsity are returning outfielder Bobby Hubert, infielder Cam Martin, outfielder Mark Gouge, and outfielder David DiCicco.
DeMarco will have a large array of pitchers, led by Natareno and Gillis, who were 1-2 in innings pitched last year. Albert also returns for duty on the mound. Southpaws Applebee and DiCicco have shown promise. Robertson, Hubert, and Martin return with varsity pitching experience.
After Wednesday’s opener, DeMarco and his crew will play their home opener on Saturday, April 13, when they will host Boston English at 11 p.m.