St. John’s Prep returns two of its top pitchers

Ernie Banks, the legendary Chicago Cubs shortstop, famously said once, “It’s a great day for baseball, let’s play two.”The St. John’s Prep baseball team did just that in a doubleheader scrimmage against Lincoln-Sudbury on Saturday, which lasted a combined 16 innings (8 innings for each scrimmage), going from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.”We were still looking at a lot of pitchers,” Eagles coach Pat Yanchus said.That is one luxury for the Prep this season, as it returns two of its top hurlers from 2009 in Patrick Connaughton and Nick Fabrizio. Connaughton, the team’s No. 2 starter and third baseman last year, will lead the staff this season. Fabrizio, a Peabody resident who compiled a 4-1 record as the third starter in 2009, is back for 2010.The Eagles will start their regular season against Fabrizio’s hometown, Peabody, at the Bro. Linus Complex on April 6.”I always try to win the (Catholic Conference),” Yanchus said. “If we don’t win the conference, we’ll try for a winning record and win some games in the states.”St. John’s won quite a few games in the state tournament last season, going 3-1. The Eagles reached the Division 1 North final, where they lost to Gloucester. St. John’s finished the year with an 18-6 record.The Prep has four captains for 2010: Connaughton, Fabrizio, Kevin Barry and Lynnfield resident Alex Markakis. Barry is currently sidelined with an ankle injury (he might have torn a ligament). Last year, he played third base when Connaughton pitched and saw some time at shortstop. Markakis was both a second baseman and a DH in 2009, and is playing second now.”A lot of guys who backed up last year are moving into positions,” Yanchus said. “There’s competition for starting spots in places. The first half of the season will be (used) to get our lineup set. We don’t have a lot of returnees in the lineup. Starting positions aren’t set in stone.”Others back from last season include catcher Tyler Coppola, who split time behind the plate in 2009, and outfielder Dylan Gonzalez, who homered in the state tournament in a win over his hometown of Beverly.The Eagles’ 20-game regular-season schedule will include a new opponent this season in Everett. The Eagles and Crimson Tide may be strangers in baseball, but the schools’ football teams are old acquaintances. In baseball, Yanchus said, “I think they’re pretty good. They’re in the playoffs quite a bit.”As for the Prep’s conference slate, the coach said, “It’s so balanced. Just every game’s a battle. It’s a wooden-bat league, which tends to make the games closer.”He noted that Catholic Memorial has two good pitchers back, while Malden Catholic has three. As for state titles, conference teams have won seven in the past decade: BC High (3, including last season after eliminating Gloucester in the state semifinals); St. John’s (2); and MC and Xaverian (1 each). St. John’s of Shrewsbury, a team that is on all the Catholic Conference squads’ schedules, has also won a state title.”That’s what our league is like,” Yanchus said, “very strong up and down.”NOTES: Several Prep alums are enjoying successful baseball careers in other venues. Vanderbilt freshman Mike Yastrzemski is a starting centerfielder for the Commodores, while Matt Antonelli is in the San Diego Padres’ Triple-A system. “He had a good spring training, but they still sent him back to Triple-A,” Yanchus said. Antonelli was on the Padres’ September call-up roster several years ago.