DANVERS — St. John’s Prep baseball coach Dan Letarte has high expectations as the Eagles step into a new season — and he has plenty of reasons to.
The Eagles return a multitude of Division I commits on offense and defense, most of which have big game experience from last season’s Division 1A “Super 8” run.
On their pitching staff alone, the Eagles return four Division I commits. On offense, senior captains Tyler MacGregor, who batted .424 with four home runs and 30 RBI last spring, and Jacob Bolger, who posted a .354 average last season, both return to anchor the lineup. Add it all together and things are looking good for St. John’s.
“I feel we’re going to be solid on offense,” Letarte, in his fifth season as head coach at St. John’s, said. “Even with some of the new guys that are stepping into the lineup, I feel really good. I don’t see much of a drop-off from where we were last season. I’d say our biggest question mark is the outfield. We’re looking for some guys to step up in the outfield.
“I feel really strongly about the pitching,” Letarte added. “We have tons of experience and a lot of Super 8 innings. All of our returners had a win last season. We have a lot of kids trying out this week and I’m really excited about the pitching. This is probably the strongest pitching depth we’ve had in about six years.”
Leading the offense alongside MacGregor (a Peabody native) and Bolger (from Lynnfield) is junior catcher Alex Lane. MacGregor committed to play Division I baseball at Columbia prior to the start of the season, while Lane committed to Division I Bryant.
The St. John’s pitching staff this season will be anchored by Lynn native Max Gieg, a junior Boston College commit. Gieg, a right-hander, went 3-0 last season. He’ll be joined on the staff by junior right-hander Sean Letarte, from Peabody, who committed to pitch at UMass Lowell.
“We have seven pitchers back from last season’s team,” Letarte said. “That’s a positive coming into a season where you’re going to need a lot of pitching. We may have more guys coming in with tryouts but having seven returning pitchers is great.”
Last season’s Eagles finished at 19-7 and came one win shy of winning the Super 8 crown for the third consecutive season. While St. John’s is hoping to make noise in the Super 8 tournament again this spring, the current approach is to adapt a day-by-day mindset and focus on the next practice.
“Getting to the Super 8 is a special thing,” Letarte said. “I just want to see us focus on one thing at a time. All we’re focused on is today’s practice. We’re not looking ahead or looking at other team’s legacies. This team wants to put a stamp on itself.”
If there’s one area Letarte would like to see the Eagles improve on, its team chemistry.
“We were a close team last year but I love the team chemistry of the returning group right now,” Letarte said. “That’s something we’re trying to improve right now, trusting each other and those things. We’re talented enough to win some games. I just want to see these guys do well in pressure situations. Those one-run games, those are the ones we’ll need to win.”
St. John’s started the season on the right foot Monday afternoon as the Eagles were able to get an outdoor practice under their belts.
“We’re looking at a lot of the younger guys and their skills,” Letarte said. “We take our time on selections. We have nine coaches out there looking at these kids, from freshmen to seniors trying out. That really helps. All these kids want to make the team and we’re conscious of that.”
The Eagles open the new season April 4 when they host Catholic Memorial.
