DANVERS — When you’re heading to the postseason, it’s always a goal to play your best baseball at the end of the regular season. The St. John’s Prep baseball team came into the 2018 season with high hopes, knowing it returned a talented nucleus capable of something special.
St. John’s stumbled out of the gate, but senior third baseman Tyler MacGregor and the Eagles have found their rhythm since then. The Eagles closed the regular season with 14 wins in their last 16 games, earning another trip to the Division 1A “Super 8” tournament.
After falling short in the “Super 8” championship for the past three seasons, MacGregor and the Eagles (16-5) are hungry to change the tide.
“My main goal was to win the ‘Super 8’ this season,” MacGregor, a Peabody native, said. “I’ve been on the bench for all three of our ‘Super 8’ runs the past three years. I think I speak for the team in saying that we’re all fired up. Hopefully we’ll have a different outcome this year.”
While most teams dwell on tough losses, the Eagles have used those from the past three seasons as learning experiences.
“Those three losses have made us who we are as players,” MacGregor said. “There are many things we can learn from them. We kind of use them as learning points to see what we can improve on and how we can prepare for those games.”
MacGregor admits the Eagles weren’t at their best to start the season, as St. John’s dropped three of its first five games. One of those losses, a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Xaverian, took place in the ALS Awareness Game at Fenway Park.
Despite the defeat, the chance to play on the Fenway diamond for a good cause is one MacGregor will never forget.
“It was a surreal experience,” MacGregor recalled. “We showed up to the field and right when we walked out of the gates it was like ‘Wow, we’re at Fenway Park.’ We got the experience of playing on an amazing field with so much history. Words can’t describe the feeling of playing in that game.
“Pete (Frates) is always on the back of our minds,” MacGregor added. “Just being able to play for him with his name on our backs has been such a special part of what we do. His resilience through all he has had to go through shows everyone should fight.”
Once the offense picked itself up, the results started to fall in St. John’s favor.
“The bats definitely started out slow,” MacGregor said. “We lost a couple of close games. We lost three games by a run. Once the weather started to get better, that was definitely a big help. The bats have heated up ever since.
“I think it was about more reps,” MacGregor added. “Batting practice and a couple of intrasquad scrimmages definitely helped. We got to see live pitching against our own pitchers. Getting to see more live pitching, I think, is the main reason why we’ve started to hit.”
MacGregor has certainly done his part in helping lead St. John’s offensive turnaround. In 20 regular season games, the senior compiled a .333 batting average, 18 hits, three home runs, nine RBI and 21 runs scored from the No. 2 spot of the Eagles order.
More importantly, MacGregor does the majority of his damage when needed most.
“Tyler batted around .500 with runners in scoring position last year,” St. John’s coach Dan Letarte said. “This year he’s around .400. That role changed a bit for him because he’s closer to the top of our order. That’s huge for us. Right behind him is Alex Lane and he’s having a great season. They have to pitch for Tyler and that’s what we prefer.”
Coming from a baseball family has helped MacGregor reach his current success. His grandfather, Robert Girard, is a longtime baseball umpire. A pitcher in his playing days at Peabody High, Girard was inducted into the North Shore Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2009.
“He’s one of my closest friends,” MacGregor, a Division I Columbia commit, said. “He has taught me so much about baseball and life. He’s been throwing the baseball to me since I was a little kid. He used to be a pitcher back in his day. When I used to pitch, he used to give me tips. He’s always there. I wouldn’t be the player I am today if it wasn’t for him.”
Now that MacGregor and the Eagles reached their first goal of getting back to the “Super 8,” it’s time to turn things up a notch as they prepare for a postseason run. The Eagles drew the No. 3 seed and host No. 6 Lexington Wednesday afternoon (4) in the opening round.
“Preparation and just keeping the bats hot are the two most important things for us now,” MacGregor said. “There are a few things we have to clean up. We’re just focusing on preparing, that’s a big part of baseball.”
“You get all good pitchers, good catchers, good hitters,” Letarte said. “With the level of competition (in the ‘Super 8’) , you have to come ready to play. If you make any mistakes, teams will jump on you. You have to play good baseball.”
