Lynnfield High Baseball Coach John O’Brien says the Balian twins are the real deal.
And come the fall, Evan and Trent Balian will join forces after helping bring the Pioneers some tremendous success while they played for O’Brien.
Trent will be joining his brother at St. Michael’s College in Vermont next year on the baseball team. A third baseman and a pitcher, Trent Balian played 12 games this past spring for Worcester State. But, O’Brien said, he missed playing with his brother.
“Worcester State was thrilled to get him,” O’Brien said. “But the brothers kind of wanted to play together. He reached out to them, and they were more than happy to accommodate him.”
Trent hit .333 in the Massachusetts Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), with an on-base percentage of .400 and slugging percentage of .333.
In his freshman year at St. Michael’s, Evan Balian won the starting catcher’s job –– a position he played for the Pioneers in high school.
A business administration major, Balian hit .279 in 33 games for the Purple Knights.
“As a senior here, Evan had a phenomenal year as a catcher,” said O’Brien. “He hit between .450 and .480, with probably a half dozen homers.”
“He’s a great kid. He went up to St. Michael’s and got quite a bit of playing time as a catcher.”
Both Evan and Trent had it tougher, O’Brien said, because they lost an entire year to COVID.
“They lost their junior year,” he said, “and that’s usually when you start putting it all together, both as a player and as a young man. That’s the biggest year for college scouting. It was tough for them.”
While Evan caught, Trent was a pitcher and an infielder.
“He hit the ball really well,” O’Brien said. “And he was a terrific pitcher.”
Their older brother, Spencer, also played for O’Brien, and he, along with Trent, served as a captain.
“They were fierce competitors,” O’Brien said, “and great workers. They came to practice every day and worked their tails off.”
“You don’t get kids like that. They came to the park every day. They were great for Lynnfield and great for baseball in our town.”
“Evan was terrific behind the plate,” O’Brien said. “He ran the infield, and made a lot of defensive calls. And his senior year, he crushed the ball. He was hitting over .600 at one point until pitchers figured out they couldn’t pitch to him.”
Evan is slated to be the starting catcher again in fall ball, and is penciled in as the cleanup hitter.
