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BVT baseball’s goal: Win the final game Beavers hoping to be a Top Team in D4

BVT Baseball’s senior captain Nick Laflamme. Courtesy photo

By Chris Villani
Sports Writer
Blackstone Valley Tech baseball coach John Burke does not mince words when it comes to assessing the prospects of his 2023 Beavers.
“This should be a big year for us,” he said.
The optimism appears to be well-founded. Valley Tech has 12 players returning from a squad that advanced to the final 16 in the state tournament a season ago. Among the group coming back are four Colonial Athletic League all-stars, led by senior captain Tade Riordan.
“He is the number one guy on the mound,” Burke said of Riordan, who is heading to NJIT on a baseball scholarship next year. “He is going to be a big bat in the lineup and he is going to get the ball in our biggest games.”
Junior captain Corey Magill is likely to slot in as the number two pitcher and will also start at third base. Senior captain Nick Laflamme will play in the middle infield and figures to be a middle of the order bat, just as he was last year.
“He is a good athlete and a baseball guy,” Burke said, adding that Laflamme is also looking to play baseball in college.

                            BVT Baseball’s junior captain Corey Magill. Courtesy photo


Junior Jack Krauss, another captain, is yet another player who can be a dynamic presence in the Beavers’ lineup and can play a number of positions. 
Burke said the early part of the season will be spent figuring out who should be where in the field. He has a good problem on his hands in that several of his players could end up as the starting shortstop.
“We have a really deep, athletic group,” Burke said. “We have to put the pieces of the puzzle together and find the right roles for guys. But we are going to hit, we are going to make a ton of plays in the field, it’s going to be about how effective we are at throwing strikes, getting ahead in the count, and having clean innings.”
If the BVT pitching staff lives up to expectations, Burke said his team could contend for the title in Division 4.
“Our goal is to win the last game of the year, and that means making it through all the way to the state finals,” he said. “We have a tough schedule and some challenging teams to play, but we have the expectation to go out and compete and win every game.”
Burke said he knows that many teams have title aspirations, but added that the Beavers have the ability to follow through.
“We should be running a lot of games this year,” he said. “We have a really good chance to be one of the top teams in the state.”