Beavers beat 20-0 team enroute to title game

By Chris Villani

After an eventful regular season that saw the Blackstone Valley Tech baseball team win and lose several tight games, the Beavers capped off the pre-state tournament slate by knocking off previously undefeated Shawsheen Valley in the first round of the State Vocational Tournament.

“That win gave us a ton of confidence,” Head Coach John Burke said. “They are in our division, a top-four team in the state, and they were 20-0. But we are battle-tested. We have played a lot of good teams.”

Heading into the state playoffs, Burke said his team may be more dangerous seeded in the 30s than it was last year as one of the five best teams in the division.

Luke Charron delivers a pitch during a recent Valley Tech game. Photo source: Margaret Vosburgh

 “We have a lot of guys back from last year,” he said. “We have won some big games, we’ve been up, we’ve been down, and we’ve come back and rallied in games.”

And, over the past several seasons, Valley Tech has gradually made its schedule tougher and tougher. Next year, with realignment looming, Burke said his team will be facing top competition every week.

The driving force in the lineup for BVT this season has been senior Alex Vosburgh. “He has been the guy offensively,” Burke said. “He has been great.”

BVT has also benefited from strong pitching and defense. In the 5-1 win over Shawsheen in the vocational tourney, senior left-hander Evan Pupka twirled a complete game and BVT did not commit an error. The Beavers also strung together 11 hits from eight different players. In addition to Pupka, Luke Charron, Jack Marino, and Jacksen Manosh have carried the load on the mound.

“We have been getting contributions from everybody,” Burke said. “We don’t have a true number one guy, but we have several guys who have contributed big time. They have been logging most of the innings for us. They throw strikes and they pitch to contact.”

The Beavers entered the state tournament with an 11-11 record, but the .500 mark is a bit deceiving. The Beavers have outscored opponents by nearly 30 runs and lost five games by a single run, including a 1-0 setback against Diman in the vocational title game. Burke said playing tougher teams, even if it means a few more losses, will benefit the program in the long run.

“The ultimate goal is to make a good run and have a tech team get as far as we can in the tournament,” he said, “and hopefully be playing for a state championship someday.”