By Chris Villani

Sports Writer

After seeing the win total tick up last season and returning four players with three years of starting experience at the varsity level, the Milford High baseball team is coming into the 2023 season with high expectations. 

“We have a lot back this year,” head coach Alex Dion said. “We felt the effects of the COVID year and started a bunch of freshmen the year after that. This is, ideally, the year that all pays off for us.”

Evan Cornelius, Damien Carter, Keith Lee, and Sean McGee are all back for the Scarlet Hawks as three-year starters and Cornelius is the lone senior among the group. 

“They are going to bring some maturity, some competitiveness, and the experience they have gained from the shortened season their first year through last year,” Dion said. “We have seen it already in tryouts, this looks like a group that has been together for three years.”

Pitching figures to be a strength for MHS. Cornelius, who is heading to Rollins College to play baseball next year, is the undisputed ace of the staff. Tyler Caldon started five games for Milford last season on the mound and the St. Michael’s-bound right-hander is going to be back on the hill this spring.

Anthony LaPierre is another experienced arm, having started against powerhouses Franklin and Taunton a season ago. Milford also returns Carter, who has thrown out of the bullpen his first two years, and Ian Carter, who Dion said has a “plus-fastball” for someone his age.

Senior Mason Baldic and Nick Koch, a left-hander who pitched for the Milford Legion last summer, are also expected to see time on the mound. 

Milford finished 7-13 a season ago, a step up from where the team was two years ago but well short of the high bar set by the traditionally baseball-crazed town. Dion said Franklin and Taunton are once again strong, but he wants to see Milford back at the top of the Hockomock League this year and poised to make a deep run in the state tournament.

“We have talked a lot about the tradition in Milford, it’s why I love coaching here and why [assistant coach] Mike Reed loves coaching here,” Dion said. “We know the type of player it’s produced in the past, and I see a lot of that in this group.”

Dion described his players as “some old-school Milford kids” who love baseball and love to compete. He is hoping that pays off with a return to the tournament.

“I know what our goals are,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s what they’ve always been here in Milford.”