Trio of Scarlet Hawks sign Letters of Intent

By Chris Villani

Tyler Ballard, Ian Carter, and Nick Koch have played baseball together since they were little kids and helped Milford High to the final four in the state last season. The three were together recently when they signed their Letters of Intent to continue their baseball careers at the collegiate level.

“It was really nice,” Ballard said. “I think I prefer it that way because you get to share the spotlight with your friends. It was a great experience.”

Ballard plans to pitch for Wheaton College. Carter will join the pitching staff at Bryant University, and Koch hopes to be a top of the order hitter and a center fielder at Merrimack University.

Carter said he was drawn to Bryant because they showed that they wanted him to be part of their program. He received a text from the coaching staff on the very first day that college coaches are allowed to reach out to recruits. When he went to visit the Rhode Island school, the interest became mutual.

“I loved the complex, the school, everything about it,” Carter said. “It’s in a really nice area, and it’s close to home.”

Koch said he was impressed by Merrimack’s campus and also the coaching staff, adding that they seem like they want to work hard to build a successful program. He also had a good feeling when he met his future teammates.

“They have a really nice tight-knit team,” Koch said. “It’s a really good family feel.”

Ballard said he hopes to be able to earn some innings when he heads to Wheaton next year. His role, he said, will be “whatever he makes it out to be.”

He and Carter will be a formidable duo on the mound for Milford this year as the Hawks look to make another deep tournament run despite losing nine seniors from last spring’s team.

“I think we have the motivation to do well this year,” Carter said. “We did lose a lot of seniors, but we are definitely going to come in hot, I can tell you that.”

Koch agreed there is work to be done as a team, and for him individually as he looks to get faster to be able to adjust to the speed of the college game. But, for now, he and his teammates are enjoying their success.

“I’ve played with them since back in the day in Little League and throughout middle school and high school,” Koch said. “Playing in college, this is something we all dreamed about.”