Scarlet Hawks return several college-bound players

Nick Koch (16) and Ian Carter (6) figure to be two of Milford’s top players this season. Photo credit: JP Media 

By Chris Villani

The Milford High baseball team is back on the diamond this spring after a 2024 season that saw the Scarlet Hawks advance to the state’s final four. 

While MHS lost several talented seniors, head coach Alex Dion’s team also has some players back this spring who are going to be continuing their baseball careers at the college level.

“We lost a lot, but I would say we have enough coming back,” Dion said. “We have guys who are experienced and we have similar expectations, year in and year out.”

The players who are expected to drive the MHS team this spring also played large roles in the team that went to the state semifinals a year ago and the one that reached the round of 16 in 2023. 

“These are all guys who have significant varsity experience,” Dion said. “They have been to the playoffs and won some big games.”

Ian Carter returns to the Scarlet Hawks as a first baseman and pitcher, and is headed off to Bryant University after he graduates from MHS and plans to play baseball there. 

Nick Koch is committed to play at Merrimack and will see time on the mound and in center field for Milford. 

Wheaton College-bound Tyler Ballard is another pitcher who will also see time in the outfield and Joey McGee returns for his third season as the starting shortstop and will also see some time on the mound. The Scarlet Hawks will also return Joe Butler, who started every game in left field last season and could hit in either the middle or at the top of the MHS batting order.

“Those five guys are certainly stepping into new roles because they are all very talented players and, before this year, they just had to be good players and didn’t have to worry about the other stuff because we had so much senior leadership,” Dion said. 

“This year, there are some added responsibilities because they need to pull along the younger players and show them how to do things, what the expectations are, and how we carry ourselves.”

Even in the preseason, Dion said he has seen his veteran players become more vocal. He is also excited about the amount of pitching and the solid defense he expects to put out on the field. Dion acknowledged that this is not the type of team to sit around and wait for a home run or a big extra-base hit, but they may have to instead manufacture runs. Still, he sees this as another team with the talent to compete in the Hockomock League and potentially battle for a state title.

“We have that end goal in mind,” Dion said. “From a day-to-day perspective, we are just trying to get better, and compete.”