Is there a change at the top? South Shore top 10 high school baseball rankings

Eric McHugh, The Patriot Ledger

The South Shore had a familiar MIAA baseball state champion last spring as Milton won a second straight Division 2 crown. Abington almost joined the Wildcats in celebration but fell just short, losing the Div. 4 championship game to Seekonk.

Although graduation took a chunk out of both rosters, figure both programs to be right back in the title mix this season, along with the usual cast of characters. BC High and Bridgewater-Raynham were Div. 1 quarterfinalists in 2023, and Whitman-Hanson (semis) and Plymouth North (quarters) saw their paths blocked by Milton in Div. 2.

There also could be some surprise teams that rise this spring. Already a trio of Patriot League squads (Hanover, Scituate, Silver Lake) are off to unbeaten starts.

More: WHERE WE ENDED 2023: Back-to-back champs lead the way: South Shore high school baseball rankings

Here's our first Top 10 ranking of the season. Records as of Tuesday morning and last year's final ranking in parenthesis.

On the bubble: Silver Lake (3-0), Marshfield (2-1), East Bridgewater (2-1), Middleboro (3-4), Norwell (3-2), Cohasset (2-2), West Bridgewater (2-2), Hull (3-3)

10. Plymouth North (1-2, 7)

The Blue Eagles made it to the Div. 2 quarterfinals a year ago as ace D.C. Brown was the ultimate hard-luck loser despite no-hitting eventual champ Milton. Brown's back, and so is slugger George Slauson, a Saint Anselm commit whom coach Dwayne Follette calls "one of top five hitters we have had in the past 34 years." North hasn't gotten many innings in so far. Monday's 4-1 loss to defending Div. 1 state champ Taunton is understandable.

Weymouth's Gill Dolan, right, steals second as North Quincy shortstop Vinny O'Leary awaits the throw during high school baseball at Libby Field in Weymouth, Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
Weymouth's Gill Dolan, right, steals second as North Quincy shortstop Vinny O'Leary awaits the throw during high school baseball at Libby Field in Weymouth, Tuesday, April 4, 2023.

9. Weymouth (2-3, 4)

The Wildcats endured a 3-game losing streak (to Walpole, Needham and Braintree) after a season-opening win over North Quincy. But they got back on track Friday with an 8-4 victory over Brockton behind 2 hits each from Andrew Daley and Alex Munchbach. Munchbach is off to a fine start -- he was 3-for-3 with a home run and a double in the opener. Gill Dolan's pursuit of the program's all-time hits record will be fun to watch.

8. Braintree (3-1, NR)

The Wamps were a .500 team a year ago (11-11) although they did notch a preliminary-round win in the Div. 1 playoffs. Braintree is aiming higher now. After a 6-5 loss to Walpole on Opening Day, the Wamps beat Newton North (10-0) and Weymouth (6-3) on consecutive days, getting fine starts from Max Deroche (5 shutout innings vs. North) and Luke Joyce (6 innings vs. Weymouth). Nick Rucky had 4 RBIs in Sunday's 8-6 win over North Quincy.

7. Scituate (4-0, NR)

We have an early candidate for Best Bounce-Back Performance as the Sailors already are halfway to their 2023 win total when they finished 8-12 and missed the Div. 2 playoffs. It's been an eventful start to 2024 with a pair of walk-off wins -- Jason Bellucci beat Hingham, 8-7, and Mikey Kostek beat Cohasset, 2-1, in the opener. The Sailors rallied past Plymouth South on Friday with some late thunder by Jacob Kingsbury (homer) and Carter Theriault (RBI triple).

6. Hanover (2-0, NR)

The Hawks were a No. 10 seed in the Div. 3 playoff field last spring (the highest ranking by a local team) but were upset in the first round. That's the kind of sting that can be a great motivator the following season, and Hanover has gotten out of the gate fast with wins over Plymouth South (4-0) and Plymouth North (6-1). Owen Kennedy threw a complete-game 1-hitter with 15 K's against South, and ace Gabe Knudsen had 14 Ks over 6 innings vs. North.

5. Abington (4-1, 6)

The Green Wave have shaken off an early loss to South Shore League rival Norwell and find themselves in the top 10 again after last year's run to the Div. 4 state final. The Steve Madden/John Sellon 1-2 punch should serve Abington well again this spring. Sellon pitched 6⅓ shutout innings in a win over Mashpee on April 10. In Saturday's 10-5 win over Weston, Madden earned the win with Pat Cummings (2 hits, 3 RBIs) and Ryan Solimini (2 hits, 2 runs) starring.

4. Whitman-Hanson (3-1, 2)

The one smudge on the Panthers' record so far is an 11-1 loss to Bridgewater-Raynham, the team just above them on this list. Otherwise, W-H has looked a lot like the team that advanced all the way to the Div. 2 semifinals last year and returns its Big 3 of junior Ryan Baker and seniors Cam Beltramini and Evan Yakavonis. Beltraminiwent 3-for-4 with a 3-run home run vs. Duxbury, and Baker already has posted a pair of wins on the mound.

3. Bridgewater-Raynham (2-2, 3)

The Trojans kicked off the campaign with back-to-back wins over Mansfield (16-9 last season) and Whitman-Hanson (19-5). Not bad. Jack Haley is off to a blazing start. He got the win in relief against Mansfield in the opener (2⅓ innings, plus 2-for-4, 2 RBIs) and then had a pair of hits and 2 more RBIs vs. Whitman-Hanson. Consecutive losses to Barnstable (Owen King homered in that one) and Framingham have squared the record. B-R will play in the Brad Martin Tournament at Plymouth North this week.

2. Milton (2-1, 1)

The Wildcats went wire-to-wire as our No. 1 team last season. Even though they've endured huge turnover -- new coach Greg Lannon takes over for Brendan Morrissey (now at Milton Academy) and four of Milton's five All-Scholastic selections from last season graduated -- we'll keep them in the top two for now. The offense might not be as prolific, but the rotation looks solid with returning ace left-hander Scott Longo (8-0 with a 1.71 ERA in 2023) picking up where he left off, and Leo Lyons (2-hit shutout vs. Walpole) and BC High transfer James Burnes (fine relief effort in a win over Wellesley) looking sharp already.

More: Triple crown pursuit: With new coach, new players, Milton baseball aims for same result

BC High's Cole Bohane swings during a game in the Division 1 state tournament against St. Paul on Monday, June 6, 2022.
BC High's Cole Bohane swings during a game in the Division 1 state tournament against St. Paul on Monday, June 6, 2022.

1. BC High (4-0, 5)

We've got a feeling that the Eagles could make a lot of noise in the Div. 1 playoffs this spring. They were quarterfinalists a year ago and finished 14-9, and they've gotten off to a flying start this spring -- blowout wins over Newton North (7-0) and Malden Catholic (12-1), a wild 9-8 victory over arch rival Catholic Memorial (courtesy of Brody Beale's walk-off single) and Saturday's combined no-hitter from Liam Kinneen and Brady Lane in an 8-1 conquest of defending Div. 1 state champion Taunton. Cole Bohane homered and drove in 4 runs in that one; he's the reigning Catholic Conference MVP.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: South Shore high school baseball top 10 rankings

Advertisement