Crimson Tide baseball ready to begin new season at home Monday against Malden

Coach Joel Levine’s team looks for that elusive win to clinch a state tournament berth

  The Everett High School baseball team just missed making it to the state tournament last spring by one slim game. They ended up with a 9-11 overall record and were 6-8 in the Greater Boston League (GBL).

  “Last year, I thought our kids fought hard. Many of our losses were by one or two runs,” said coach Joel Levine. “It was the first full season of baseball for many of our players due to the pandemic, and I thought they handled themselves well.”

  Levine has enough players this spring to field both a JV and varsity squad. He also got a junior high school waiver that allows talented seventh- and eighth-graders to play on the high school level. “We received a seventh and eighth grade waiver to increase not only our numbers at the lower level, but our talent pool, as well,” he said. “There are a number of talented baseball players in our middle schools here in Everett, and now [we’re able to take advantage of that resource].”

  Levine’s varsity roster this year will consist of six seniors, four juniors and five sophomores. “We are returning a number of players from last year’s team,” the veteran coach added. “But there’s Alex Lara, who will take over in centerfield for us this year. He covers a lot of ground, and has a very strong and accurate arm from the outfield.”

  Coach Levine’s squad also has a brand-new middle infield this year, with sophomores Nordeivy Santana and Albert Santana competing for those positions.

  “But we have a veteran presence behind the plate with Alexander Velasco and Justin Longmore both returning to the varsity roster,” said Levine. “We will also lean heavily on senior pitcher Matt Turilli to eat up as many innings as he can over the course of the season.”

  David Saia and Enrico Vega are a couple of more veteran players at the coach’s disposal, and they will patrol the outfield. Tyler Wedge, who’s one of the team’s captains, along with Velasco and Turilli, this spring, is back as the starting first baseman.

  “But finding enough pitching is still always a concern, especially with the pitch count rule that was adopted a few years ago,” said Levine. “Our goal for this year is to be competitive in our league, and to get to double digits in wins to qualify for the state tournament.”

  The Everett boys were scheduled to scrimmage host Mystic Valley this past Tuesday, March 28, in preparation for the home opener at Glendale Park on Monday, April 3, against rival Malden, starting at 4 p.m.