If the Ipswich High School Varsity Baseball team has any hope of making the state tournament in their upcoming seasons, their best chance of doing so is this upcoming season. They may have lost five seniors from last season, but they still have a lot of varsity experience on their roster. Seniors Cam James and Brendan Duffy are going into their fourth season playing on the varsity team, as well as juniors Will Baise and Cole Bekeritis, who are heading into their third season on the team. The head coach, Zack Lamkin, is also going into his third season. With this, the Tigers are hoping the experience will lead them to a winning season and a run in the state tournament.

Even though the team was loaded with upperclassmen last year, the team’s record was only 4-16. I asked Coach Lamkin what he thinks the team’s record will be in this upcoming season, and he responded, “I think we’ll at least be 10-10, and if not, we’ll hopefully be 11-9 or 12-8.” He seemed very confident that the team will improve from last year and have a winning record this year. I asked Dan Stedman, a senior captain on the baseball team last year, the same question. He told me, “I think it will be 8-12, but they will still make the tournament.” Their responses were a little bit different, but they both believe that the team will improve from last year.

For the team to win ten games and make the tournament, the team needs several players to step up and help them reach their goals. There are many players on the team that have the work ethic and motivation to improve and be determining factors. When I asked Dan who he sees making the most significant improvement from last year to this year, he answered, “I think Will Baise will make the biggest improvement.” As I mentioned before, Will Baise is a junior who has been on the varsity team since he was a freshman. He has an enormous amount of baseball talent and has put in a lot of work over the off-season. Will will be an essential part of the team this year.

The Cape Ann League is filled with very talented baseball teams. The Tigers will play each team from the CAL, along with several out of league games against some tough teams to beat. I asked Coach Lamkin who he thinks our toughest opponents are this season, and he replied, “Our out of league games against Gloucester, Arlington Catholic, and Lynn English will be tough.” The Tigers will have to match up against these relatively large schools compared to Ipswich, as they do every year. When I asked Dan the same question, he said, “As usual, the games against Hamilton Wenham, Masco, and Georgetown will be battles.” These three teams are always some of the best in the CAL and are always tough games to win. 

Even though the Tiger’s varsity baseball team lost five seniors from last year, they are hoping to have players step up to fill their holes. The team has a lot of talent on the roster for this season. The Tigers are looking to shock everyone by significantly improving their record and making the playoff tournament. It will take a lot of work from the coaches and all of the players, but if the Tigers have a shot at making it, this is their year.