Pictured stepping up to the dish last summer for the MIBL's Medfield River Rats, senior catcher Mike Gilio (7) will serve as one of three senior co-captains for Dover-Sherborn varsity baseball in 2021. Photos by Mike Flanagan.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
It's been a long time coming for Dover-Sherborn Regional High School varsity baseball. A program that made a run all the way to the Division III state championship game in 2017, DS missed the postseason in 2018 and 2019 before all of 2020 was wiped out due to COVID.
As spring athletes, DS varsity baseball players will be within the first group of teams allowed the chance to compete in a postseason since the pandemic began last March. Of course, the Raiders will need to take care of business in the regular season in order to break their three-year postseason drought.
Piloting the Raiders march back to the playoffs in 2021 will be three senior co-captains: catcher/infielder Mike Gilio, third baseman/pitcher Oliver Ferrari and infielder Jackson Griebel.
"After missing last season due to COVID, we really only have three players with any varsity experience," said Ryan on his captains. "Our goal is to throw strikes early in the count and make opponents put the ball in play. Offensively, we want to attack early in the count as well. We want to dictate the up-tempo pace of the game."
Asked about his team's excitement about the possibility of playing a postseason this spring, Ryan says the Raiders are taking a day-by-day approach and trying not to think too far ahead. However, getting back to playing playoff baseball after everything that has happened throughout the last year-plus is obviously intriguing.
"My team recognizes the possibility of postseason play and that is certainly a goal of ours," said Ryan. "I think the absence of a postseason for the past 12-14 months heightens the excitement around the tournament."
At the time of print, DS will open up the 2021 campaign on the road at Millis on May 5 at 4:15 p.m.
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
