Prep Baseball Report

2022 New England Summer Series: Team Preview - J&M Baseball Academy


Bruce Hefflinger and Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer and Editor in Chief/NW Scout

 

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Eight of the top organizations in New England have teamed up with Prep Baseball Report to form a new league that will benefit players and colleges alike.

The PBR New England Summer Series will begin in late June to the delight of those involved.

“College coaches can come out to see the best organizations in the area,” explained Rich Gilbride, the director of the league. “A bunch of colleges in New England have asked why can’t we get something together at one venue for them to come out and watch and we finally decided to get one together. Everyone thought it was a great idea.”

The eight-team league will play four games once a week at Fraser Field in Lynn, Ma,, a 5,000-seat venue that has played host to many minor league teams over the years. Games will be nine innings in duration and be held at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. every Tuesday beginning on June 28.

Players throughout each organization in the 2023-2025 graduating classes will participate.

“These are high-level organizations that already send kids on to play college baseball,” Gilbride said. “This will only help bring maximum exposure for players in each organization.”

The Expos, Gilbride’s organization, will be joined in the newly formed league by the U.S. 9 Prospects, GBG Hawks, J & M Baseball Academy, Northeast Baseball, New England Ruffnecks, River Rats and Team Boston. Each will play one game each week over a seven-week season, with play ending on Aug. 16.

2022 New England Summer Series: Team Preview - J&M Baseball Academy

J&M Baseball Academy

Matt Walsh speaks about the organization.

Year two as a program brings plenty of promise to J&M Baseball Academy’s Matt Walsh, a former recruiting coordinator and associate head coach at Franklin Pierce.

“We have a lot of talent,” noted Walsh, pointing to a roster with players from schools like Plymouth North and Plymouth South high schools.

The organization has gone from two teams to five after a year in which seven players made college commitments, four that went on to Division II.

“We’re starting to move in the right direction,” Walsh said. “The main thing is we want to develop players and help with their recruiting to get them to the highest point they can go to.”

Walsh is hopeful that the PBR New England Summer Series provides additional exposure to help in that area.

“We’re super grateful to be part of this new league,” Walsh said. “There are a lot of big programs in there and we know we’ll be playing against a lot of top programs. It’s exactly where we want to be.”

PBR tournaments and college team camps are also on the summer agenda.

“We’re going to go to New Jersey as well,” Walsh noted. “We’re trying to broaden our travel.”

The first year as an organization was a learning experience.

“We learned about the right tournaments we want to be in and obviously PBR is a big one,” Walsh said. “We’re happy to be in this league because of that.

“I think last year our kids adapted well,” Walsh added. “They learned how to interact with each other and get along with each other.”

The new league will be another major experience for those in the organization that have the opportunity to participate in it.

“This is going to be a great thing,” Walsh concluded. “It will keep our guys in motion mid-week and get us more exposure.”

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