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To view the full list of 2023 Team Previews that we have already completed, please click here.

2023 Spring Team Preview: East Lyme

EAST LYME, Ct. - When the entire roster returns from the previous season, optimism is an obvious assumption. That is certainly the case at East Lyme where head coach Jack Briggs anxiously awaits the start of the 2023 campaign.

A year ago, the Vikings stunned No. 2 Brookfield 3-0 in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class L before falling to Maloney in the CIAC quarterfinals to close out a 14-11 season.

“The team has been working hard adapting to the philosophy and culture of the program,” noted Briggs, who enters his 18th season in charge of the Vikings. “We will rely on our seniors to establish positive practice habits that will create a competitive game experience.”
Gavin O’Brien, who threw a six-hit shutout to beat Brookfield in the second round of the tournament, headlines the returnees. The 25th-ranked senior in Connecticut was Class L All-State a year ago and will play infield in addition to pitch this season.

Left-handed hitting senior John Bureau along with classmates Kevin Filewich and Nathan O’Neil and juniors Alex Salerno, Alex Dreyfus and Connor Tukey are other returning players expected to contribute on the mound. Dreyfus is the eighth-ranked junior left-handed pitcher in New England and Tukey the 27th-rated 2024 southpaw. Senior Joe Stawski, a Fitchburg State College commit, is an additional arm that could have a big role pitching for East Lyme.

“Pitching depth will be the key to a successful season,” pointed out Briggs.

Seniors Blake Biggs, Owen Elmer, Joey Wainright and Pete Sherwood will play infield along with O’Brien and O’Neil. Biggs and Sherwood each had a pair of hits in the win over Brookfield.

Bureau, who hit a home run against Brookfield, is set to play outfield with junior Liam Cochrane, Dreyfus and Tukey. Catchers are senior Quinn Killoy and junior A.J. Montejano, who drove in a pair of runs in the big win over Brookfield last year.

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