Don’t let the weather fool you, high school baseball season is back in Warwick and the Pilgrim High School Patriots are looking to make a run at a state championship crown.

“I expect us to make a run this year,” Pilgrim head coach Nolan Landy said. “I think we have the guys to do it and the pitching to do it. We just have to hit the baseball this year. I expect every team I coach to compete.”

The Patriots starting pitching staff and a strong senior class, anchored by infielder Matt Woods and catcher Kyle Dennis, along with an impressive supporting cast of other upperclassmen, will be leading the way for Pilgrim. Both Woods and Dennis have both committed to play baseball at the collegiate levels. 

Woods verbally committed to Division I Bryant University in November of 2016 during his junior campaign and signed his National Letter of Intent a year later in November of 2017, making him a Bryant Bulldog come September. Woods has secured himself as one of the most consistent high school baseball players in the state receiving Second Team All-State honors each of the last two seasons.  

Dennis has committed to play at the Division III level at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Dennis can play both catcher and first base while being a reliable source of offense in the middle of the Patriots lineup. Last year, Dennis finished the season with a team-high nine RBI. 

“The other kids on our team see how hard those guys work and see that as something they can strive for,” Landy said about having college commits on his team. “It shows that if you’re a good baseball player then you can play anywhere and get noticed. Those two guys have worked very hard to get where they are and it’s a great example for the other guys.” 

The senior class doesn’t stop at just Woods and Dennis. The Patriots return Evan O’Connor in centerfield and Sean Blanchard at first base/designated hitter. 

“Those two guys played every inning last year,” Landy said. “We will certainly depend on them. O’Connor is a great defensive centerfielder and Blanchard was one of the leading hitters on the team last year and I expect that to continue.”

Pilgrim loses a five-man senior class from last season to graduation. First Team All-State pitcher Zack D’Andrea headlined the class of 2017. He is now pitching for the Community College of Rhode Island. D’Andrea finished regular season last year with a 5-4 record in 10 games started. He also posted a state-best 2.07 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched. 

Replacing D’Andrea will be no easy task, but between current Patriot juniors Tyler Parks and Will Martino, they will be ready to take on the task. “Our one-two punch will be Martino and Parks,” Landy said. “They are both going to pitch a lot for us. Those two will pick up the slack. They have the opportunity to be top pitchers in the league this year.”

Landy said that his junior starters this season learned a lot from the effort that D’Andrea put forth. 

“These two guys [Parks and Martino] learned from him,” Landy said. “Those guys would watch him throw and how he worked. He led by example and those guys followed him closely. Zack worked very hard and they have the same mentality.” 

Parks made strides last year as a sophomore and will be on the bump during big games this season for the Patriots, Landy said. Landy previously was the head coach at Warwick Vets, where Parks spent his freshman year as a varsity hurler before transferring to Pilgrim last year.

“I think he [Parks] is certainly a college prospect,” Landy said. “There is no doubt about that. He’s played for me for three seasons. He’s going to be the anchor of the staff.”

Martino, much like Parks, impressed in his sophomore season. He started and won the lone playoff win for Pilgrim last season against Lincoln. 

Pilgrim did not have the numbers from the freshman class to field a freshman team this year. There is no doubt that the Patriots are an upperclassmen level group, but they have lifeblood of underclassmen ready to compete. Landy said that there will be five freshman on junior varsity and as many as three dressing for the varsity squad.

The Patriots were scheduled to make their season debut at home against East Providence on Tuesday, April 3, but due to weather their opener will be pushed back. Landy believes that their first game of the season will be played sometime next week.