The New England prep baseball season is undoubtedly a journey into the unknown, with little certainty as to whether the season will reach its final destination.
In late March, new Groton School coach Scott Patterson organized a photo shoot for his top two left-handed pitchers at a barn off campus due to Groton’s restrictions on visitors during the pandemic. Patterson never made it to the photoshoot because he was forced into quarantine after testing positive for COVID.
It’s going to be that type of year in prep baseball, with many of the boarding schools offering students the option for remote learning off campus. Coaches like Matt Petherick of Milton Academy admit they have no idea what opposing teams’ rosters will look like since New England prep teams haven’t competed against one another since 2019.
What we do know is that when the prep season does begin, it will be an abridged version of previous renditions. Most conferences and leagues are not scheduling any non-conference games. In the case of the Independent School League and several other leagues, the schedule will be limited to two games per weekend (Friday and Saturday, or doubleheaders on Saturday). Because each team will not get a chance to face off with every other conference opponent, no league champion will be decided.
