With the first day of spring right around the corner the North End Athletic Association (NEAA) Dodgers are gearing up for another great summer of baseball. This season the Dodgers will put two travelling All-Star teams on the field. The first team will be made up of players age 15 and under. This team will play in the RBI league and compete against various teams from around the city. Although tryouts will be held to be selected for this team the Dodgers are expected to have captain Joseph Bova returning along with all-star players Cam Conway, Ian Gallagher, Logan Jalbert, Matthew Mendoza, Anthony Lemole, JP Giorgio and JP Anderson. Also adding a big boost to the Dodger lineup is the expected return of Nick Seaver from injury. NEAA Major’s league MVP Carlo Crocini and All-Star game MVP Sonny Blazo are among the new 13 year olds expected to compete for a spot on the squad. The Dodgers head coach will be Rick Martignetti and he will be assisted by Nick Crivello and Chuck Bilikas. The Dodgers are expected to compete for the title.
The Dodgers will also send out their 21U juggernaut. The Dodgers 21U team plays in the Lou Tompkins All-Star baseball league. The league pits top notch teams from across the state who battle it out throughout the summer. The Dodgers have finished in first place four out of the past five seasons and will be looking for another championship season. Like the 15U team the 21U team will also hold tryouts.
Expecting to anchor the 21U Dodgers is their lights out pitching. The staff led by Michael Theriault (UMass), Ryan Colbert (Bridgewater), Nico Gennari (Gordon) and Evan Mallard (Everett). The offense and defense are full of All-Star players with longtime staples like Lorenzo Pantaleo, Joe Tansino, Robert Pagliuca, Dante Bono, Timmy Martin, Evan Reynolds, Michael Galligani and DJ DiCenso leading the way. The Dodgers will also add rookies Ryan Gallagher and Henry Sergenian to the big club after the young men starred for the 16U team last year. These Dodgers are loaded and it could be a long year for their opposition. They will be led on the field by head coach Mike Martignetti. He will be assisted by Ryan Carvalho and Rob Pantaleo.