Waltham High baseball team looks to rely on deep pitching staff in 2025

Most high school baseball teams are looking to have one or two pitching stalwarts to depend on.

The Waltham High School baseball team’s arsenal will run much deeper than that this spring as the Hawks have a bevy of aces to turn to. Limiting opponents from putting runs on the board will be key as the team looks to improve on last season’s even 10-10 campaign.

“I haven’t seen pitching like this in years,” Hawks manager Larry Scafidi said. “Scotty LaForest, my pitching coach, is pretty excited.”

Waltham trotted out seven different pitchers over the course of a seven-inning scrimmage against Lexington High School last week, putting the diversity of arms on full display. This level of depth will be a massive benefit in terms of mixing up looks for opposing batters and keeping the entire bullpen fresh.

“We threw seven pitchers at them, and I still didn’t use four pitchers,” Scafidi said of the tuneup against the Minutemen, whom the Hawks beat in the preliminary round of the 2024 MIAA Division 1 state tournament.

Leading the charge will be three returning starts. Senior lefthander and Bowdoin College commit Conor Gavin was the Hawks’ best weapon last season and will be looking to cap off a stellar high school career. He will be flanked by junior righthanders Hunter Fucci and Isaac Shatsoff.

If the Waltham lineup can match the production of its pitching staff, the Hawks will be in for a phenomenal ride this season.

“We didn’t hit great last year,” Scafidi said. “We might have hit under .260 as a team. Our main focus this year has been on hitting. I am trying to get the kids at least 75-100 swings a day at practice.”

The Hawks batters are lasering in on improving their plate discipline, as well. WHS showed its improvement in this category in the scrimmage versus Lexington, drawing a collection of walks while only striking out once.

“Our pitch selection was excellent,” Scafidi said. “We definitely saw a positive there, and we’ll be looking to build on that. We are going to have to score some runs.”

Team chemistry will certainly be on Waltham’s side. It’s a tight-knit group that enjoys keeping it light.

“This is my favorite part about this team,” Scafidi said. “I had my parents meeting, and I told them the team just busts each other’s chops constantly, to the point where I have to tell them, ‘All right guys, the kid just struck out. I don’t need you riding him.’ But they take it so well. To me, camaraderie is the most important thing on a team. If you don’t like the kid you’re playing next to, there will be issues. My main goal is to keep 14-15 kids that enjoy hanging out together.”

Waltham will get the season rolling this week with home games against Brookline High School and Chelmsford High School slated for Monday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 2, respectively, at Yetten Baseball Field off Athletic Field Road.