Great Expectations: Providence Has Wealth of Experience, Depth and Talent

Coach: Mark Smith

Last year’s record: 25-12 overall, 16-2 Chicago Catholic League (league champion).

Quick hit: “It will be a successful season if we make a deep run into the playoffs,” Smith says. “Many of our kids are three-year varsity players and have seen a sectional final and two regional finals. They have worked very hard to take that next step.”

Infield: Collin McEnery (senior, first baseman) hit .400 last year with three HRs and 28 RBI. Kevin DeFilippis (senior, second baseman) hit .365 with 15 stolen bases. Joe Houlihan (senior, shortstop) clubbed four HRs and drove in 23 runs. Sam Travis (senior, third baseman) batted at a lofty .486 clip while slugging five round-trippers and driving in 32 runs.

Outfield: Nick Gould  (senior, left fielder) batted .295 last season. Dan Wetzel (senior, center fielder) hit .323 last year. Brady Wilkin (junior, center fielder) is a first-year player. Dominic Olszta (senior, right fielder) hit .389 with a pair of home runs. Matt Trowbridge (senior, right fielder) hit .304 and belted two homers.

Pitching staff: The Celtics return nine of their top 10 pitchers from last spring with Matt Trowbridge (6-1, 3.73 ERA, 53 Ks in 51 IP) leading the way. Senior Brandon Magallones (6-2, 3.53 ERA) was a strikeout machine last season, fanning 51 in just 32 innings. Trowbridge and Magallones are the team’s top hurlers. Collin McEnery brings two years of varsity experience to the mound. The team boasts depth with three left-handers and 10 right-handers. “We have a lot of depth, which will help, especially early in the year,” Smith said. Travis closed last year, but Smith said it may be more closer-by-committee this spring as he expects Travis to be the team’s fourth or fifth starter.

Catcher: Dan Potempa, a senior, was a wrecking machine with the bat, clubbing eight home runs and driving in 38 while hitting .421. If he’s not behind the dish, Smith will have to get his bat in the lineup. Fortunately for the Celtics, they have incredible depth at catcher. Senior Casey Papp saw playing time last season, while juniors Sam Tidaback and Kenny King will push for the starting job. “All four are very good and I will have to find other spots for the them in the lineup,” Smith said. “It will be great competition back there.”

Coach Smith says: “The strength of our team is pitching and defense. Our infield is made up of all three-year varsity starters, except for DeFilippis. We committed only 37 errors in 37 games last year. Pitching is very solid and deep. They will be our key. We have some decent speed, but we will need to be more consistent offensively if we are going to make a run in the postseason. Expectations are very high for this group.”

College recruits: Joe Houlihan and Matt Trowbridge (Central Michigan), Collin McEnery and Sam Travis (Indiana), Kevin DeFilippis (Notre Dame), Brandon Magallones (Northwestern), Dan Wetzel (St. Xavier), Dan Cwiertniak (Upper Iowa), Casey Papp (Joliet Junior College). “We still have a handful of seniors undecided at this time,” Smith said.