BRISTOL — The Bristol Eastern Lancers are back and ready for another season of competition as the spring season approaches. The Lancers ended a promising year last season with a second round appearance in the Class L State Tournament.
The Lancer finished the regular season 11-9, but with a number of returning faces and some promising underclassmen Bristol Eastern will be aiming to continue the success without skipping a beat.
“We returned quite a few starters,” Bristol Eastern coach Tyler Catlin said. “We lost Jazmyn Brown and Ashley Serafin, but we gained Desiree Nickerson from Bristol Central who's going to be an immediate contributor for us at shortstop. It's looking like it's going to be a promising season, but we still have to prove it out in the field, of course.”
Last season, Brown was not only a standout player for Bristol Eastern, but the All-CCC shortstop was also the vocal leader and the spark plug at the top of the order. Serafin held down the pitching duties while also being named All-CCC and Sarah Lacouture provided a consistent presence at catcher.
Catlin said while last year’s senior class was responsible for a lot of the success on the team, this season’s new faces are primed for a breakout season in much bigger roles, beginning with Nickerson.
“I've been leading her off in the scrimmages. She's been playing shortstop and she hit a home run the other day against Woodland,” Catlin said. “I’m really excited. She's a really good player. She was in the top of the order of those BC lineups the past two years. We're really excited to have her.”
To replace the production of Serafin, Bristol Eastern will have two capable pitchers in junior Hailey Beebe and sophomore Isabella Arborio. Catlin said Beebe played well behind Serafin last season and is ready to make the jump as the main pitcher.
“She's looking to really increase her innings on the mound. She wants the ball every day,” Catlin said. “Arborio got a couple starts last year as a freshman. She's looked really sharp this spring in some of our scrimmages. She’s able to get the ball by some hitters pretty consistently. So we're hoping that translates when the regular season starts.”
He added the team is going to be leaning on them right away.
“Luckily for us, we have two very good pitchers that we can rely on heavily,” Catlin said. “So even if one's feeling a little sore the next day, we got the other one ready to go.”
As for replacing Lacouture, the Lancers will also do that by committee with two catchers in sophomore Corinne Sutula and senior Gracie LaMar. Catlin said Sutula is a very seasoned catcher with great footwork and a great throwing arm.
“I see the two of them working together similar to our pitchers. We're going to need them both,” Catlin said. “LaMar, she's been swinging the bat well this spring.”
The team will also return All-State center fielder Emily Valentine, who received the award as just a sophomore. Valentine has been named a junior captain this season along with seniors Makayla Antunes and Madison Charette.
“It’s a testament to her hard work and how much she put in last year and how much she produced for the team,” Catlin said. “How clutch she was and I think her teammates and her coaches know how much she cares about the sport and how much work in practice she puts into it. I think that carries over. I think her teammates see that stuff and they want to follow her lead.”
The Lancers will open their season with a quick four game in five day stretch. Bristol Eastern’s season opener will be Monday at Maloney at 3:45 p.m. before returning home for a Tuesday matchup with Tolland at 3:45 p.m.
The Lancers will play New Britain at home on Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. before closing out the first week Friday at home against Simsbury at 3:45 p.m.
