After five seasons of Little East Tournament trips with no trophy, high hopes are back for men’s baseball. They open their season Feb. 27 and the Beacons, led in part by senior outfield Justin Gouveia, are getting ready to go.
Gouveia has been a feature player for the Beacons for three seasons now, and he’s now entering his final year with the Beacons. He said, “After having plenty of time to recover and develop better sleep and nutrition habits in the offseason, I am feeling healthy and am confident that I will be able to play the best I can in my last year.”
A year ago, Gouveia finished fifth on the team in batting average, hitting .307 for the season — which was actually a step down from his stellar sophomore campaign where he hit .371 while slugging .608 — but now, three of the four hitters that placed ahead of Gouveia are gone.
Familiar faces like Mike Meagher, Richard Williams and Bostyn Burris have graduated and moved on, leaving a reshaped Beacons roster, including 11 freshmen, to figure things out on their own. Gouveia said, “I felt like I was one of the younger guys on the team last year as a junior. Now as a senior with three years under my belt, it definitely feels a little different in terms of having to carry more weight as a leader.”
It can be difficult to be thrust into a leadership position you aren’t quite used to. Knowing what style suits you and how you want to fill that role is important, and Gouveia feels like he’s found his approach. “I lead mostly by example with how I play and practice. I try to add more input and address more as a senior leader,” he said.
“It can be difficult to get to know and click with 40 guys in the fall so it’s good to be back early competing and finding the identity of our team,” said Gouveia.
Last year’s LEC-contending team still leaves over a handy amount of proven talent outside of Gouveia: Elliot Miles, who had a career year last season as a sophomore hitting .312 with 44 RBIs and four home runs, will be back in the infield; and Nick Farnacci, who broke out last season after struggling for his first two will return, hit .271 with 20 stolen bases and plus defense in 2025.
Those are just a few of the bats of old the Beacons will have back, but still, 50% of fielders who played at least 75% of games last year will not return. That’s not counting their pitching staff. Ross Dexter and Max Moss, their two main starting pitchers, have graduated, and the Beacons will have to pivot in the new year.
There’s still enough of a body of players to carry over the flame from a year ago. “It’s not a great feeling to come up empty handed but it just adds fuel to the fire,” said Gouveia. Gouveia is confident in his team and what they can achieve, “all we have to do is play our game.”
