By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Growing up Peter Lavache always found himself either watching baseball with his father or out in the yard playing catch, leading him to an obvious love of the game. In addition to Little League, he also played AAU Baseball for the Strike Zone out of Worcester, Senior Babe Ruth for Douglas and was part of their traveling All-Star team.

 

 Lavache was also playing basketball, but following his sophomore season at Bartlett High School he dropped the sport to focus solely on his baseball career.

  “I truly love the game of baseball and play it all year round. It is definitely something that I want to do in college,” he said. “I am going to Quinsigamond Community College to start and get the experience while getting bigger and stronger and then moving on to play at a higher level.”

 Upon arriving at Bartlett High School, Lavache knew that he wanted to play baseball for the Indians, but didn’t realize what he was in for. As a varsity starter he soon found the high school game was something totally different, and he had to quickly adjust if he wanted to continue to be there. He would also play just about any position on the field. 

 “It really was a big change for me. I had to go through a lot of failing to get where I am today,” Lavache said. “I see myself as a utility player and will play anywhere but catcher. I gave the position a shot and it just wasn’t my thing, but I’ll play anywhere else.”

 As a sophomore he found himself primarily playing third base or shortstop for Bartlett, but it was being named a team captain that year that really surprised the young athlete. Since the original honor, he has been a three-time captain for the Bartlett baseball team.

 “It was such a big honor. I wanted to go out and look out for the team, while being selfless player. Being a captain taught me a lot, I was put into a spot as a younger player who was not as mature as some of the other players,” he said. Going on to be a three-time captain was defiantly a surprise as it is something that is unheard of in high school sports. There were guys on the team who had been on the team longer with more experience. My parent really helped me with the mental aspect and being respectful while staying positive.”

 Bartlett Head Coach Keith Sebastyasnki noted that as a sophomore Lavache had the skills to play the game but not the size or muscle, but he was willing to put in the hours to improve.

  “He was an extra hard worker that went above and beyond to get better. Over the last two year he’s been able to build his body and add strength,” the coach said. “Peter is one of those kids that took it upon himself to be a leader; having played baseball since he was four or five he showed the leadership on and off the field.”

 In addition to being a three-time captain Lavache has developed his game on the basepaths as well as at the plate. Once he gets on base the Indian infielder has learned a knack of reading the opposing pitchers knowing when he has the opportunity to steal a base. Last spring, the then junior was able to swipec 10 bases and so far, in the early goings this year, he has already stolen another three bases.

 Although his base stealing is impressive, his discipline at the plate is phenomenal. Last season he found himself in the top 5 in Central mass in hitting with a .526 batting average with 30 hits, eight for extra bases while knocking in 14 runs. Lavache also had 8 walks and only 2 strikeouts batting either leadoff or in the two hole for the Indians.

 This year, although he started off slow, the senior captain is currently hitting .400 at the time of this writing with 8 hits (4 extra base hits), 5 RBI and only 1 strikeout.

 “Peter is a very disciplined kid at the plate and possess good speed on the bases,” Sebastyasnki said. “He is very knowledgeable and the complete player. This year he is leading a team of 2 juniors, 4 sophomores and 2 freshmen.”

 Lavache credits his discipline to studying the opposition.

 “Everyone has their own approach, but I find myself as an average hitter; base hits and line drives through the holes in the field,” he said. “I watch and research the opposing pitcher so once I step into the box I’m ready to go though my mind to determine what they might throw and when. I get a feel for their patterns and react to the situation thrown at me.”

 Entering this, his final high school season, before leaving for college Lavache is looking to help the team improve over the last few years. As a freshmen Bartlett was only able to secure one win, the following year they improved to two wins and last year was able to secure 8 wins. The senior would love nothing more than to lead this tea to a plus .500 season and qualify for the tournament. 

 “Getting the team into the States and making a run would be the ideal way to go out,” Lavache said. “But the main thing is to do it while having fun.”

  Individually, the senior is just looking to continue to being a strong player for his team. He has no goals set for himself statistically wise, he is only hoping to make everyone around him better while helping his team get into the State Tournament.

 “Honestly, I never thought about getting to this stage as a youngster playing baseball,” he said. “Over the past couple of years, I have focused on improving and growing as a baseball player and to see the results have really surprised me.”

 No matter what happens at Bartlett this spring, Lavache knows that he put everything that he had into the baseball program to make it better and hopefully bring it into a new era.