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THE STARTING ROTATION

Adam Ravenelle, Sr. RHP, Lincoln-Sudbury
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound fireballer was an integral part of the Warriors' run to the Division 1 state championship this season, going 8-0 with 93 strikeouts in 56 innings -- including a career-high 18 in a win over Arlington. He also batted .481 with 44 RBIs. Earlier this month, the Vanderbilt-bound Ravenelle was drafted in the 44th round by the New York Yankees.

Pat Connaughton, Sr. RHP, St. John’s Prep
The 6-foot-4 Connaughton, who was also a starter on ESPNBoston's inaugural All-State basketball squad, strung together some dominant performances this season, including a no-hitter against his hometown Arlington High. On the mound, he went 2-2 with one save, with 86 strikeouts in 50 innings for an ERA of 1.83. At the plate, he also hit .400 with four home runs, a .547 on-base percentage and .750 slugging percentage. Earlier this month, Connaughton was drafted in the 38th round by the San Diego Padres

John Gorman, Sr. RHP, Catholic Memorial
The Boston College-bound Gorman was named the state's Gatorade Player of the Year last month, and was also named the Catholic Conference MVP, after a stellar senior season with the Knights. As the No. 1 ace, Gorman went 6-2 with 80 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.24. At the plate, he also hit .354 with 11 RBI, 14 runs scored an a home run. Earlier this month, the Norwood resident was drafted in the 50th round by the Boston Red Sox.

Steve Moyers, Jr. LHP, East Longmeadow
One of the state's most elusive lefties, Moyers turned in another strong campaign on the mound as the Spartans advanced to the Division 1 West Final. He went 8-1 this season, with 88 strikeouts in 64 innings with an ERA of 0.44. For his career, Moyers is 23-2 and has averaged better than a strikeout per inning. He is receiving various interest from Division 1 schools in the Atlantic-10, Patriot League and Big East conferences.

Garrison Banas, Sr. LHP, Hopkins Academy
Stats-wise, there isn't another pitcher in the state who can lay claim to the numbers Banas put up this season. He went 9-2 this season for the Golden Hawks, with 173 strikeouts in 87.2 innings for an ERA of 0.48, before bowing out in the Division 3 West final. For his career, Banas was 26-6 with five no-hitters and a perfect game, and is in the state's ever-exclusive 400-strikeout club with 415 career K's. He will pursue a post-graduate season next year at Salisbury School, in Connecticut.

STARTING NINE

Matt Walsh, Sr. C, Plymouth North
The Franklin Pierce-bound Walsh was one of the more intimidating hitters in the region this season, as he led the Eagles to their second Division 2 state title in four years by hitting over .530 with 36 RBIs. But the most outstanding stat on Walsh has to be the respect he commands behind the plate. Counting the playoffs, only five runners attempted to steal on Walsh, and four were thrown out.

Chris McCarthy, Jr. C, Everett
Equipped with a live arm, the junior backstop was as efficient at the plate as he was at throwing out runners, batting over .585 with 28 RBIs and an on-base percentage close to .700. McCarthy is receiving varied degrees of interest from Division 1 schools in the Big East, Atlantic Coast and Atlantic 10 conferences.

Mike Barry, Sr. C/OF, Lincoln-Sudbury
The 6-foot-2 Barry was one of the most prolific hitters on arguably the state's most dangerous lineup, as the Warriors captured their third state title in seven seasons. For the season, he hit .437 with 38 RBIs and seven home runs,

Matt O'Neil, Jr. SS, East Longmeadow
As one of the premier position players in Western Mass, O'Neil turned in a solid junior season for the Spartans, batting .447 with six home runs and stealing 15 bases. He was also efficient on the mound, going 6-1 and striking out 69 batters in 43 innings. O'Neil is verbally committed to UConn.

Chris Shaw, Jr. 1B, Lexington
As the Middlesex League co-MVP alongside teammate Will Marcal, Shaw put on a clinic at the plate, with the numbers to show. He batted over .490 with eight home runs, and plated 41 runs. Shaw is verbally committed to Boston College.

Ryan Summers, Jr. C, Westfield
The junior got off to an explosive start to the season for the Bombers, with 21 RBIs and six home runs through the first three weeks of the season. He finished the year with 27 RBIs and six home runs.

Jarrod Casey, Jr. OF/LHP, Milford
The latest in a line of Caseys to succeed on the diamond at Milford, the 5-foot-11 junior was one of the premier hitters in Central Mass, hitting .530 while also going 8-1 on the mound. Casey was also the Mid-Wach A Most Valuable Player.

Lorenzo Papa, Sr. 1B, Arlington Catholic
The Stoneham resident led the state in home runs last season with 10, and followed up with another solid campaign in 2011, finishing with eight homers for the Cougars. Papa will continue his career at the University of Rhode Island next year.

Sean Amaru, Sr. 1B, Westwood
Also a star on the gridiron, Amaru was a standout in the Tri-Valley League in 2011, turning in a monster season. He batted .515 with 34 RBIs, and also led the state in home runs with 10.

BULLPEN
Will Archibald, Sr. RHP, Milton
Freddy Andujar, Sr. LHP, Holyoke
Dan Dymecki, Sr. RHP, Wellesley
Evan Mackintosh, Sr. LHP, Northbridge
Will Marcal, Sr. LHP, Lexington
Ryan McDonald, Jr. LHP, Acton-Boxborough
Victor Mendez, Sr. RHP, Lawrence
Donny Murray, Sr. RHP, BC High
Matt Tulley, Jr. RHP, Lowell
Brandon Walsh, Jr. RHP, North Andover

UTILITY
Charlie Butler, Jr. IF/RHP, Nashoba
Dan Cellucci, Jr. SS, Lincoln-Sudbury
Aaron Fossas, Sr. SS, Holy Name
Matt Goreham, Sr. 1B, Catholic Memorial
Keith Kelley, Sr. SS, St. John's (Shrewsbury)
Dan Light, Sr. 1B, St. John's (Shrewsbury)
Bob Melley, Jr. C, BC High
Rory O'Connor, Jr. OF, Lowell
Tyler Sterner, Sr. SS, Doherty
Ramses Vittini, Sr. OF, Peabody
Alex Witkus, Sr. OF, North Attleborough
Paul Yanakopulos, Sr. SS, Malden Catholic

We've released our first state-wide MIAA Top 25 baseball poll this afternoon, which can be found here; and our panel of staff writers, correspondents and area coaches have tapped Catholic Memorial as No. 1 to top the preseason.

Many felt this could be the year the Knights, who have lost in extra innings in the last two Division 1 South finals, get over the hump. And certainly, head coach Hal Carey has the horses in his starting rotation to pull it off, between Division 1 commits Matt Goreham (Northeastern), John Gorman (BC) and John Mildner (UMass).

Overall, the Catholic Conference took four of the top five spots in the poll, with Lincoln-Subury taking the No. 2 spot followed by Malden Catholic, reigning Division 1 North champ St. John's Prep and Division 1 state runner-up Xaverian. Rounding out the top 10 are Lowell (6), Lexington (7), Peabody (8), Wachusett (9) and North Andover (10).

Our panel has also put together a preseason All-State to whet your appetite, listed below:

RHP – Adam Ravenelle, Sr., Lincoln-Sudbury
LHP – Will Marcal, Sr., Lexington
RHP – Pat Connaughton, Sr., St. John’s Prep
RHP – Matt Goreham, Sr., Catholic Memorial
RHP – Pat Delano, Jr., Braintree

C – Matt Walsh, Sr., Plymouth North
1B – Lorenzo Papa, Sr., Arlington Catholic
2B – Zach Apotheker, Sr., Brockton
SS – Aaron Fossas, Sr., Holy Name
3B – John Gorman, Sr., Catholic Memorial
DH – Zach Littman, Sr., Abington
OF – Carl Anderson, Sr., Lincoln-Sudbury
OF – Connor McDavitt, Sr., Wachusett
OF – James Ricoy, Sr., Lowell

As always, let us know how we're doing in the comments section below, or by emailing editors Brendan Hall at bhall@espnboston.com and Scott Barboza at sbarboza@espnboston.com.

Few hitters in Massachusetts can lay claim to the type of season 17-year-old Lorenzo Papa experienced this past spring for Arlington Catholic. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Stoneham resident crushed the ball in 2010, hitting .543 with 48 RBIs. He had an on-base percentage upward of .600 and a slugging percentage of 1.306 for an OPS approaching the rare 2.000 mark. Only Lincoln-Sudbury's Carl Anderson had more home runs (10) than Papa (nine).

Having verbally committed to the University of Rhode Island for the fall of 2011, Papa is staying in the weight room and staying local, splitting his time this summer between the Wakefield Post 63 American Legion squad and the Wakefield Merchants of the Intercity League (who were in third place at week's end). His senior year just a month away, Papa sat down with ESPNBoston earlier this week following a workout at the Woburn-based Athletic Evolution to talk about his hitting, his struggles at the plate against a longtime friend, and his mom's home cooking.

Q: What kind of goals did you set for yourself headed into the spring?
A: "My main goal that I set for myself every year is to be the leading hitter, not just for my team but for the whole league. My coach always tells me your average is the most important thing with your hitting because it shows you how good you can hit the ball; and he says hitting [at] the top of the league should be your goal every year."
Q: You had four home runs in four games during one stretch of the season. What were you thinking after you hit that fourth one?
A: (Smiles) "Honestly, I remember this like it was yesterday. When I hit my fourth home run, when I was rounding third base, I say to our third base coach, 'This is getting boring already' (laughs). I remember it like it was yesterday, it was at Frasier Field in Lynn [against St. Mary's]."

Q: How much momentum did the high school season give you going into the summer?
A: "Oh, it gave me a ton of momentum. It gave me so much confidence to play, especially in the Intercity League. It's all college kids and older, kids who are out of college...and I'm still only 17, so I've never really faced this type of competition yet. So after this season, I really felt like I could play with anybody."

Q: What have you been looking to improve upon this summer?
A: "Every day I'm looking to improve everything. I like to work alot on my speed especially. Speed, my footwork at first and third base, my fielding. My hitting, I work on every day, even if it's my best aspect of my game. But no matter what, I like to work on everything."

Q: Take us through your pregame routine.
A: "I like to get to the field early, before we even have batting practice or infield. I like to jog a couple laps around the field, and then I always have the same stretch that I go through every time for my hips. I have the worst hips ever; they're awful, because I grew so fast, that my hips are so tight. But I usually jog, I stretch, then play catch with a teammate, then we do infield, outfield, then some batting practice, get that swing down for the game."

Q: What are you looking for when you're in the batter's box?
A: "When I'm in the batter's box, I'm always looking for right field, to keep my shoulder in so I don't pull out and maybe hit a little dribbler to third base. But I'm constantly thinking center and right field, always thinking fastball to keep my hands back, and if there's an offspeed coming I like to adjust to it and see if I can drop that ball into right-centerfield. If not, if it's a hanging curve, then a try and drive it over the left field fence."

Q: Who is the toughest pitcher you've had to face so far in your career?
A: "I have to think about this one, this is a hard one (pauses)...Will Marcal, from Lexington, one of my good friends, really good friends. I've played against him since Little League, 10 years old, and from ages 10 to 12 I dominated him. But ever since then, I think I'm 0 for 30 against him. I cannot hit his stuff. He's a lefty, and he has just the nastiest tailing fastball that I just cannot hit."

Q: What's kept you local this season, as opposed to other high-profile players heading south and west for various tournaments or showcases?
A: "For the last three years, I'd played on a traveling team, the New England Ruffnecks, that went everywhere around the U.S. I'd probably still be with them if I didn't already commit to URI. Since I'm already committed, my father and I talked about it and believe that we should focus more on working out, doing things to get us better besides just traveling and getting seen. I believe the Intercity is better competition anyways, because it's what I'm going to be facing the next four years in college."

Q: You don't play any other sports at Arlington Catholic. What will you be doing until then?
A: "Athletic Evolution, four to five days a week. If it wasn't for them this year, I wouldn't have had the year I did for AC. I give tremendous credit to my personal trainer Erik (Kaloyanides)."

Q: What's the best restaurant on the North Shore?
A: "Honestly, to tell you the truth...my mother, Sunday dinner, is the best food you'll eat in your entire life. I tell her every day, her food blows away any restaurant that I ever go to. It's ridiculous. Every Sunday, my mother cooks food for an army, because my whole family comes over -- my cousins, my aunts, uncles. It's been going on for years now. It's the best food I've ever eaten. All my friends, whenever they come over, they eat pounds of it, because they just can't believe how good it is. A good 20, 30 people come. We have an outside deck, too, everyone goes out there, couches on the patio. It's a huge gathering....You've got to do her chicken parm, or her pasta -- but I call it macaroni, because that's what the Italians call it."