Hingham High Pitcher Prepares for Senior Season, College Career

When right-handed pitcher Evan Flanagan takes the mound for his final season as a Hingham High School hurler, he knows that the next step of his career will be at the University of Rhode Island's Division I baseball program.

Flanagan said the URI baseball coaches first showed interest in him last winter at a showcase at Northeastern University. They watched him pitch in the summer with the Northeast Rays, a program that has 13 Division I prospects. 

While Flanagan considered other universities in New England, he liked the campus and baseball program at URI and jumped on the offer when it came from the coach. He plans to see his future teammates play this weekend, just prior to the start of his high school season.

Flanagan will play fall ball next year at URI and that will help determine his place on the team during the spring. In college, Flanagan will only pitch, but at Hingham High, he also plays third base.

Flanagan said his biggest strengths on the mound are his ability to control his fastball and throw his curveball and off speed pitches for strikes. Since age 11, Flanagan has worked with pitching coach Steve Almonte, who is now based at the Cape Cod Baseball Club in Bourne. The partnership started in the basement of a Quincy church before the pitcher was even a teenager.

The Harbormen are coming off a successful season during which they won the competitive Patriot League before being knocked out of quarterfinals of the Division 2 South sectional by Oliver Ames High School. Flanagan was 3-0 with a 2.34 ERA during his junior campaign.

While the pressure is off him as far as the recruiting process, Flanagan is ready for a big year with his high school teammates.

"We expect to do well and win the Patriot League again," said Flanagan of his senior season.

The Hingham High School baseball team will start Tuesday, April 9.