×
×
homepage logo
LOGIN
SUBSCRIBE

A Q&A with Bishop Guertin baseball player Taylor Proulx

By Hector Longo - Staff Writer | May 5, 2019

For a senior, one-sport athlete like Bishop Guertin’s Taylor Proulx, winter can be an eternity. Long days in school, followed by long nights in hitting tunnels and training sessions, all with no end in sight.

And then spring comes, and the baseball season, especially one like this that has been so tempered by weather, is an absolute blur.

“It is tough, having to wait. But for me, I take it as a positive,” said Proulx, who lives in Windham. “It makes me want to show up for school every day, get my work done, then go to lift and work on my game afterwards. It’s the shortest high school season, but it’s definitely the best to play in.”

Fortunately for Proulx, a first baseman/outfielder by trade, his senior year appears like it will be worth the wait.

Guertin, fresh off Saturday’s walk-off, seventh-inning comeback win over Merrimack, is a perfect 10-0, atop the Division I standings at the midpoint of the regular season.

We took a minute with Proulx, who drove in the winning run in the seventh, to chat about the game, his teammates and even his future.

So unbeaten this year, after losing in the first round of the playoffs last year, how is that going?

“We’re playing really well, really good team baseball. Big week for us coming up, though, Keene, Bedford and Pinkerton Academy. We have a great team attitude, and I just love the way things have been going so far.”

Have you ever had a walk-off hit like that, or is it the biggest of your career?

Never had one, definitely the biggest hit of my career. Down 3-0 into the bottom of the seventh. We cut it to 3-2, one-out, runners on second-and-third, two-two count. I’m thinking shorten up and get on the plate, put a good swing on it. Don’t let the kid throw it by me. He left one over the middle of the plate and I crushed it.”

Seems like your team has things really moving positively this spring. Obviously, everyone sees the big lefty, Brett Anderson, as a huge focal point, but what has been the key for you guys to keep winning like you have?

“Sam Boudreau, he and Alex George, both are catchers, both are committed to play Division 2 in college. Sam is one of our four captains along with myself, he’s an amazing leader. He’s hitting like .530. Sam is playing at Eckerd and Alex is going to play at SNHU.”

Tell me about the guys in your senior class on the team?

“There are 14 of us, and baseball has brought us together. This has brought us closer. We’ve absolutely bought in. So many different guys are stepping up, from 1 to 9, every day.”

Obviously, you come an athletic background. Mom (Kathleen) is an accomplished marathoner, dad (David) played on one of the premier high school basketball programs in Massachusetts (Central Catholic of Lawrence) and your older brother (Ben) was a football/basketball standout at Pinkerton Academy. How did you land on just baseball?

“Living up to my brother, with football and basketball, I always tried as hard as I could in sports growing up. I came into high school playing hockey and baseball. But it’s how the game goes. In baseball, you have to be patient, you have to be composed. That’s what I like about it. You can’t press. You have to work at every at-bat.”

So, it’s May, has the “senior slide” begun for you?

“We have two more weeks of school left and then finals. BG is still giving us work. They want to keep us working hard. There is no senior slide for me. The focus is the same, putting in the work on the baseball field and in the classroom.”

OK, what’s up with the future, after graduation?

“Next year, I’m going to Quinnipiac University and I’m going to enter their accelerated business program. In four years, I’ll have my MBA.”

And your future in baseball?

“Quinnipiac has a club team, and I’ll try out for that. This summer, I’ll be playing for Derry Legion again.”

Did you think about a smaller school, for baseball?

“I did, but the ultimate decision came down to academics. Knowing this is my last real season has been a key to my focus. That has made me put all my efforts into this season with BG. Someday I will hang up the cleats, just not yet.”

So you’re 10-0, how good can you guys be?

“There will be no days off, and we will be taking no team lightly. If we do that, I think we have a shot to go 18-0.”

Sounds great, Taylor, and it’s time to go, but before we do, I have to ask. What is it like playing baseball at what a look of folks would call a “lacrosse school?”

“We’re a baseball school. A lot of people say it’s boring, I know. But for the guys who appreciate the game, you just have to ignore the people who hate on it. We’re trying to make people think baseball when they think BG. I think that can happen.”

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

Interests
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *