SWAMPSCOTT– From the moment Swampscott baseball coach Jason Calichman saw Luke Marshall pitch, he knew the Big Blue right-hander would grow into a special talent.
Over the past two seasons Marshall has grown into a reliable ace for Calichman’s team, and college programs took notice. Earlier this week, Marshall gave his verbal commitment to join the baseball team at Division II Stonehill College.
“Luke’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever coached,” Calichman said. “He’s a bulldog on the mound. Luke will throw a complete game on Friday, and be in my ear in on Saturday telling me he’s good to go out of the pen. He does everything we’ve ever asked and we feel that when the ball is in his hands, there isn’t anyone around that we can’t beat.”
Marshall won eight games as a junior for the Big Blue last season, doing his part to lead Swampscott to a deep run in the Division 3 North state tournament. Giving Stonehill his verbal commitment was an accomplishment Marshall had been looking forward to reaching since he began his high school career.
“It was a great sense of accomplishment,” Marshall said. “It was something I had been working for since I started playing high school baseball. It was a great feeling being able to commit to a college baseball team, seal the deal and be able to go there.”
The senior righty was also considering Bentley, Suffolk, Tufts and Wesleyan. In the end, Stonehill’s mix of a successful baseball program and campus that provides a community feel created the perfect fit for Marshall.
“I fell in love with the campus when I toured it my junior year,” Marshall, who has two seasons of experience in pitching at the varsity level, said. “It had a community feel to it. The baseball coaches and the team were great to me when I went and worked out with them. It’s a great school and it had everything I was looking for.
“t’s a great program,” Marshal added. “Coach Patrick Boen runs the program very strong and he knows what he’s doing. They have a great staff there and the coaches work really hard. I’m excited that I’ll be going to school there and playing baseball there.”
Jumping from the high school diamond to the collegiate level tends to raise challenges for incoming freshmen. Given the coaching Marshall has received throughout his career, both pitching for the Big Blue and on summer teams, he feels he’s been well groomed to tackle those challenges.
“Coach Calichman and our coaching staff have been the best coaching staff I’ve had,” Marshall said, who plans on studying finance at Stonehill, said. “I’ve had great coaches on summer baseball teams. I’m really grateful for that. They’ve all pushed me and helped me be as ready as I can be for college.
“I’m also thankful for my parents, Lori and Joe,” Marshall said. “I’ve also worked with Joe Caponigro and Jason Doviak, and they’ve been a great help. They were a really big part of helping me get to where I am today, especially my parents.”
Calichman has nothing but confidence in Marshall’s ability to excel when he gets to the mound at Stonehill. Marshall’s poise and leadership, Calichman said, are two of the qualities that have allowed him to reach the level of success he’s gotten to.
“He’s ready for the next level,” Calichman said. “He’s 6’5″ and his ball has a lot of natural movement. He has tremendous poise on the mound, he’s the only player we’ve ever named captain as a junior so that speaks to his leadership qualities. He has been up for every challenge we have thrown his way. I wouldn’t expect anything different of him at the next level. He has a ton of upside and I’m supremely confident that his best baseball is ahead of him.”
Although Marshall’s glad to have his future plans sealed and out of the way, that doesn’t mean he’ll loosen up on his dedication and work ethic when the spring season comes around. Marshall has lofty goals for his senior season and his Stonehill commitment will only serve as motivation to reach them.
“It’s definitely a big thing to get out of the way but I won’t let up. I’m still going to be motivated and I’m looking to push myself harder,” Marshall said. “We play against great competition here at Swampscott. I’m excited and ready to get things started for my senior season. Hopefully we’ll bring home a ring.”