The Shoreline Junior Legion baseball team has faced many challenges this summer. Like other squads, the Bulldogs hoped and expected to win games while developing their athletes' talent. What the young team has ultimately discovered, however, could end up being more important and longer lasting than a top spot in the Zone 3 standings. Through the ups and downs of a hard-fought season, Head Coach Dennis Annicelli has watched his team mature, improve, and build camaraderie while not allowing the final score define the true value of their experience. For this team, the game is about more than wins and losses.

"Everyone is working together and they're supporting each other," Annicelli said. "There are four different towns on this team and it's really nice how they've blended together. Some of these guys are rivals in high school and now they're playing together and it's cool to see them offer each other advice and work together. They're a great group of guys that remain positive and gain confidence that they'll take back to their high school teams."

Wins have been sparse for Shoreline, which snapped a lengthy losing streak by earning two wins versus Wallingford last weekend, but the players haven't allowed their record to define them. Rather, this team's calling card is to play each inning as if it's the final out of the World Series, in addition to a willingness to do what's asked as many Bulldogs' athletes are playing outside their natural positions. A collection of players from different high schools that range from Valley Regional to Old Saybrook to Xavier have come together to build relationships and a foundation that can hopefully lead to a bright future. Even though the wins haven't been there, the feeling around the Bulldogs is that they're capable of a strong finish and their players will return to their respective high schools ready to make meaningful contributions next spring.

"We're struggling and I still have guys coming to the ballpark early to get in extra cuts. Guys are taking extra pitches in the bullpen and asking for suggestions on how they can get better," Annicelli said. "They're ready to play small ball if that helps or anything else that helps. It doesn't show in the wins and losses, but they're really focused and trying to get better. I want to win games as much as anyone else, but I enjoy seeing my players getting better."

One of the team's leaders and best players, Luke Bauer, has thrived for Shoreline this summer. The Haddam-Killingworth student has done a little bit of everything. Through July 10, Bauer owned a 2.34 earned-run average with an excellent batting average and a team-leading nine runs scored. More importantly, Bauer leads through his willingness to do what's needed—something which Coach Annicelli has enjoyed seeing from his other players, as well. The 16-year-old has set a tone for the team that has helped create an environment where guys can play hard, have fun, and learn the game.

"He's been everything. He's pitched, has an ERA under 2.00, played shortstop. He's hitting .358," said Annicelli of Bauer, who also tossed a perfect game versus Guilford. "I've put him in some tough spots and he always does what we need. He'll do whatever it takes for the team and has been a pleasure to coach. He's not the most vocal, but you see him play and follow him and the others guys have done that. He lays down a drag bunt to get on base, he'll slide headfirst to get on base, he'll dive for balls he knows he's not going to get, and seeing a guy play that hard rubs off on the other guys. He's positive in the dugout and been a big part of the team meshing."

Bauer isn't alone in his production. Shoreline has also enjoyed stellar play from Scott Masse, a Xavier student who mostly plays third base and is batting .259; along with catcher Justin Popp, who's hitting .303 and has thrown out five runners on the heels of his freshman season at Haddam-Killingworth.

One of the biggest challenges that Shoreline has faced this year is a shortage of pitching. While his guys have shown they're willing to pitch when Annicelli needs someone to step on the hill, it's not everyone's most comfortable position. The squad's hurlers have done their best to step in, but just haven't been quite good enough to consistently wins games. The Bulldogs won't be able to fix this before the end of the summer and so they're focusing on the things that they're able to control. Coach Annicelli and his athletes have made a commitment to each other to work each day to get better and the feeling is they're a better team than the record indicates and they approach each game as an opportunity to prove that.

"This week, we have eight games. The four guys I've used have already gone. So I'm going to Cheshire and using an outfielder who hasn't pitched since playing Babe Ruth, but I have no other choice," Annicelli said. "We've played in so many close games that have been decided by one or two runs and it's difficult without those shutdown guys. Luke has been great throughout the year. He threw a perfect game earlier in the year and has had a lot of quality starts and gotten a lot better. It's just very hard. He wasn't stretched out and will throw 90 pitches, which then needs six or seven days to come back. So we can only use his once a week."

Shoreline's focus for the rest of the season is to finish strong. The Bulldogs have grown individually, they've grown as a team, and they've built friendships that extend beyond the dugout. Now, they want to win a few more games. They're confident they'll get it done and finish a tough season on a positive note. The Bulldogs close the regular season with a three-game set against East Haddam this week.

"We have [one] more series to play and I'd obviously like to see us win a couple of games," Annicelli said. "More importantly, though, I want to see guys continue to get better. The cool thing moving forward to next year is that I'll be getting most of these kids back and I think if we can add a couple of pitchers, we'll be in a good position."

The Bulldogs' persistence paid off on July 11, when they broke through and got a 5-4 win against Wallingford before dropping a 4-3 game in the afternoon session. Shoreline closed the series by winning the rubber game 7-5 the next day.

"It was great to pick up a few wins after struggling for so long," Coach Annicelli said. "Our kids deserved it, as well as their families, who spend a lot of time traveling and supporting the team. It truly shows that every player has grown and become better ballplayers."

In the first game of the Wallingford series, Old Saybrook's Bryan Schuster threw six innings for the win with Zach O'Toole closing it out to get the save. Fellow H-K student Popp recorded the game-winning RBI and threw out three base runners. For Game 2, Westbrook's Greg Wnek pitched four innings and O'Toole threw two in the one-run loss.

Then in the series decider, Bauer continued his strong season by pitching a complete game in the 7-5 win. Bauer struggled in the first inning, but pitched well the rest of the way. Shoreline tied the game in the fifth and then HK's Curtis Fetteroll scored the winning run in the sixth.

Prior to the Wallingford series, Shoreline (6-19) took a 5-4 defeat at Cheshire that saw the Bulldogs rally from a three-run, seventh inning deficit to tie it before losing in the bottom half, after which they dropped four games to Middletown (6-2, 7-3, 7-4, and 9-7) and then lost to Cheshire 11-9.

Sports Editor Chris Piccirillo contributed to this story