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08/07/2015 12:00 AMIn its first season, the co-op Shoreline Senior Legion baseball team featured a crop of new players from multiple towns and so Coach Michael Grant had the difficult task of melding together these young athletes on the fly while navigating a stout Zone 3. The Bulldogs wound up having a difficult summer as they went 6-18 in the zone to finish seventh, although Coach Grant felt his guys improved through the course of the campaign and gave everything they had right down to its final out.
"One of the things I learned this year was how competitive the zone was. There were a lot of very good teams and we had a bunch of kids from different schools," said Coach Grant, whose squad finished 7-19 overall. "It was a challenge to get them on the same page, but one thing I can say is they gave their all, played hard, and never quit."
Shoreline played 15 games against Zone 3 clubs who had winning records in Cheshire, Berlin, Wallingford, Meriden, and Middletown. Although the Bulldogs only won two of those contests, they hung tough against the zone's stiffest competition by dropping six of those decisions by two runs or less and even took two of three from back-to-back zone champion Cheshire.
"Beating Cheshire was definitely the highlight of our season. I think that was when we came together as a team." Grant said. "That's the team we can be when we are playing at our best, playing good team baseball."
Shoreline was led in that late-June series behind stellar pitching from Old Saybrook's Jake Faulkingham and Adam Seegert. Faulkingham pitched a four-hitter to win 1-0 over Cheshire. The day before, the Bulldogs fought back from a 3-1 deficit to hand Post 92 their first loss of the season. Shoreline plated four runs in the top of seventh as left fielder Sam Henry and Trevor Mann of Haddam-Killingworth singled to start the rally, after which pinch hitter Mike Gargano singled them home to tie the game. Faulkingham followed with a single to score Valley Regional's Jacob Meketa for a 4-3 lead and Sean Antonson's sacrifice fly plated Gargano to give Shoreline a much-needed insurance run. Seegert then closed out his complete game by getting a fly ball to left field in the bottom of the seventh to seal the 5-4 victory.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs didn't take any momentum with them after their triumphs over Cheshire as they lost four straight while scoring only four runs.
"One of the problems we had most of the season as a team was we didn't hit well," said Coach Grant. "The pitching was there most of the time, but we struggled in the field a bit and just didn't hit enough."
Shoreline's roller coaster season continued as it righted the ship by taking two of three from Madison (winning 2-1 and 7-6) and followed that with a 1-0 win over Guilford to stay in State Tournament contention. The Bulldogs then played eight games in seven days and lost seven straight as their bats went cold in the July heat. However, Shoreline did save one of its best performances for last as Grant's squad pounded Guilford 11-1 for its biggest offensive outbreak of the season in the final game. Sparked by Jake Mastroianni's leadoff double, the rest of the team joined in as Shoreline batted around in the first inning and plated a season-high seven runs with hits from Antonson, Gargano, Ethan Petroka of Valley, Mann, and Westbrook's Arno Utegg. Valley's Evan Makowicki claimed the victory by pitching all five innings in the mercy rule win. In all, Shoreline collected 11 hits and 11 runs, which marked a season-best for both categories.
With a strong game to end the campaign, Coach Grant is excited for his team's prospects next year.
"We have a lot of guys returning who played key roles for us. Jake Mastroianni had some big hits and played a great center field. Jake Faulkingham was our best player. He only went 3-3, but he had a sub-2.00 ERA and didn't get much run support when he was on the hill. Sean Antonson, Arno, Dylan Engles, Trevor at shortstop, Nash Eppard, Ethan Petroka all had some big hits and [them and] Evan Makowicki are all coming back," Grant said. "Evan was great for us. He was probably the most improved player over the summer. He played a steady third base and his role grew all season. He wound up relief pitching, then made some important spot starts for us. His versatility really came on as the season progressed."
Even though the Shoreline Senior Legion Baseball team only won seven games this summer, there's good reason to feel optimistic about 2016. Returning a strong nucleus that has a full season of experience playing together, as well as a coach with a plan, the Bulldogs' arrow is certainly trending upward.
"I'm looking forward to next season. We lost a lot of close games and I think we can come back and get some traction, improve in all phases of the game, work hard on our fundamentals, unite as a team, and we will be more competitive and win more games," Coach Grant said. "One thing I know is these guys will give me everything they have. They all have great attitudes, love the game, and play with maximum effort."
• In addition to its six Zone 3 victories, Shoreline also split a doubleheader against non-zone opponent Danielson to start the season. The Bulldogs took the opener 4-0 and lost the second game 5-3.
• Shoreline's complete roster consisted of Westbrook's Sean Antonson (shortstop), Dylan Engels (third baseman), Alex Hartzell (pitcher/outfielder), and Arno Utegg (catcher); Valley Regional's Nash Eppard (pitcher/third baseman), Evan Makowicki (third baseman/pitcher), Jacob Meketa (first baseman/pitcher), and Ethan Petroka (catcher/first baseman); Old Saybrook's Jake Faulkingham (pitcher/third baseman), Mike Gargano (first baseman/catcher), Sam Henry (infielder who attends Phillips Exeter Academy), and Adam Seegert (center fielder who goes to Shenandoah University); along with Haddam-Killingworth student Trevor Mann (shortstop/pitcher); and Clinton's Jake Mastroianni (center fielder who goes to Western Connecticut State University).