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05/21/2023 07:05 AMEveryone has passions and desires. We all strive for goals that may sometimes seem unachievable, but the attitude we put into reaching those aspirations is what matters most. According to Guilford baseball Head Coach Nick Merullo, if senior pitcher Andrew Shosho wants something, the captain goes after it until he gets it. Sometimes, what Andrew is pursuing falls outside of baseball, like the senior’s interest in local history.
“Not a lot of kids in their spare time are researching local history,” says Merullo.
Andrew joined the history club in school as a sophomore and has had articles on lesser known Guilford historical figures published in the Guilford Courier. The pitcher says one of his favorite stories published was about redemption.
“The story of Simeon Leete a few months back, a car had hit his tombstone which has since been removed,” says Andrew. “We felt really bad about the incident since he died in the Revolutionary War, so we did some research and were able to come up with the history of the battle that killed him, his legacy in the Leete’s Island area, and all of his remaining family and their attempt to restore the grave, which they’ve been able to do.”
Much like the late Simeon Leete’s family, Andrew says he’s also learned a great deal about losing something of value and putting in the work to get it back, after he suffered a season-ending injury last year. Andrew’s resilience and effectiveness on the mound coming off the injury has helped lead the Grizzlies to prominence this spring. Nick says Andrew’s injury was one of the worst he had witnessed since he’s been a coach.
“Not to go too much into the details but it was probably one of the most significant injuries I’ve seen in my time as a coach as far as the seriousness of the fracture and having to be taken to the hospital,” says Merullo. “It was a scary scene.”
The pitcher was attempting to field a bunt, but says he slipped on wet infield grass. After slipping, he tried to dodge the charging third baseman who was pursuing the ball hoping to throw the runner out at first base. The maneuver by Andrew to get out of the way, as his momentum was carrying him in the opposite direction, caused him to sustain a severe injury.
“I ended up breaking my ankle, fibula and my tibia,” says Andrew. “I was in a cast for three months until late June. I learned a lot about myself in that time period.”
Andrew says rehab was tough, but the hardest part was accepting that his season, one in which he was pitching well and could have major implications on college recruitment, was over.
“The most challenging part was the mental,” says Andrew. “Of course (the injury) hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt before, but the feeling of knowing everyone else is playing and having fun playing the game you love and especially with the incredible run that the Guilford team went on in the second half of last season, to not be a part of that and have to be on the bench and cheer on the team was difficult for me, but it taught me that I am a team player and really want the best for my teammates and I’ll work as hard as anyone to get back out there as soon as I can.”
While the pitcher was out, the Grizzlies bounced back from a slow start and charged into the CIAC State Tournament before a defeat in the second round. Despite missing the late season surge, his teammates still voted him as a team captain going into this season.
“It just goes to show how his teammates look at him that even though his season ended in a season-ending injury, his teammates still voted him a captain coming into this season,” says Merullo. “He sets the tone of hard work and taking things seriously.”
Andrew says hard work is what helped him persevere through the physical difficulties of rehabbing such a major injury.
“Throughout the entire rehab, it was wearing the boot while trying to stay in shape the best I could,” says Andrew. “I would be working out at Mangino Strength and Conditioning, it’s a local gym, everyday and then as soon as I could get back walking again, I went to physical therapy and continued working out and was able to rehab on the mound with my travel team: the Connecticut Crush.”
The pitcher says he has a large metal plate accompanied by “about two dozen screws,” in his leg. Getting back his full range of motion came with a learning curve as well, according to Andrew. Despite suffering an injury that should have sidelined him for an extended period, the senior was back pitching in the summer of 2022. He says regardless of the injury, he still had high expectations for his first appearance back on the bump.
“When I got back on the mound, fortunately I was able to get back on the mound the last week of July in a game and I started off pretty well, but my accuracy was not there and I ended up throwing a lot of balls,” says Andrew. “I was very disappointed with how it went because I was almost hoping for a miracle. Putting it in perspective now, I realize it’s a lot to ask.”
Meanwhile, Merullo says he was just happy to know Andrew was back, pitching again. The coach says he was not surprised Andrew returned so swiftly.
“If you know Andrew, it wasn’t exactly a surprise to see him beat the timetable to come back,” says Merullo. “When he has a goal he’s going to put his head down and work towards that goal.”
And with a healthy Andrew, the Grizzlies have been on a tear in 2023, working towards their goal of a state crown. Thus far, Andrew has amassed 27 strikeouts and a 2.90 earned run average for over 31.1 innings pitched in nine appearances to collect an unblemished 5-0 record. Merullo says Andrew is a power pitcher who keeps the Grizzlies in games, whether he starts or comes into games in relief.
“He’s got a good hard fastball, he throws the ball hard and he comes right at you,” says Merullo.” He doesn’t fool around or nibble, he’s going to come right at hitters and attack them.”
Andrew will be taking his hard, heavy fastball and solid changeup and curveball to Swarthmore College next year, where he’ll pitch and study engineering. The senior captain says he’s excited but still enjoying time on the mound for the Grizzlies. He says after battling through an injury, any time on the mound is time well spent.
“Even when I don’t get a break that I could’ve used in the game, I’m just thankful to be in the game,” says Andrew.