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06/20/2023 12:02 PMFor Guilford baseball, this spring was a season to be proud of. They finished the regular season with a program-best record since 2008 of 17-3 and claimed their first SCC title since 2007. They entered the Class L State Tournament as the No. 3 seed, making their way to the finals before falling valiantly to No. 5 Brookfield by a score of 2-0 on June 10.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Nick Merullo who completed his second season with the team, was very proud of the boys’ effort this year and the many accolades his players received.
“We played in the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) Tournament, beating Sheehan High School in the first round, then beating Xavier in the second round, and then beating Fairfield Prep in the championship,” said Merullo. “We had five different players this year make the All-Conference Team: Lucas Deshefy (sophomore, shortstop/pitcher), Bryce Meder (junior, pitcher/right fielder), Lucas Ametrano (sophomore, center fielder), Sam Ametrano (senior, outfielder/pitcher), and Andrew Shosho (senior, captain, pitcher).”
The Grizzlies beat Fairfield Prep on May 25 to win the SCC Championship title and celebrate for the first time in over a decade. Deshefy and Meder were named to the All-SCC First Team, and Lucas Ametrano, Sam Ametrano and Shosho were named to the All-SCC Second Team. Deshefy was also named Player of the Year for the SCC.
Merullo also noted that Carter Williams (senior, captain, shortstop) and Mike Buccaro (junior, catcher) were top contributors in the SCC Tournament.
“Although they did not receive any special awards or accolades, they were very deserving and certainly could have been named to either All-Conference team,” said Merullo.
The 17-3 regular season mark was one that involved winning a lot of consecutive games and dominating the competition.
“This was the second best in school history, we concluded that finishing the regular season on an 11-game win streak,” said Merullo. “We ultimately extended that streak to 18 games but fell short of win number 19 in the state championship.”
The Grizzlies had three captains on their team this season, which were Shosho, Williams, and Jack Farrah (senior, second base). Merullo credited the trio as well as the rest of the senior class for stepping up throughout the season and keeping the team focused.
“All three guys did a nice job, they lead by example, maybe not the loudest guys in the dugout. They were very reliable pieces to our team, and we had a lot of really great leadership from other seniors,” said Merullo. “Sam, Alex Vincent (catcher), and some of the young guys that emerged as top players, we relied a lot on their leadership as well. Deshefy and Meder, those were guys that really stepped up as the season progressed, not only by playing on the field, but their leadership as well.”
The Grizzlies began the state tournament on May 30, beating the No. 30 seed New London by a final score of 11-4. They then went on to the second round, beating the No. 19 seed Bethel 6-5.
In the quarterfinals and semifinals, the Grizzlies pitchers pitched two shutout games, beating No. 22 Wethersfield 2-0 and No. 10 Berlin 1-0.
“We did not give up a run in either game,” said Merullo. “Our offense, which has been very strong for most of the season, we scored both of those runs on home runs during those games. Buccaro hit a two-run home run to beat Wethersfield and Lucas hit a solo home run to beat Berlin.”
To prepare the team for the state championship game, Merullo had the team focus on pitching and playing good defense which they had honed in on throughout the tournament.
“We took some extra time in batting practice and worked on our hitting approach. The main thing was keeping the guys’ confidence up and focus with three days off to prepare for the championship,” said Merullo. “We wanted to make sure that we stayed sharp mentally and physically, but also to make sure there were no nerves settling in with the big stage.”
In addition to Deshefy’s and Meder’s awards that they received in the SCC, they were also named to the Class L All-State team and Deshefy was selected for GameTime CT’s All-State First Team. Merullo was additionally named Coach of the Year for the SCC.
“It is a tremendous honor, there are some really strong baseball programs in our league,” said Merullo. “For us in a short two years, to come from a last place finish in my first year in 2021 to a first-place finish two years later, it felt very rewarding. It validates some of the hard work that not just me, but the rest of the coaching staff puts in. I felt like it was not just one coach, that it was rather a true award for the program.”
The Grizzlies graduated six seniors this year, including Williams, Farrah, Vincent, Cole-Morgan Berry (infielder), Sam Ametrano and Shosho.
As they look ahead to next spring on the diamond, Merullo knows the seniors leave behind a special bond that they shared with their teammates but he hopes the returning players maintain that chemistry that was so well-established this season.
“They leave some big shoes to fill, they certainly are guys that leave the Guilford High School baseball program in a better situation than they found it in,” Merullo said of the senior class. “What this team did so well was they really rallied together. They had great chemistry and strong relationships. They really found a way to play for each other, not for themselves, there is not really a selfish guy on that roster.”
The Grizzlies full team roster is comprised of Sam Ametrano, Farrah, Morgan-Berry, Vincent, Shosho, Buccaro, Colin Pompano (junior, infielder), Meder, Brandon Rosa (junior, pitcher/infielder), Joe Tafro (junior, outfielder), Brandon Rosa (junior, pitcher/infielder), Lucas Ametrano, Adam Copeland (sophomore, outfielder/pitcher), Matt DiNardo (sophomore, infielder), Deshefy, Finn Matlosz (freshman, outfielder/pitcher), and Alex Tafro (freshman, catcher).