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06/29/2015 12:00 AMEven though the Post 48 Junior American Legion baseball team got out to a rough start this summer, Guilford still has some time to heat up, get into midseason form, and make another run to the State Tournament.
Joe Reinecke returns for his fifth season as head coach coming off of a 14-10 record that yielded a postseason bid last year. Post 48 is 4-10 thus far this season, although Reinecke still feels confident about a group of boys who are willing to do whatever it takes to win. Guilford is doing just that on a newly renovated home turf at the town’s high school, meaning that the club has a field to call its home for the first time since 2012.
“Our No. 1 goal is to make states. We had a great year last year and did all the small things right. We have had a slow start and that’s because we haven’t been doing some of those small things by issuing walks and committing errors. We also haven’t had those big two-out hits yet, but once it all comes together, we will be fine,” said Reinecke, who is assisted by JP Peters. “We traveled to every game last year, which is draining and takes a toll on you. Now, we are able to get to the games earlier and warm up more before a game, so it’s nice to have a home field again. It’s the nicest field and right up there with Palmer [Field in Middletown]. The kids are drawn to it and want to play on it.”
Post 48 welcomes back some strong returning players from the states run in infielder/outfielder Brody Ulrich and infielder/pitcher Anthony Lota. Coach Reinecke pointed out that the pair has already shown dedication to the team by patrolling multiple spots on the field.
“Brody has also played catcher so far this year, so with that he’s stepped up and showing the rest of the kids that you have to do what you have to do. He always plays hard and takes professional at-bats,” Reinecke said. “This is Anthony’s third year playing for me and he really is the leader of our pitching staff. He had a great outing versus Middletown Red [a 4-3 loss on June 12 in which he only allowed two earned runs] and he goes out there and doesn’t complain. He always keeps working and working hard.”
Further down the roster, Post 48 houses a crop of up-and-coming prospects who are ready to earn their stripes, including shortstop/pitcher/catcher Kevin Cargos, second baseman/center fielder Ashton Stephens, and catcher/pitcher/second baseman Austin Fix. All three of these athletes have already delivered in both the heat of competition and the clubhouse.
“Kevin is a small, but athletic guy that throws the ball the hardest. He held Shoreline Legion to five scoreless innings [in a 5-0 loss on June 10], but he throws hard and low, plus he mixes up his off-speed pitches,” said Reinecke. “Ashton has a great mentality for the game and has great hands at second. He is vocal leader that is always telling the guys in the dugout to get up. Austin has caught every game for us thus far and he really hits a great bat.”
After a preseason tournament that saw encounters with Zone 3 rivals Meriden and Wallingford, Guilford was shut out against Shoreline Legion on June 10. Cargos allowed only three earned runs on four hits.
Facing Middletown Red two days later, Lota pitched for 6.2 innings, issuing four hits. Stephens was 1-for-3 with eight defensive putouts at second and infielder/pitcher Matt McGrath plated an RBI. Within the East Haddam series on June 13 and 14, infielder/pitcher Tom Cattaneo came on in strong relief to throw for 2.1 innings with a trio of strikeouts in a 5-2 loss to open a doubleheader that was followed by an 11-1 East Haddam triumph. The following day, Guilford defeated East Haddam 5-3. Ben Ian had six putouts while manning second base. On the bump, Fix tossed for six frames with a line of two hits and three earned runs while fanning five prior to Cargos coming into shut the door with a 1-2-3 seventh for a save. Post 48 then took a 6-1 loss at Cheshire on June 17 before it lost a 6-4 decision to Cheshire the following evening. Cheshire scored one run in the third, two for the fourth, and a trio in the sixth while Guilford’s tally came in the sixth for the first game. The next day, Guilford held a 1-0 lead after the first prior to Cheshire scoring six runs in the sixth inning.
“Kevin had a great game versus Shoreline and shut them down. Tom also held East Haddam in that relief situation to give us the opportunity to stay in that game,” said Reinecke. “I think Meriden [which Guilford sees for a four-game set on Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12] will be the team to beat in Zone 3 as they’ve only lost one starter. Wallingford is a good team defensively that put up a few runs on us. Cheshire is always very good and well-coached with a strong pitching staff. In that preseason tournament, we were leading versus Meriden and won the last five innings by a 1-0 score against Wallingford [which Post 48 closes the regular season on Thursday, July 16], so we are showing that we can compete against these teams that have several different high schools to pick players from.”
On June 22, Guilford edged out Shoreline Legion 5-4 before also taking the opener of a two-game set with Wallingford by a 6-1 final two days later. Wallingford then returned the favor with a 13-5 victory on June 25, after which Guilford lost to East Haddam 5-3 the following day.
Finishing up Post 48’s roster are outfielders Anthony Avallone and Casey Johnson, infielder/pitcher David Meade, pitcher/infielder Kameron Miles, pitcher/outfielder Erik Nettland, pitcher Connor O’Brien, left fielder/pitcher John Portocarrero, and outfielder Evan Song.