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07/10/2017 12:00 AMThe Guilford Junior Legion baseball squad is riding a wave of confidence despite featuring a young squad that’s playing in a newly formed zone this summer. On the strength of its big-time pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting, Post 48 is looking to crash the postseason party after recently solidifying its spot in the State Tournament.
On the heels of a 4-20 campaign last year, Head Coach Jon Reinecke’s squad returned to action in the new Zone 5-3, which is an 11-team division comprised of clubs that had previously played in Zones 3 and 5. Guilford is approaching its new foes head-on to the tune of a 9-6 mark in zone play to currently stand in fourth place; Post 48 also owns an overall record of 11-7. Coach Reinecke said that Guilford has been getting it done on the bump, along the base paths, and with the glove thus far this season.
“Our pitching and our defense have been our biggest assets. Our pitching staff is led by Casey Johnson. He’s a crafty lefty, and he keeps kids off-balance with his fastball, curveball, and changeup,” said Reinecke. “Kevin Ciardiello has pitched well, and he pitches to our defense, which is a strength of our team. Mike Stebbins throws down in the zone, and he pitched well versus a good Bethel team earlier this year. We have a ton of depth at pitching, which is more than you can ask for with summer ball. We have other strong pitchers in Jack Alviti, JP Murtagh, and James Walker. James had a strong no-hitter through 5.2 innings against Hamden this year.”
Going through the lineup for Post 48, infielder Ethan Vashel, who has a .352 on-base percentage (OBP), leads off for Guilford, with second baseman Jake Ciocca (team-best .910 fielding with 41 putouts) behind him in the No. 2 slot. Outfielder/infielder John Petonito hits third, and outfielder Kevin Ciardiello is the cleanup man. For the rest of the order, Guilford has Johnson, Murtagh, Alviti (.394 OBP), and Clayton Ulrich, while outfielder/first baseman Brady Johnson and infielder Griffin Wall have been sharing the No. 9 position.
“Ethan gets on base, whether by a walk or hit. He has great speed and is athletic. Jake just graduated 8th grade, but he pulls the ball and gets Ethan over. He’s unbelievable defensively at second base. John brings pop to the lineup. He also has a ton of speed and gives 110 percent every play and is always trying to extend singles into doubles,” Reinecke said. “Kevin is a contact guy and drives in runs. Casey’s confidence is growing at the plate. JP can drive the ball, he’s an extra base-hit threat, and hits it hard. Jack had a hip flexor during the high school season, but he’s coming along and has a good eye at the plate. Clayton has done a good job stepping in as catcher. He’s thrown out a couple guys and is getting better and blocking the ball at the plate.”
On July 1, Guilford swept a doubleheader against Naugatuck, prevailing by 3-2 and 4-2 finals. Casey Johnson went the distance on the mound in the one-run victory, and then Kevin Ciardiello equaled that feat in the nightcap. Post 48 then took an 11-0 defeat against zone frontrunner Cheshire on July 5. However, Guilford finished the week on a high note thanks to a sweep of Oakville at home with 4-3 and 5-4 victories on July 8.
Coach Reinecke said that while Guilford has recorded several big victories, including two one-sided decisions to start the year, his club’s close battles with the upper-echelon teams speak even louder about its competitiveness.
“We had a tough year last year, so our first two wins this year against Waterbury were big. We won 18-0 and 10-0, so it got our confidence going and showed we can compete,” Reinecke said. “We learned Bethel is a great pitching and defensive team. We won the first game of a doubleheader, 4-2. Mike Stebbins threw a gem, and we had timely hits. We took a 3-2 loss in the second game on a walk-off in the seventh, but it was another well-played ballgame. We also have to win those games against the bottom-tiered teams in the Zone. We had great pitching against Naugatuck and some spotty hitting, but we needed those wins to get us back on track.”
Featuring a collection of players from various backgrounds, Guilford has figured out what makes all the individual pieces click. Now that Post 48 owns that added layer of cohesiveness, the team is ready to play well in the stretch run and show the rest of Connecticut that its ready to make some noise in states.
“Our goals are to make state playoffs and also getting these guys to play together. The more they play together, the better they will be with one another,” said Reinecke. “I think the first time we played Cheshire, we were intimidated by them. But we have to have the mindset that we can compete with anyone in the zone. It shouldn’t matter if the teams are older than us. If we hit and throw strikes, we can compete with anyone. Our goal has to be to win every game.”
Rounding out Guilford’s roster are catcher/first baseman Tyler Considine, pitcher/first baseman Tyler Fugel, pitcher/outfielder Connor Ludwin, pitcher Tim Samson, and Joshua Wettemann.
• Jon Reinecke is in his 10th year as Post 48 Junior Legion skipper.
• JP Peters is the assistant coach for Guilford, and is in his third year at that position.
• The other teams that play with Guilford in Zone 5-3 are Cheshire, Oakville, Bethel, Meriden, Middletown, Danbury, Oxford, Naugatuck, Waterbury, and East Haddam. The top seven teams in the zone qualify for the State Tournament, which begins with Southern Division Sectional Tournament play on Monday, July 17.