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06/09/2019 12:00 AMThings weren’t going well for the Guilford baseball team during the early stages of the 2019 season. However, the Indians stayed diligent, stuck to their core values, and turned things around to the tune of a 13-win campaign that featured a division title, plus a pair of postseason appearances.
One year after reaching the Class L State Tournament semifinals, Guilford got out to a slow start by losing five of its first six games this spring. Although the chips were down, the Indians rose up by winning 11 of their next 14 contests to finish with a record of 12-8 for the regular season. Along the way, Guilford earned a share of the SCC Housatonic Division title with Amity by posting a divisional mark of 6-2.
Guilford entered the SCC Tournament as the No. 6 seed and dropped a 4-3, 11-inning decision against No. 3 seed Hand in the quarterfinal round. As the No. 13 seed in the Class L State Tournament, the Indians earned a 7-2 victory over No. 20 seed East Haven in a first-round matchup, before taking an 8-5 defeat to 4th-seeded Hand in the second round. When all was said and done, Head Coach Brian Hayden’s club completed its campaign with an overall record of 13-10.
“It all started in practice for us, and these guys worked hard all year. These guys really wanted to improve their game after we graduated so many guys from last year and had new starters,” Hayden said. “The results weren’t there right away, but they continued to work hard. The best traits of this team were their toughness and perseverance, and it carried onto the field.”
Guilford started heading in the right direction by rattling off a few wins during the week of April vacation. A few weeks later, the Indians put the exclamation point on their second-half surge by earning a pivotal 5-4 home victory over perennial powerhouse Amity on May 8.
“We were at 1-5, and then we won three straight. We beat Sheehan in extras and got out of a bases-loaded jam to end it. We one-hit Branford, and then we had a walk-off win against a good East Lyme team. You could see the whole season shift and more confidence in the boys,” Coach Hayden said. “The Amity victory helped validate how good we were. [Senior] Zach Samson pitched a great game, and we got things done offensively. They worked hard for all their wins.”
The Indians featured a five-athlete senior class that was led by captain Jack Strand, a pitcher/outfielder who went 6-0 on the mound; along with outfielder Ben Panagoulias. Infielder Mike Stebbins, pitcher Samson, and infielder Cade Pascale were the other seniors on Guilford’s roster.
“It was a small group, but each senior brought something unique. All five of them showed up in the community. They were good students and good young men,” Coach Hayden said. “Jack had confidence and toughness. We knew we could rely on him. Ben kept the group loose and is a super competitor. Mike was respected in the dugout. Cade went above and beyond for the team. Zach had electric stuff on the mound and became a leader on our staff.”
Strand was named to the All-SCC Team and the All-State Team for his performance this season. Junior catcher/infielder Josh Wettemann and sophomore infielder Jake Ciocca earned All-SCC honors and were also selected to play in the Junior Select All-Star Game in which Hayden will serve as a coach.
In terms of team accolades, Stebbins was presented with Guilford’s Sportsmanship Award for the varsity squad. Sophomore Niko Tartagni won the Sportsmanship Award for the JV team, while freshman Colby Ambrosic was the Sportsmanship Award recipient at the freshman level.
After seeing great success with a younger club, Coach Hayden feels optimistic about the Indians’ prospects for the 2020 campaign. Looking back on what his team achieved this year, Hayden loved watching his players grow as they learned about the big picture and helped Guilford make its way up the standings.
“We are really excited about what we have coming back. We return a lot of juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, along with a talented 8th-grade class coming in,” said Hayden. “This was one of the most rewarding seasons as a coaching staff, because a lot of people thought our level of success would fall after last year. It was a testament to the boys and their attitude towards work ethic. I hope we taught them a lot about life in general.”
From the Sidelines
During the regular season, the Guilford baseball team notched two victories versus Branford (6-0 and 2-0), Cross (8-1 and 12-0), and Hamden (8-7 and 4-2), as well as one win apiece against Sheehan (7-6), East Lyme (3-2), Foran (4-2), Sheehan (6-4), Amity (5-4), and Killingly (6-1).
The Indians took losses against Cheshire (6-2 and 10-6), Hand (19-13 and 7-4), Berlin (6-4), Darien (6-0), Foran (13-0), and Amity (6-0) in the regular season.
This was Brian Hayden’s eighth year as Guilford’s head coach. The Indians’ assistant coaches were Jeff Mainetti, Steve Messina, John Foti, Adam Nuzzo, and Ralph Russo.