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09/01/2015 12:00 AMMany athletes have their share of superstitions. Some wear the same socks every game, while others have a lucky charm—perhaps a handshake with a teammate before their trip to the plate. For Shoreline Junior Legion pitcher Luke Bauer, he always puts on his left sock before his right and then his right cleat prior to his left.
Whether it was superstition or lots of natural ability, Luke had a tremendous season on the mound for the Junior Bulldogs this summer. Luke made his presence known early in the campaign against Guilford when he pitched a perfect game—21 batters up, 21 down. But even though Luke was the one who tossed the perfect game, he doles out plenty of credit to his teammates for helping him get through the contest unblemished.
“The first couple innings, I felt pretty good, but then in the third or fourth inning, they destroyed the ball to the outfielders. They made some really good plays,” Luke says. “They were really excited for me. It was really cool to share the moment with them. They made a ton of plays for me. It was more of a team thing than an individual thing.”
With the 5-0 perfect game victory, Luke showed the rest of Zone 3 that he’d be a force on the hill this year. He challenged batters with great placement of his fastball and mixed in his curve to keep them guessing. After starting the summer on a high note, Luke continued to improve as the campaign wore on.
“Luke really learned how to pitch, how to get up in the count, how to make his payoff pitch, and make it count,” says Bulldogs’ Head Coach Dennis Annicelli. “You saw that all year. Every game he pitched, we were in.”
Luke’s talents extend beyond the pitcher’s mound as he can hit and run the bases with the best of them. Luke batted .362 for Shoreline Junior Legion this summer and also swiped 12 bases. In the field, he was a stalwart at shortstop and played every inning there when he wasn’t pitching.
Luke’s sister played lacrosse and soccer for Mercy High School in Middletown and Luke credits her for teaching him how to have fun on the field. Luke additionally displays great maturity on the baseball diamond and plays the game like a true sportsman.
“I’m a very competitive person, but when there’s an opposing player on second base, I love to compliment them on their hit,” he says.
This type of demeanor is a big reason why Luke’s teammates and coaches respect him as an athlete and a friend. Annicelli says that Luke leads by example effortlessly.
“He’s just one of those guys you want to coach, one of those guys that comes and his presence automatically encourages the other players to do the right thing. He’s there on time and he’s into the game. He’s the best hitter on the team, average-wise, but he is the first guy to look at me wanting to drop down a sacrifice bunt. He’s just looking to do anything for the team,” says Annicelli. “It makes it easy when you have a kid like that because the kids follow him. He’s a great kid on and off the field. He does a great job in school and he’s a pleasure to coach.”
Luke also plays for Haddam-Killingworth baseball squad and started varsity in right field as a sophomore this spring. The transition from the outfield to the infield didn’t slow down Luke one bit with his Legion team this summer.
“I enjoyed it because I didn’t get a lot of balls in right field. A lot of people hit it to shortstop, so it’s fun to be in the middle of the action,” says Luke, a Killingworth resident. “I had a lot of ups and downs—mostly downs [for HK]—but I’m looking to build on it in my junior year. Hopefully, I will get a lot better.”
Luke’s role will continue to grow for the Cougars as he keeps working to better his game for both himself and his teammates.
“I’ll try to help the team be more successful, get some wins, and, hopefully, be a strong contributor to the team,” he says.