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09/09/2021 12:00 AMMike Torre entered his summer season with the Guilford 19-U AAU baseball team lacking confidence in his approach at the plate. However, by the end of the season, Mike had become one of the top hitters on the Grizzlies’ roster.
Mike, an outfielder/pitcher, made it a point to work with his teammate and best friend Sam Ametrano in the batting cage prior to Guilford’s practices and games. Mike’s effort paid dividends as he swung a hot bat down the stretch for a Grizzlies’ team that advanced to the championship game of its league playoffs.
“I started the year off struggling to hit,” says Mike, a senior at Guilford High School. “I started to go down to the field before practice and games with Sam. We would hit in the cages, which really helped me to find my swing. There was a lot of competition between the two of us, which I believe benefited both of us greatly.”
The friendly competition between Mike and Ametrano propelled both of them to have top-tier seasons with the Grizzlies. Mike finished the year with a .312 batting average and a team-best 22 RBI to go with 22 runs scored and 16 stolen bases. Mike also performed well on the mound by going 3-0 with a 2.06 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched for Head Coach Ryan Fraser’s squad.
“We both wanted to hit the ball harder and farther than each other, even if it was only during batting practice. This competition motivated us to get to the field early and stay late, even on days we were tired or hot,” Mike says. “I was also very fortunate that Coach Fraser spent a lot of time working with me and throwing a lot of extra batting practice to me. Coach was very committed to my success and helped any way he could to help me be a better player.”
Coach Fraser says that a mechanical adjustment to Mike’s swing helped him become one of the best hitters in the East Shore Travel League. Fraser believes that Mike will be a key contributor for the Guilford High School baseball team as a senior next spring.
“Mike is an exceptional athlete and can affect the game anytime he steps on the field with his athleticism alone. We made a small mechanical adjustment during the middle of year that made Mike one of the best hitters in the league,” says Fraser. “Mike’s leadership and desire to get better each day also took a huge jump during this season that I believe will be very beneficial in helping him and be an All-Conference-caliber player in the spring.”
As Mike was finding his stride in the batter’s box, the Grizzlies were putting victories in the win column. Mike’s favorite moment of the season came when Guilford claimed a 4-3, walk-off win over New England Knights Zima in a quarterfinal playoff game.
“In the final inning, we strung together three-consecutive hits against a good pitcher to walk it off in the first round. It was a very exciting win, and it showed we could compete against good teams,” says Mike, who also plays forward for the Guilford boys’ ice hockey squad. “That win gave us a lot of momentum for the rest of the playoffs.”
Mike helped the Grizzlies finish the year with a record of 14-8-1 on their way to making the East Shore Travel League championship game. Mike wants to see similar success on the diamond when he competes for the high school team in his senior campaign.
“I thought it was a good year for everyone on the team. We proved to each other and other teams that we could play, which is important for a young team,” Mike says. “Everyone on the team worked hard and played well throughout the season. We knew what we had to do to win, and everybody bought into that system in order to be successful. My hope is that we bring the success from this summer to the high school season, so we can make a deep run in the postseason.”