Grizzlies Shutout Wethersfield, Advance to State Semis on Tue.

Jun 4, 2023

Guilford defeated Wethersfield 2-0 in their CIAC Class L, Quarterfinal Game on Saturday afternoon, and will play in the State Semifinal round on Tue., 6/6, - 7:00 pm. at Palmer Field in Middletown, vs. Berlin.

In what may be our shortest recap of the year, the game basically came down to an outstanding pitching performance by Grizzlies' starter, Sam Ametrano, and Bryce Meder who came on in the 7th to close out the game. The two combined for a shutout of the Eagles, with Ametrano handling the bulk of the work, while Meder struck out all 3 batters he faced to earn the save.

The only scoring in the game came on a 2-run homer by Michael Buccaro in the bottom of the 3rd, as the Wethersfield pithcing duo of Max Hoon and Christian Morales held the Guilford offense to just 3 hits in the game.

Meanwhile, Ametrano allowed just 4 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 6 Eagles during his 6 innings of work to earn the win. Only 2 Wethersfield batters reached base against Ametrano in the first 4 innings.

The Grizzlies made some nice defensive plays behind Ametrano, including a diving stop in the 1st by Jack Farrah at 2B, and in the 6th, catcher Alex Vincent cut down an Eagle baserunner trying to take 2nd on a pitch in the dirt. Vincent's play saved a run as a few pitches later, the batter at the plate doubled, and if not for Vincent's throwout, the Eagles would have cut the Grizzlies lead in half and had the tying run in scoring position with 1 out.

While the Grizzlies did have a few other opportunities to score, their only runs came when Lucas Deshefy worked a 2-out walk in the bottom of the 3rd, before Buccaro launched a 2-0 pitch over the right field fence to give Guilford the only runs they would need.

The win was Guilford's 23rd of the year against just 3 losses, and the team is now 2 wins away from securing a State Championship to go along with their recent SCC Title. As mentioned at the start of this article, the Grizzlies will take on the Berlin Redcoats on Tue., June 6th, at Palmer Field in Middletown - gametime is 7:00 pm.  Click here for a link to purchase tickets for the Semifinal Game. The #10 ranked Redcoats defeated #2 East Lyme on Sat. to advance into the Semis, while they have compiled a 16-7 overall record playing in the Central CT Conference (CCC).