With Shosho on the Mound, Grizzlies get 2nd Consecutive Shutout Win

Apr 9, 2022

The Guilford Grizzlies' Varsity team got their 2nd shutout victory in less than 24 hours, defeating the East Lyme Vikings, 7-0 on Saturday afternoon at GHS Field. The win came on the heels of the team's 10-0 victory over Wilbur Cross on Fri., and evened the Grizzlies record at 2-2. And for the 2nd consecutive game, the Grizzlies' pitching won the headline.

Grizzlies' starter Andrew Shosho pitched a complete game, 7-inning shutout, while striking out 8 Vikings for the win. Shosho set the tone of the afternoon early, when East Lyme loaded the bases with 0 outs in the top of the 1st. Shosho would get the next 3 batters on a strikeout, an infield-fly and another strikeout, stranding all 3 Viking runners and firing up his teammates as he left the mound. (video)

The game would remain scoreless until the bottom of the 2nd, before the Grizzlies took a 2-0 lead when Bryce Meder was hit by a pitch, Alex Vincent walked, and Sam Ametrano singled to score Meder. (video)  Tyler Zajkowski followed with an RBI single that scored Vincent for Guilford's 2nd run of the inning. (video)

While Shosho continued dealing East Lyme zeros, Guilford did not push another run across until the bottom of the 5th. With the score still at 2-0, Grizzlies' SS, Carter Williams led off with a walk, before Shosho helped his own cause with a single to right that moved Williams to 2nd. Guilford Head Coach, Nick Merullo, took advantage of the NFHS re-entry rule and pinch ran Cole Morgan-Berry for Shosho to gain some speed on the basepaths. Bryce Meder then executed a perfect sacrifice bunt that moved both baserunners into scoring position, and Jack Farrah came through with a 2-RBI single. Morgan-Berry's speed allowed him to score just ahead of the throw home, his run doubled the Grizzlies' lead at 4-0. (video)

In their first 3 games, the 6th inning has been very profitable for Guilford. The team had scored 14 total runs in the 6th this year, and added another 3 runs to that total on Sat. Mike Torre singled and a Mike Buccaro single moved Torre to 3rd. Buccaro moved up to 2nd base when a Viking outfielder attempted to throw out Torre at 3rd on the play. For the second time in the game, Merullo sent in a pinch runner that payed immediate dividends for the team. Joe Tafro took Buccaro's place on second-base, and when Carter Williams lined a 2-RBI single into right, Tafro's speed as the trailing runner allowed him to score, diving in head first ahead of the throw and making it 6-0 Griz. (video) Williams would eventually come around to score Guilford's final run on an East Lyme wild pitch.

Shosho, who was fired up all game, took the mound in the 7th with the entire team and its fans hoping he would complete the shutout. He would get the Vikings to go down in order, ending the game with his 8th strikeout and loud round of applause from the Guilford crowd, while his teammates emptied the dugout, greeting him as he left the field.

Another important factor to note in Guilford's back-to-back, shutout wins over the weekend, was how the team's defensive effort was much improved compared to the first 2 games that resulted in losses. Solid infield play combined with some stellar outfield play provided major support to the recent pitching performances. If the Grizzlies can continue to make plays behind their talented pitching, they will be a formidable opponent to anyone they play.

Sunday will be a well-earned day of rest for Guilford, but just a day of rest, indeed. The Grizzlies are back in action on Monday, 4/11 - another home game at GHS Field when they take on the 2-0, Fairfield-Ludlowe Falcons at 4:15 pm.