Follow on Twitter: @pbrnewengland
Follow on Instagram: @pbr_newengland

Guyette Looking Forward To Getting Back On The Field

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - South Burlington graduated 10 seniors, including Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year Jack Ambrosino, which would have made the Wolves “pretty strong” a year ago according to head coach Luke Guyette.

But the lost year of 2020 due to Covid-19 is now in the rearview mirror and four players are back that saw significant playing time when South Burlington last took the field for a game.

“We have three guys back that started as freshmen two years ago in the outfield,” Guyette said of  the junior trio of Sullivan Beers, Shane Burke and Luke Fitzgerald.

Beers, the 11th-ranked 2022 left-handed pitcher in New England, also headlines a pitching staff that includes fellow southpaw Ethan Moore, who threw more than 20 innings for South Burlington in 2019. Moore is rated 57th among 2021 LHPs in the area.

“The last several years I feel in Vermont that many coaches have used two pitchers,” Guyette explained. “I’ve used the philosophy of working with eight pitchers so I’m hoping I can keep with that.”

An uncertainty is there in regard to who will fill those roles.

“It’s hard to know with not having a season last year,” Guyette admitted. “We have a strong youth program and a lot of these guys started playing a lot of ball in the summer which is different since I took over the program in 2010.

“I think these kids are thirsty,” added Guyette. “They’re hard working and coachable.”

In Beers and Moore, Guyette knows what he has on the mound.

“They keep the ball down and throw strikes,” the South Burlington head coach said. “We won’t have anybody throwing 85 this year … which is okay.”

In his time at South Burlington Guyette has a record of 114-66, winning the 2018 state championship, losing in the finals in 2014 and falling in the semifinals in 2015.

“We had a pretty strong baseball history prior to me,” Guyette pointed out. “There have been five or six state titles since the school opened in the ’60s.”

There was a title in 2005 when Guyette was coaching in middle school and two years later a championship was celebrated when Guyette was the junior varsity coach.

“I push academics pretty heavily,” Guyette said of what he has established in the program since taking over the reigns. “As much as kids like to pursue baseball in college, the true test is how they can perform in the classroom. My guess is the varsity GPA averages over 3.6.”

The hope is success with the books translates to success on the field this season.

“Weather-wise, we’re ahead of the game,” Guyette noted. “Hopefully, we’ll get off the ground, everyone is able to stay healthy and we’ll be allowed to keep going.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back out on the field and connecting with the kids,” Guyette added. “The last year they’ve been missing out on their teenage opportunities.”

Recent Articles: