GHS Baseball Mercies East Catholic

GHS junior pitcher Cody Heselton winds up during the team’s 11-1 win over East Catholic last week. Heselton earned the win, striking out eight as the Guardians won their sixth game this spring.   

Glastonbury High School baseball rode a methodical pitching performance from Cody Heselton and used a five-run fifth inning to pull away from East Catholic, winning 11-1 in six innings on April 19.

Heselton pitched into the sixth inning, striking out eight and allowing only four hits to earn his fourth win of the season. 

“I knew they had some good hitters, so I knew I had to attack them,” said Heselton, who added he leaned on his fastball and slider, “They were both working. I had good movement and good location, and it all came together.”

GHS head coach Dennis Accomando called Heselton “super coachable” and said his junior ace has assumed the top spot after the team graduated three pitchers that are currently playing college baseball.

“He came in prepared and he understood what the expectations were,” added Accomando. “He’s doing great and I think he has yet to throw his best game.”

Heselton got support from a balanced lineup, led by Collin Martin. Martin, a junior, had three hits, driving in two runs and scoring two more. 

Martin was awarded the ‘G-Chain’, a giant gold-plated chain with a G pendant given to a player that stands out through their play, effort, and leadership.

“Today he demonstrated how fierce he could be at the plate,” Accomando said of Martin. “We value the big things and the small things and he’s done both.”

Sophomore Anthony DuBaldo also tallied multiple hits, scoring a run and driving in two more.

In the bottom of the first inning, DuBaldo scored the game’s first run after being driven home by Matt Stephen.

Stephen scored later in the inning following a triple by Martin, who connected on a shot to right field. 

Glastonbury made it 4-0 in the third inning thanks to runs from Drew Curto and Zack DiSette.

They broke the game open in the fifth inning on runs from Stephen, Martin, Kyle Stephens, C.J. Butera, and Anthony Alibrio. 

Butera scored in the sixth and Stephens put the finishing touches on the victory after reaching home and sparking the 10-run mercy rule. 

Curto, a senior who is coming off an all-state season last spring, is captaining the team along with junior Anthony Michaud. 

The ten-run win was a complete team effort, showcasing both a strong defense and timely offense.

It was the team’s sixth win in seven games and Accomando said an emphasis on adding power in the offseason is paying dividends so far this spring.

“They worked incredibly hard in the weight room and this is the strongest and biggest team we’ve had in eight years,” explained Accomando. “We felt like our bats would be really strong top to bottom and [the players] make our job of making a lineup hard because we have so many guys contributing every day.” 

It marked the team’s third straight win and Heselton's fourth win overall from the mound, also earning the win in starts over Westhill and Southington, and in relief during a victory over Masuk.

After getting spot duty last season, the hard-throwing lefty has shown that he is more than capable of carrying a heavy load this spring.  

“It was working hard in the offseason and always training, and getting that feel on the mound,” added Heselton, who said the connection between the coaching staff and players in rock solid  “We’re all great friends and I we knew we could be good, and I think we are only going to get better.”

Glastonbury closed the week with an 8-7 loss to Berlin on Friday. The Guardians fell behind 7-2 before tying the game after scoring five runs in the fifth. A triple by Berlin’s Sebastian Mongillo, driving home Luke Wadstrup in the sixth inning, proved to be the difference. 

Enter the week, the Guardians stands at 6-2 and Accomando said he likes the team’s mentality makeup on the field. .  
“It’s a really coachable group. The attitudes have been great and there’s a lot of shared leadership,” the eighth year head coach added. 

​Next is a rematch with Berlin at GHS this Friday, April 28. First pitch is 3:45 p.m.