Former Seymour ace Jen D’Amato is now the first softball player in town history to have her number retired.
The honor occurred Friday evening, after the Wildcats win over Derby.
D’Amato, Seymour class of 1996, saw her no. 25 retired as friends, family and former teammates gathered on the softball field.
“Overwhelmed and excited,” D’Amato said of the honor. “I’m very surprised. I didn’t expect it at all.”
D’Amato led the Wildcats to four Naugatuck Valley League titles and three state titles (1993, 1995 and 1996) during her years in Seymour.
Seymour had an 89 – 6 record during her four years. D’Amato’s record — 76 wins, six loses.
Her stats and achievements are mind-blowing:
- Career ERA — 0.77
- Strikeouts — 450
- Batting average — .432
- 15 – 1 record in playoff games (.57 ERA, nine shutouts)
- Four-time All-NVL
- Three-time All-State
- 1996 All-American
“It’s exciting but I couldn’t have done it without my great teammates, coaches and parents,” D’Amato said.
The Wildcats had never won a state title in softball before D’Amato graced the school.
She ushered in a softball golden age — the Wildcats have since won eight state titles.
A series of great hurlers followed D’Amato, including Allison Schultz and Kelley Garofalo (1998), Kristen Boken (2000), Danielle Cyr (2001), Shelby Slie (2004), Danielle Liska (2006) and Kim Bogen (2009).
“Jen was a role model. Everyone wanted to follow in her footsteps,” current Seymour softball coach Ken Pereiras said.
Pereiras was an assistant during D’Amato’s tenure.
“She was a fierce competitor. I loved them all, but Jen D’Amato was one of my favorites. She brought pride and joy to Seymour softball.”
A humble D’Amato hoped more softball players would be honored.
“I think it will be nice to honor more players, because there were a lot of great players who played for Seymour,” she said.
Bob Lang coached D’Amato in George Hummel Little League.
He recalls a pint-sized, 10-year-old pitcher who lobbed the ball during winter-season encounters.
By spring, she mastered the windmill and was striking everyone out.
“Size doesn’t matter,” Lang said. “If you have it in your heart, you can do tremendous things.”
D’Amato’s former teammates enjoyed playing with her as well.
“It was an honor to play with Jen,” said right fielder Jen Sampieri Moore during the ceremony. “She’s a tremendous player and person on, and off the field, and I’m honored to be here today.”
“Jen set the bar for everyone. She’s a huge competitor and everyone tries to be as good as Jen and want to be like her,” said Tracey Garofalo.
Following her graduation from Seymour, D’Amato was a shortstop for the University of New Haven (UNH) before graduating in 2001.
She was a four-year starter with a .302 career batting average, earned All-NECC (New England Collegiate Conference) honors three times, was UNH’s team MVP during her senior year.
She is in UNH’s top 10 for career hits.
D’Amato had foot surgery after college. She hasn’t played softball since.
“I loved softball and I loved playing it,” D’Amato. “I miss it a lot and I definitely want to coach.”
Today’s she is married to Mike Guarino and is a devoted mom to her two-year-old daughter, Taylor.
She gives pitching lessons when she’s not working as a social worker for Catholic Charities.
“Jen started everything here and was a great pitcher,” Pereiras said. “Kids want to be like Jen D’Amato.”
