While the Greenwich High School baseball team was hoping they could have gone further in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference class LL tourney, it’s hard to doubt that this was another standout season for head coach Phil Tarantino and his team.
With the 8-5 loss to Staples High School in the class LL tournament, Greenwich ended its season with a record of 13-10 overall.
“I told them that there were so many points during the season where they could have laid down, but all they do is continue to believe in themselves and keep on fighting,” Tarantino said. “In terms of if I am happy with this run, I would say yes because they deserve that. Getting to here and all the positive reinforcement that people have been giving us in the community is great for the kids.”
The team’s record wasn’t too shabby considering the start to Big Red’s season.
They were 6-7 and just came off a 10-4 loss to Darien. To make things worse, Greenwich had to play the No. 1 team in the state, Southington High School, the next day.
However, that’s when something clicked. The Cardinals stunned Southington, 8-7, and from there Greenwich made a charge to the playoffs, winning all but two of its remaining games.
“What we teach, it just takes them a while to understand,” Tarantino said. “There’s so many components of baseball, offensively, base running, defensively, positioning and making the fundamental plays. It was against Southington a month ago. They showed they had the ability to play seven innings and play well and understand their roles. We got some guys back healthy, which helped. That’s what I felt was the turning point.”
Although Greenwich won four of its last five games, they missed out on the FCIAC tournament in a heartbreaking way. They did their part by blitzing Trumbull High, 11-4, on the final day of the regular season. But a stunning upset by Stamford over New Canaan gave the Black Knights the final conference playoff spot.
“This was definitely special,” senior Alex Loparco said. “We felt cheated that we didn’t make FCIACs, but we came back with the mentality of making a run at States and I think we did that. I couldn’t be prouder of the way we fought, but I wish we could have kept going.”
And the Cards made the most of its class LL playoff run, traveling to Fairfield Warde and winning, 6-3, and then going to Darien and upending the Blue Wave, 4-1, to get to the quarterfinals against Staples.
“It was so much fun to play with this team,” junior Kevin Woodring said. “It was a great time and I undoubtedly had the most fun this year on any team that I played on.”
“The minute they beat Southington on that Saturday, I knew this was going to be a team to watch out for,” Staples head coach Jack McFarland said. “They were struggling up to that point and then just beat the No. 1 team in the state. All of a sudden they had confidence that they could beat anybody, and that’s how they played. They swung the bats, ran the bases and do a nice job. To go into Warde and into Darien and beat both of them in States, that’s a great accomplishment.”
McFarland and his Wreckers knew they were going to in for a dogfight in the class LL quarters, however Big Red wasn’t able to showcase its talent of defense effectively: the GHS pitching staff gave up eight walks in the first four innings and the Cards fell to the Wreckers, 8-5.
“You can’t defend walks,” Tarantino said. “We’ve been playing great defense and really good baseball. I didn’t think control would be an issue. I thought if we threw strikes with our defense, it could have been a different outcome. Unfortunately, we put too many guys on. They have too many good hitters to keep putting you in that spot. To their credit they got the big hit.”
Big Red couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the game. Junior Colin Kelly got things going in the first inning with a single to right, but was forced out at second when senior Devin McGrath hit a roller to second.
Woodring stepped up next and hit a grounder to short. An error by Staples’ first baseman helped McGrath dart to third on the play. Junior Erik Mini then uncorked a single to center, driving home McGrath and advancing Woodring to third.
Mini stole second during senior Jason Capozza’s at bat, and Capozza made the Wreckers pay, as he smacked a single to center that scored Mini and Woodring and gave Greenwich High a quick 3-0 lead.
“We knew we had to play as hard as we could and lay it all on the line,” Woodring said. “We knew Staples was a fantastic team and we just wanted to play as hard as we could because or seniors deserve it and we deserve it as a team. As a No. 21 seed, we did a pretty darn good job.”
“I am proud of this team,” Tarantino said. “This is a model team, and I wish I could coach it every year. This team believes in themselves like they’re 50-0. It’s a gritty group of kids and they remind me of a team 30 years ago. They have a great group of seniors that lead by example and don’t complain if you take them out. They leave it on the field.”
Staples answered in a big way in the bottom of the first. Junior Nathan Panzer was the first Wrecker to bat in the game and made an immediate statement, unloading a ball that sailed over the blue monster in left field to cut the Greenwich lead to 3-1.
“I think this was two teams that threw punches back and forth,”McFarland said. “They scored three, and I think Nate gave us a little lift when he cut it to 3-1. The pitching wasn’t very high-level for either team. There were a lot of walks. It was going to be a lot of grinding and I thought an advantage was being at home. Greenwich is a great team with a great coach.”
After the Cardinals went down in order during the top of the second, Staples capitalized on GHS pitching woes in the bottom of the frame. With zero hits and three strikeouts, the Wreckers took advantage of six walks in the inning to score three runs and take a 4-3 lead.
“Free bases with these bats is a killer,” McFarland said.
Greenwich had a chance to respond in the top of the third inning. With one out, McGrath singled past a diving second baseman and immediately stole second base. A grounder to second by Woodring advanced McGrath to third. With two outs, Mini hit a soft fly to left, but the Staples’ left fielder made a diving catch to end the threat and keep Big Red trailing, 4-3.
Although the Cards were held in check in the third, GHS broke through with two runs in the fourth inning to reclaim the lead. With one out, senior Carlos Fernandez drew a walk and sophomore Paul Williams singled to center. Greenwich loaded the bases when senior Mike Genaro was patient at the plate and drew a walk.
Loparco stepped up next and his roller to second base drove home Fernandez and moved Williams to third. During Kelly’s at bat, a wild pitch let Williams touch home and give the Cards a 5-4 lead.
“I told them that they left it on the field and that they have nothing to be ashamed about,” Tarantino said. “They did nothing wrong. It’s just that we couldn’t defend walks. We put good swings on the ball, but to their credit they made the plays.
The Wreckers took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. After junior Mike Cusa walked and Panzer was hit by a pitch, sophomore Benjamin Casparius launched a single to left that let Cusa slide into home safe to tie the game at 5-5.
Up next was junior Noah Yokoi, who hit a bomb to the center field wall and over the GHS outfielder. Panzer and Casparius came around to score at Staples took the lead, 7-5.
“It was definitely tough,” Loparco said. “They weren’t taking any bad swings at my curves. I was basically pitching them away. They definitely have a great lineup.”
