Since his sophomore year Fairfield Ludlowe rightfielder Tom Nagy has been called "Man Child" by his teammates and coaches. On Thursday night in the FCIAC baseball championship game at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Nagy again proved himself worthy of that nickname.
Nagy, who was named tournament most valuable player, hit a monstrous, 400-plus foot, three-run home run to left field in the third inning, part of a five-run outburst by the Falcons en route to a 7-4 win over Greenwich.
"I thought it was going to be a deep fly. It just kept going. That ball was as high as the light tower," Ludlowe coachKeith O'Rourke said. "There's a reason we call him Man Child. That was just a display of power." Nagy, who is a second cousin of Ludlowe great and former major league pitcher Charles Nagy, has a state-high seven home runs this season.
That shot set the tone for a game that fifth-seeded Ludlowe (18-5) would need to top No. 2 seed Greenwich (18-5). The victory is the first county baseball title for any Fairfield school.
The victory was sweetest for seniors Nagy and catcher Rob Ferrara, who hit an equally long home run in the Falcons' semifinal victory over Westhill on Tuesday. Nagy and Ferrara, both All-FCIAC players this season, were the only starters remaining from the team that lost in the CIAC Class L championship to Law two seasons ago.
"It's great to be back on top, to get that feeling that we missed out on," Nagy said.
Despite a 6-0 deficit, Greenwich never backed down. Trailing 6-1 in the fifth, Greenwich had runners on second and third with no outs against relief pitcher Taylor Brown, but could only score one run, recording two key strikeouts. Brown pitched out of trouble again in the sixth, allowing just one run despite a one out double to deep center field and a RBI single. He struck out four to earn the win, pitching in relief of starter Kevin Lambert (four hits allowed, two walks).
"At the beginning of the season, I was told I probably wouldn't matter that much, so it felt great to be on the mound and get the win in a game like this," said Brown, who wrote the word "confidence" inside his hat to remind himself to stay calm.
Ludlowe has won eight straight games heading into the state tournament, after losing five out of six games during a mid-season slump."I can't speak enough to how proud I am of our group," O'Rourke said. "Two weeks ago, we were at a very low point. The ship could have sunk, but the holes were clogged and the ship is saling full steam right now."
The state playoffs will begin with first round play on June 1.
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