Despite Hot Start, Fairfield Ludlowe Falls, 18-7

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield Ludlowe baseball team thought it was off to a great day after torching Greenwich ace Dylan Callahan for five runs in the first inning on Monday and chasing him from the game. But the Cardinals, who had scored a combined 11 runs in their first three games, were ready to strike back.

Greenwich crushed Falcons pitching all afternoon at Kiwanis Park in Fairfield, exploding for 18 runs on 22 hits. Ludlowe came back to tie the game twice, but a huge top of the seventh for Greenwich ended thoughts of a Falcons rally. Ludlowe fell, 18-7.

“We’ve played two of the best pitchers in the state in the first four games and we beat one of them and knocked the other out after the first inning,” Ludlowe manager Keith O’Rourke said. “But offensively I wish we could have done just a little bit more the rest of the game.”

The key moment in the game came in the bottom of the sixth when Ludlowe trailed 10-7 with a runner on second and nobody out. Mike Kochiss laced a sinking liner to left field that looked like a sure hit to bring the tying run to the plate.

Instead, Greenwich’s Nick Bancroft caught the ball on a full dive towards the left field foul line. Bancroft then doubled up the retreating runner to snuff out the Falcons rally.

The Cardinals responded by sending 13 men to the plate in the top of the seventh, scoring eight times. Just two of the Greenwich runs were unearned off the four pitchers Ludlowe sent to the mound.

Ludlowe’s offense played well enough to win for most games, collecting 11 hits on the afternoon. Victor D’Ascenzo went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Mike Nagy had a bases-clearing three-run double off Callahan in the first.

“We’ve got a very young team, and these are some of the growing pains I expected at this part of the season,” O’Rourke said.

Fairfield Ludlowe (2-2) will try to get back on track on Wednesday when the Falcons travel to Bridgeport Central for a 4 p.m. game.

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