Ludlowe Baseball 2023 In The Books

Team huddle after a scrimmage last week (Photo: Jennifer Gibson) 

Every year I seem to write something on the Ludlowe baseball season when the season ends. Well, here I am again. 

Our (and as I coach on staff, I think I can say "our") season came to on Tuesday in the first round of the state tournament with a 4-3 loss to Hamden*. 

*As I noted on Twitter and Instagram, it was cool to coach against kids who were on the Hamden Little League team that Rob Adams and I had fun covering in 2020. 

The season started strong as we started 4-0 and 6-1, before a tough stretch, losing four straight. After that, there was a lot of back and forth. Some great wins and tough losses. 

Included in those tough losses, was a 10 inning loss to Warde. It was a tremendous baseball game. One of best games I've seen. As long as I'm working at both schools, that game will always be weird for me. I've written about this many times, so I'll leave it at that. 

There were also some great wins, including Greenwich twice, New Canaan and Danbury, to name a few off the top of my head. 

We finished with an 11-9 regular season record which earned us a state tournament berth, just missing out on making the FCIAC tournament. 

There's always things that go on that make every season interesting, and this year was no different. Great moments, tough moments and special moments, among other things. 

Even in the game on Tuesday, there was a moment that was one of my favorite moments of the season. A special moment. It was about more than sports. I could write more. However, I'm being vague on purpose as it's not my story to tell. I've probably said too much already. 

It's about the bonds with the players, my fellow coaches, the families, and so many others. It goes beyond baseball. 

We hosted Fairfield American Day and that was a great event for our team, FALL and the community. Wins are great, but building an image is also something very special. 

I had fun filling in for our JV coach for a game and coaching that game. My goal was just to not mess things up, which from that aspect, made it successful. However, I know they didn't get the same experience they get when the JV coach is there. We make things work though, however we can. 

Lots of fun with a great coaching staff this year, that I am grateful to be a part of. Head Coach Ken Geriak, Bob Maffei, Vin Riccio, Tommy Howell and Chris Howell. 

I hate it when the season is over. There's still other sports to watch this spring. There will be sports to watch and work this summer (starting tomorrow) and then we will be back at it with high school sports in the Fall and do it all over again. That being said, there is something special about Ludlowe baseball. 

I'm already excited for next season. Our juniors and sophomores got a lot of experience this year and last year, which can only bode well for the future. They are also a tremendous group of kids. 

Another season in the books. 

Falcon Pride! 

It's Deja Vu......All Over Again

National Anthem before the FCIAC baseball championship

To quote the late Yogi Berra, it's Deja Vu all over again. 

Last year, when Warde baseball and Ludlowe softball both FCIAC titles for the second year in a row, I wrote a blog titled "DeJa Vu" 

Well, on Thursday, both teams won the 2023 FCIAC Championship in their respective sports for a three-peat. 

Ludlowe softball defeated St. Joseph 2-0 while Warde baseball took down Westhill 6-1. 

Starting pitcher Alex Lewey was named FCIAC championship game MVP for Ludlowe. For Warde, it was also their starting pitcher, Griffin Polley, who took home the MVP honors. 

At this point, you could call both programs "dynasties." 

Warde becomes the first team to win three-straight FCIAC titles. 

Good for the Town of Fairfield and Fairfield Public Schools. 

With that, the attention turns to the state tournament which begins on Tuesday. Everyone is 0-0. 

Softball Weekend

Ludlowe/New Canaan from Sturges Park on Friday

I saw more high school softball over the last three days than I have in a three day stretch ever. 

I saw two games. Normally, softball conflicts with baseball, so I don't get to watch much. However, some time off gave me the flexibility. 

When I'm watching these games, I have trouble just standing or sitting there and watching. I'm not a good fan. I am always going through in my head what I would do in certain situations or get frustrated when things don't happen the way I think they should. I caught myself multiple times yelling or about to yell things. 

On Friday, I saw Ludlowe host New Canaan in an FCIAC quarterfinal matchup and Sunday I saw Warde at St. Joseph in an FCIAC quarterfinal matchup of their own. 

It was a split weekend for the Fairfield schools. Ludlowe, the top seed in the FCIAC tournament, defeated New Canaan 8-3. St. Joseph, the three seed, defeated the six seed Warde 8-1. 

Warde/SJ from St. Joseph High School on Sunday

Ludlowe will face Trumbull on Monday at 3pm at Fairfield University in the FCIAC semifinals. St. Joseph will face Norwalk at 5pm in the other semifinal, also at Fairfield Univ. The championship is Thursday at 5pm in Fairfield. The championship will be broadcast on Robcasting Radio. 

Also this weekend, among other games, was the baseball quarterfinals. Warde defeated Norwalk 17-1 to advance to face Staples on Monday in the semifinals at 4pm at Cubeta Stadium in Stamford. The other semifinal will feature Westhill and Trumbull at 6:30pm. The championship is Wednesday at 7pm in Stamford. Hear both semis and the championship on Robcasting Radio. 

Warde and Staples have played twice this season, each team winning their home game. Staples won in walk-off fashion in a non-league game back on April 10, 5-4. Warde won 7-0 on May 1, behind a three-hit shutout from Griffin Polley. 

It's could be a busy and crazy week for me. Going to try to get to as much as I can, but Ludlowe baseball, where we have practices, is my priority. I will be following and listening to as much as I can when I can't be at games. 

Integrity

Integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.

I'd like to think I have high integrity, whether that come in work, coaching, or life in general. If anything, I think I am sometimes too honest and do things "by the book" too much. 

This is not a bad thing. Just means I don't get an advantage others might. 

Two things I am passionate about, sports and journalism, integrity is important in. 

In sports, it's not cheating. It's playing the game the right way. It's playing hard and not playing "dirty." It's coaching the game by the rules. 

Depending on the sport and the level, it's more likely for more dishonesty. When there's more on the line, there might be more stretching of honesty. This is not right. I'd rather lose being honest then win by cheating. And I hate losing.  

Integrity comes from the top. If a head coach/manager/leaders of team have integrity, it's more likely the players and the rest of the team will as well. 

Integrity brings people together. It's unifying, which is so important when it comes to being part of a team, any type of team, sports or otherwise. 

Journalistic integrity is talked about all the time. Your sources need to be able to trust you. You need to write or talk about the facts in the correct way and not make things up. Make sure you cite sources. Don't take information from one person, especially another journalist, and act like it's yours. That's just not right. 

I know many journalists of high integrity. Unfortunately, I've seen the other side as well. 

This is the case with many different professions. 

Integrity shows a lot about ones character. 

Have high integrity. Good things will happen. 

Ludlowe/Warde Baseball 2023

Ludlowe and Warde captains (minus one each) with the umps for officials appreciation day

Monday was the annual Ludlowe versus Warde baseball game. 

Over the years, the game has been played at many different venues. From The Ballpark at Harbor Yard, to Fairfield University, to Warde and Kiwanis Field (Ludlowe's home field). 

This year, due to Fairfield Univ. not being available and it being Ludlowe's home game, the game was held at Kiwanis. 

It was a great game. 

10 innings. Warde 8 Ludlowe 2. The final score was not indicative of how great a game it was. 

Ludlowe got a run in the first and added another in the fifth to take a 2-0 lead. 

Warde got one back in the sixth and one in the seventh to tie the game. 

The game remained tied until Warde scored six times in the tenth to take the lead and the game. 

It was an intense game. Back and forth moves by both teams, Every pitch so crucial. It's what a rivalry game should be. 

But it's just that. One game. 

As a Ludlowe coach and someone so passionate about Ludlowe baseball as I am, I'm disappointed that we lost. However, it's one game and so proud of our guys and the way the played and battled all game. 

Warde's a great team and gets a lot of publicity, as they should, but we have some great kids and great players on this side of town too. 

Thank you to Rob Adams for broadcasting the game. This game deserved coverage and I appreciate the tremendous coverage he gives. 

Rob (and Sean) Adams as Rob gets ready to call the game

Would be a lot of fun if we meet in the state tournament. 

For now, time to finish the regular season strong. 

One game doesn't define a season.