2024 Ludlowe Baseball Season

The 2024 varsity team (Photo: Jennifer Gibson)

The 2024 Ludlowe baseball has come to a close. 

First off, these are my thoughts as an assistant coach and as a writer/blogger, I write about things like this. I am not speaking for our Head Coach, Ken Geriak (although I'm sure he echos a lot of what I am about to say.)

It was a special season. While we didn't win anything, it was a special group, especially the senior class. Obviously, we would like to win, but high school sports are about so much more than that. It's about growing a person (different than one does in the classroom) and building and strengthening connections, friendships and bonds. Both players with other players and players with coaches. 

So proud of this group. This team dealt adversity as a team through the years, including this year. They dealt with a number of injuries and other issues and yet bonded together. There was also personal adversity, outside the team, that these guys dealt with through the years. All of this is not uncommon, unfortunately. But it is part of the story. 

This group cared about one another. It was a varsity team comprised of seniors through freshman, some playing more than others. Everyone embraced their roles. 

To recap the season a bit. 

We finished the regular season at 12-8, 7-8 in the FCIAC. 

We missed out on the FCIAC tournament by one game but earned the number 16 seed in the Class LL state tournament. 

We started 9-0, before losing three in a row. Then the second half of the regular season was up and down. Some great wins were beating St. Joe's, Greenwich (twice) and Newtown, to name a few. 

In the state tournament, we defeated Simsbury 2-1 in the first round, before falling to the top seed, Southington 7-3 in the second round, ending our season. The Southington game was closer than the score. We held a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning, in large part thanks to a two-run HR from senior captain Ben Crawford*. 

*Please go read the article Scott Ericson wrote on Ben earlier in the season. Just a tremendous young man and a tremendous family. I could write more but I'm not going to embarrass Ben (any more than I have already done.) Plus, Scott did a terrific job at telling the story. 

Congratulations to all our guys who were recognized by the FCIAC. Ben Crawford and Spencer Bradley were named All-FCIAC First Team. Kieran Scruggs and Cole Gibson were named All-FCIAC East Division and Luke Scaglione, Liam Grady and Dylan Davis were named All-FCIAC Honorable Mention. 

So many people to thank for making this season possible. 

Thank you to Art Cockerham for your photos and your graphics for the Instagram and Twitter. 

Thank you to Ludlowe students Stuart Kagel, Alex Parent, Sam Graziano and everyone else who was involved in the booth operations this season, including the scoreboard, PA announcing and the music. 

Thank you, Jennifer Gibson and Stacey Scruggs, for photos and videos. They were great for the boys to have, as well as for social media. 

Thank you to Amy Crawford, Jodi Moore, Dan and Andrea Seek, Kristen Frame, Kerry Veas, Katie Grady, Renee McGuire and anyone else I am forgetting for all your involvement in helping make this season (and the last few) as special as it was for the boys and the entire program. No offense intended if I didn't mention someone, just going off those I know who were involved off the top of my head. That is the issue with trying to list people by name and give credit where credit is due. 

There's so much behind the scenes that the parents do that people don't know that make our lives as coaches easier and more important, make it an enjoyable experience for the boys. 

From fundraisers, to team dinners, to roster lanyards, to senior day, to the banquet, and other things I am likely forgetting. 

Thank you to Phil Veas for his involvement in Fairfield American Day. A terrific community day and an important day for our program. 

Thank you to all the parents, those mentioned and everyone else, for your support of your kids, and all the boys, as well as the entire program. 

A great job by the entire coaching staff, and I am honored to be a part of. From our leader, head coach Ken Geriak, to Jeff Love, Tommy Howell and Chris Howell (with a nod to Vin Riccio). 

To this senior class. You are an extraordinary group of young men. Great players, better people. I know it's cliche, but it's so true about this class. 

Personally, with no disrespect indented to past classes, from top to bottom, this is a favorite class of mine. Some groups I have been very close with some guys, but this seems to be a class I am closest with as a whole. A lot of them I have only know in high school, but I have gotten to know them well since their freshman year. I was around their freshman team a lot for a number of reasons. 

Then there are guys I have known before high school, as I had some as campers with Fairfield Parks and Rec camp**, some I knew because of their siblings, some I knew from broadcasting and watching the Fairfield American Little League games, and some I just knew from around town. And there is plenty over overlap on my dealings with them in the groups listed above. 

**Having Gavin McGuire and Jack Veas twice as campers was a blast. When they were going into third grade and then going into sixth. From talking baseball, both professional and their games, to them convincing me to let them play basketball while the rest of the campers watched a movie. Good memories. 

To the seniors: Ben Crawford, Cole Gibson, Luke Scaglione, Liam Grady, Luke Anderson, Spencer Bradley, Gavin McGuire, Jack Veas, Sawyer Crays and Will Burnham. Thank you and best of luck you will all do great things in life! 

I'm going to miss this group, but I hope we stay connected. As I've said to them, they are "my guys for life." 

A special season. 

The 2024 Seniors (Photo: Stacey Scruggs)

The 2024 Seniors as freshman in the spring of 2021 (Photo: Contributed)