Ludlowe Baseball 2022 In The Books

The 2022 Ludlowe baseball season came to an end on Tuesday afternoon. The Falcons fell to the Staples Wreckers 7-3 in the first round of the state tournament. 

This was a really great year and personally, a really fun year for me. Then again, every year around Ludlowe baseball is fun for me. 

Coach Ken Geriak did a terrific job in year one, leading us to a 12-8 record and a trip to the state playoffs. It was a pleasure being on his staff and I appreciate him keeping me on staff when he took over. 

I love this senior class. All 12 seniors are great young men with bright futures ahead. Kyle, Will, Andrew, Andrew, Mason, Sean, Tim, Leo, Tyler, Christian, Harry and Matt. Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and leadership to our program. You guys cared about the program and wanted to both be successful personally, but more importantly, wanted to be successful as a team. You will be missed. 

10 of the 12 seniors

We started the season 5-0 and then 9-2 in April. We picked up our eighth win on April 27th with a 16-6 victory over St. Joe's to clinch a state tournament berth. 

The biggest win of the year, and I don't think it's debatable, was the May 9th 3-1 win against Warde with Matt Vivona picking up a bases-clearing double in the sixth inning. 

There were plenty of ups and downs throughout the second half of the season, and throughout the entire season. That's how any season will be. These kids dealt with any adversity thrown at them, missing players, life issues, in game things that didn't do their/our way. That's one of many things that made this a special group. 

I talk about the seniors above, but this team was special from the seniors through the freshmen, and everyone in between. These kids cared about one another, and it didn't matter that grade. 

While the seniors will be missed, I am excited for the future of the program. We have a lot of underclassman who played big roles or got a good amount of time this year which should bode well for the future. 

Best of luck to the seniors, and thank you. It's been fun. 

DeJa Vu

It was a good couple day for sports in Fairfield. On Wednesday, Ludlowe softball won the FCIAC softball championship. On Thursday, Warde baseball won the FCIAC baseball championship.

If those sentences sound familiar, it's because they are. Both Ludlowe softball and Warde baseball are now repeat league champs, having also won in 2021. 

Ludlowe softball defeated Danbury on Wednesday 2-0 behind an Ellie Gallagi two-run single in the sixth inning as well as strong pitching from Alex Lewey (5.1 innings) and Anna Gedacht (1.1 innings). Gallagi was named the game's MVP..

On Thursday, Warde baseball took an early lead against Westhill and never looked back, picking up a 4-1 victory. John Heitzman and Zach Broderick each delivered RBI singles. A bases loaded walk gave Warde another run and the Mustangs led 3-0 after one inning. 

That was all Broderick would need on the mound as he allowed one (unearned) run while throwing a complete game. Broderick would be named MVP for the second consecutive FCIAC Championship. 

Warde tacked on a fourth run on a Broderick sacrifice fly in the second inning. Westhill's run came in the sixth as a steal with runners at the corners led to the run. 

Congrats to both team on their championships. Great players who are also great kids. One Town. 

On a related note, Local Live is the official broadcaster of the FCIAC. They are supposed to be exclusive. Disappointing not to see them at softball at all and there only be a video stream and no broadcaster at baseball. 

Final: Ludlowe 2 Danbury 0. Falcons are FCIAC Champions. #ctsb pic.twitter.com/0VYEwyzPrw

— Shawn Sailer (@ShawnSailer) May 25, 2022

Final: Warde 4 Westhill 1. Mustangs are FCIAC Champions! #ctbase pic.twitter.com/5TsrDSpkva

— Shawn Sailer (@ShawnSailer) May 27, 2022

 

The 'One Town Classic'

The final score graphic from the Ludlowe Baseball social because I didn't take any photos

I probably should have written this on Monday night but it didn't happen so I am writing it now.   

Monday afternoon was the annual Ludlowe vs Warde baseball game.*

*Softball played as well with Ludlowe coming away with the 5-0 win, but I was at the baseball game as a coach for Ludlowe, so that is the one I will discuss. 

The game took place at Fairfield University's Alumni Diamond as both teams decided to play the game there. Thank you to Fairfield University for opening your field for us. Hopefully this is something we can continue in the future. 

Warde came into the game with a record of 13-1, 8-1 in the FCIAC. The Mustangs were ranked number two in the GameTime CT state poll. Ludlowe held a record of 9-4, 5-4 in the league. 

The game was a terrific one, with Ludlowe coming out on top 3-1. 

Warde took a 1-0 lead in the the third as John Heitzman scored from third on a wild pitch. The game would remain that way until the sixth as Warde's Zach Broderick and Ludlowe's Kyle Carozza were dealing. Carozza gave way to Harry Tavella in the fifth and Tavella kept up the strong pitching. 

In the sixth, Ludlowe loaded the bases with two outs. Leo Randazzo reached on an error to lead off the inning and Sean McAdams reached on a bunt single. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Matt Vivona drove a ball over the glove of the outstretched Warde outfielder to clear the bases and give Ludlowe a 3-1 lead. Tavella shut the door and Ludlowe came away with the victory. 

It was a great atmosphere as their were people from both schools and just the town in general. I know there were other people who wanted to be there but it's tough with so many other sports going on and the fact that the game was at 4pm on a Monday. 

The town needed this game, as it was a couple week stretch of some tough times for many people in the town/associated with sports in the town. 

So many people who were instrumental in making the game happen and making it special for the players, and at the end of the day, that's who it's about. The athletes. 

Thank you to Art Cockerham for your work on the music, PA and scoreboard. Thank you to Rob Adams for broadcasting the game so that those who could not make the game could follow along. It's also a memory for many people to have that call and go back and listen to it, days, weeks and years later (present company included!). 

Rob jokingly was calling the game the "One Town Classic" because of my role at both schools. Love it! 

You can hear Rob's broadcast here. 

It's one game on the schedule on 20 regular season games, and that's all it counts for in the standings. That's how I feel as a coach. 

As someone who loves this town, sports and baseball in this town, it means so much more. We have great baseball in this town, from Little League on up, and it's awesome for everyone to come together and put on a display for the town. #OneTown 

Best of luck to both teams as the regular season winds down. Maybe the teams meet again in the FCIAC tournament. That would be.....something. 

I love this game and I hate this game, for personal reasons. But it's great for the town. And great for the student-athletes. And that's what it's about. The athletes 

Charlie Strong

Charlie Strong

Capalbo Strong

Those were a couple of the phrases and hashtags on social media used for Charlie Capalbo in his fight against cancer. 

Unfortunately, Charlie's fight came to an end up Sunday night. I will not phrase it as Charlie lost his fight because he fought an incredible five-plus year fight. 

Charlie was a 2017 graduate of Fairfield Ludlowe and a member of the Fairfield Co-op ice hockey team. 

Charlie battled four cancer diagnoses over those five years. A true warrior.

Heartbroken for his family, parents Anthony, Jenny, brother Will and girlfriend Peyton. 

Heartbroken for his extended family and friends. 

Heartbroken for the CT hockey community and the Fairfield community. 

A Fairfield community that has seen too much loss of young people over the last few years with Jake Panus, Kevin Kuczo and now Charlie. 

All different causes. All tragic. 

There may be others that I am missing. No disrespect intended. 

Back to Charlie. Only 23 years old. Any age is too young, but this is way too young. 

The way the community bonded together to support the family over the years was tremendous. From events at local sports, to other events set up around town. Fairfield showed how it will support one of their own. And it wasn't just Fairfield. People came from near and far to support the family. 

We have seen that a number of times over the years when families have been in need of support (emotional, financial and more). I think of the examples I listed above, as well as others, where there may be been other issues and outcomes. 

The news of Charlie's battle ranged far and wide. So many people showing support for him and the family. 

For Charlie, his fight is over. He can be at peace. The community will now (and already is) rally around the family. Charlie will be honored and never forgotten. 

People are hurting tonight. 

Hopefully, people come together and support one another. 

Life is confusing. 

Life isn't fair. 

Sports Rivalries

Rivalries in sports are great. 

Sure, there are downsides, but there is a lot of good that comes out of rivalries in sports. 

From the play on the court/field, etc, to the coaches, to the fans and more, there is just so much that comes out of rivalries. In terms of the fans, it goes from being at games, to social media and more. 

There are so many great rivalries.  Yankees/Red Sox, Duke/UNC, Lakers/Celtics just to name a few. Or rivalries between players, both friendly and unfriendly. Some that come to mind are Tom Brady and Payton Manning or Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Rivalries happen for many reasons. Some are just demographic. Others are because the teams played in the playoffs and championships against each other multiple times. Sometimes it's because of players on certain teams who stir up issues, or sometimes it has to do with the fans. 

Often, it's a combination of these reasons or other factors that arise. 

On Saturday night, the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels, known as the Tobacco Road Rivalry, faced off in the Final Four of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. 

The two schools, who are only eight miles apart, had never met in the NCAA tournament prior to meeting in Saturday's Final Four. 

North Carolina came away with an 81-77 victory in a seesaw game, to advance to Monday's Championship.  The game ended up being the final one for Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K). He announced prior to the season that this one would be his last. Congrats to Coach K on a tremendous career. 

There has been much discussion and debate about Coach K in the last couple days and there will be more in the coming days. Some people feel like he makes it too much about himself. He is currently the winningest coach in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball history. Look at what Duke was before Coach K arrived in Durham. 

If Coach K, or any coach or player, was on your team, rather than a team you hate, you would love him. Because he would help you win, and he'd be yours. That's common sense. You also should respect their greatness, even if you don't like them. 

For example, because the the rivalry that has developed between the Packers and Seahawks in the NFL, I don't really like Russell Wilson. However, I have enormous respect for him and would take him on my team (If I didn't have Rodgers, of course). There are others but this is the first that came to my mind.  

Even on your on team, their may be players you don't like. But if they help your team win, you're Ok with it. For example, I didn't like Grayson Allen on Duke. But he helped them win, so I tolerated it. 

Those who don't like him or Duke are because Duke wins. Everyone hates Duke unless you are a Duke fan (HI!). This is the case with any team that wins, or has one. The same can be said for the Yankees, Patriots and others. 

Sure, they've had some players who could be considered "dirty" (See Christian Laitner or the aforementioned Allen). Every team has that though. Then you have the opposites. Those guys who may not be stars, but are great teammates and people. 

Rivalries are issues when they get personal. There is no need for that. The players don't need to get into personal items and the fans don't need to make real issues with other fans. Sure, you can chirp in some ways, but there needs to be a line. Sometimes the lines get crossed. 

Good luck to North Carolina, and fans like Mike Hirn, Charlie Jones, and others, as the face off with Kansas on Monday night. I still can't root for them though.....

Oh and Let's go UConn women tonight against South Carolina in the Championship. 

He's Back

He's back! He being Aaron Rodgers. It was announced on Tuesday that Aaron Rodgers is returning to the Packers for his 18th season.

Time for the Packers to make a Super Bowl run. 

The reported deal is four years for $200 million, although Aaron himself has said that the contract details have not been finalized, although he did confirm he is returning to Green Bay. 

Hey everyone, just wanted to clear some things up; YES I will be playing with the @packers next year, however, reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate, as are the supposed terms of the contract I “signed”. I’m very excited to be back 💪🏼 #year18❤️

— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) March 8, 2022

There has been speculation as to whether Rodgers would return to the Packers, go to another team, or retire. There was talk of the Broncos or the Steelers, for the most part, with a few other teams thrown in at times. 

Look, I'm very happy he's coming back to the Pack. I know people say they don't want him because he can't win the big game, but if you think of the options, he still is a better option than the alternatives. 

I realize people don't like the drama he's brought on and also he doesn't have the best personality. He's not exactly the best person, but in terms of what he does on the field, it's tremendous. And when I say he's not the best person, it's not like some athletes who have committed crimes, or other issues of that nature. He just it's not best family person,etc.  

I would not have been not have been happy to see him go elsewhere. He didn't need to copy his predecessor (Brett Favre). I know many greats have played with numerous teams but there is something about the loyalty of playing with one team your entire career. 

The Packers also made another move today, which was tied to the Rodgers decision. They franchise tagged Davante Adams, meaning he'll be in Green Bay at least one more year. 

There was a shakeup among NFL quarterbacks today. Russell Wilson was traded from the Seahawks to the Broncos. From a Packer fan perspective, I'm happy to see him out of the NFC. I know they've been down the last few years but he and Seattle and given Green Bay fits over the years. 

Now I really can't wait for football season. Especially with baseball season on hold (although I believe there will be some sort of baseball season.)

Crazy Week of High School Sports

Seems like I've been blogging on weekends a lot. That's when I have the time, plus when I lot of games have been happened. I need to blog more about things other than high school sports, even though so much of my life is that. 

This was the end of a long week of games. I love weeks like this with lots of games, unfortunately, the end results weren't as good as we hoped. 

Yes, I still have the reporter in me, but as a member of the Ludlowe and Warde Athletic Departments and the co-advisor for The Nest, the Ludlowe student section, there is definite rooting interest for me. 

I had initially thought with the Ludlowe boys basketball season ending last weekend, my week would be lighter. Boy was I wrong. To be fair, some of it was just games I want to go to, but I also feel an obligation to others, for numerous reasons. 

Let's start with Tuesday, when the FCIAC boys basketball semis were held in Wilton. Warde was playing the second game of the doubleheader, so I went to that. Ridgefield defeated the Mustangs 67-59 6o advance to the FCIAC Championship. 

On Wednesday, the Fairfield Co-Op boys hockey team played New Canaan in the FCIAC semifinals at Wonderland of Ice. Fairfield defeated NC 7-0. The Mustangs would advance to play Ridgefield on Saturday in the FCIAC Championship. We'll get to that. 

Then, on Thursday, the Ludlowe girls basketball team played Wilton in the second round of the state tournament. It was Ludlowe's first state tournament game as they had a first round bye. The Falcons fell in overtime 41-37. 

Finally, to today. The FCIAC boys ice hockey championship. The game was held at the Danbury Ice Arena. It was a terrific game played by both teams, Fairfield and Ridgefield. Both goalies were tremendous, keeping the game scoreless through regulation. 

In OT, both teams had multiple chances to win before James Ahern scored with 2:08 left in the extra session to give the Tigers the FCIAC Championship. The Ridgefield goaltender, Henry Ertl had 37 saves in the win. For Fairfield, Tommy Adams was also terrific, with 25 saves. The season ends for Fairfield as they are not eligible for the state tournament. 

Great job by The Nest and The Stampede during the hockey game. The great thing about the hockey team being a co-op is that it's all about #OneTown. It's two rival schools coming together to support one team. Sure it takes away the rivalry, but I love the aspect of everyone pulling for the same team and the town in general. 

Oh and one more thing. Local Live is the official broadcast partner of the FCIAC and the EXCUSIVE home of the FCIAC Postseason. Interesting that others are allowed to broadcast, especially on video. 

It was a crazy week. I THINK next week will be quieter, but I'm sure things will come up. There are some more winter postseason performances to go, including Warde boys basketball in the state tournament, and then we get spring sports going soon. I can't wait for Ludlowe baseball and more.