Greenwich High School’s baseball team’s season came to an end with a tough 3-2 loss to sixth-seeded Ridgefield today in the opening round of the CIAC Class LL Tournament. The Cardinals, who were seeded 27th, finished their season with a record of 9-12, with three of their losses coming by one run and four including today’s defeat, coming by two runs.

“We played about as clean and as good a game as we could play,” Greenwich coach Adrian Arango said. “We turned three double plays, and we got seven hits off one of the best pitchers in the state. With him on the mound and that lineup, they are one of the best teams in the state.”

The pitcher Arango referred to was Ridgefield hard-throwing right-hander Ben Cherico, a senior. Cherico pitched a complete game, striking out 12 batters, while allowing one earned run in the winning effort.

“He was on today, he is a great player,” Arango said of Cherico. “But we put pressure on him to make pitches to get out of jams. We were one big hit away from tying or winning the game.”

Senior shortstop/captain Tyler Cusimano went 2 for 4 with one RBI and junior pitcher Nathan Jones was 2 for 3 for the Cardinals, who scored their run in the fifth inning to tie the score at 1-1.

Justin Zych, a senior third baseman/captain, had one hit, as did senior second baseman/captain Tommy Healey, for Greenwich. Jones allowed three earned runs in eight innings, while registering five strikeouts.

“Nathan Jones was amazing – he kept that lineup in check – one run until the sixth inning,” Arango said. “He was very effective. Defensively, we made no errors and we turned three double plays.”

Catcher Aidan Stern had one hit and one RBI, shortstop Matthew Bucciero had one hit and third baseman Daniel Bucciero was 2 for 2 with one run scored for the Tigers, who will host No. 11 Glastonbury in tomorrow’s Round of 16 game.

“Our approach against a kid that throws over 90 miles per hour was impressive,” Arango said. “Ridgefield is going to be a tough out in the tournament. There is no shame in losing to them.”

The matchup marked the final game of the careers of a large group of seniors on the Cardinals squad.

“I am very proud – we had 12 seniors and they left it all out on the field,” Arango said. “You could tell postgame the love they had for each other. We didn’t hit the goals we wanted to but playing the way we did today, it showed how we could play if we put it all together.”

“It’s sad when the season ends,” Arango continued. “We are losing a lot guys who played together since they were five years old. It was a tight knit team. In this league this year your head spins – we pretty much got everybody’s ace and if we didn’t get their ace, we got their No. 2 starter. I think it will make us even hungrier next year and I am excited about the future.”