A three-game week saw the Greenwich High School boys baseball team face formidable starting pitchers in each matchup, but its hurlers were up to the task, providing quality starts on the mound each game.

However, the Cardinals only scored three runs in three games for the week and as a result, lost each meeting against their FCIAC foes.

Impressive pitchers keep taking the mound against Greenwich and Friday, Deron Koppel toed the rubber for visiting Norwalk. The senior right-hander pitching six shutout innings, while registering eight strikeouts to lead the Bears to a 4-0 win over the Cardinals.

Koppel allowed just three hits in his six innings of work, while senior Robert Bedell pitched one inning of scoreless relief to seal the win for Norwalk, which improved its record to 6-3 The Cardinals, who saw Fairfield Ludlowe post a 2-1 walkoff win against them on Monday and Staples edge them, 4-2, on Wednesday dropped to 1-7 overall and 1-3 in the FCIAC.

Troy Goodwin, a junior right-hander, pitched six effective innings for the Cardinals. Goodwin struck out three batters, walked just two and did not allow an earned run. Norwalk scored all four of its runs in the top of the third inning, capitalizing on two GHS errors.

“He gutted it out,” Greenwich coach Adrian Arango said of Goodwin. “I told the boys, sometimes in this league if you don’t play clean defense, the score can go from 0-0 to 4-0. This could have been a zero-zero game, but Norwalk got key hits in that inning.”

Senior shortstop Taso Panagiotidis went 1 for 3 with a run scored and one RBI, while junior catcher Xavier Gonzalez had one hit, one run scored and an RBI for the Bears.

Third baseman Jacob Fields, a freshman and junior Dominic Muro each contributed one hit and one RBI for the victors. After Norwalk’s four-run third inning, Goodwin threw three shutout innings, then senior right-hander/captain Wyatt Gibson pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the Cards.

“Troy battled, I was going to take him out earlier and he didn’t want to come out,” Arango noted. “He wanted to keep throwing zeros and he did that for five of the six innings. We made three errors in the first three innings and two that inning. They had some key hits with runners in scoring position, but what Troy did was commendable.”

Errors and mistakes are magnified when a team has trouble scoring runs, which Greenwich is currently experiencing.

“We know physical errors are going to happen, but at the same time, one or two physical errors when Deron is pitching his best, – he’s one of the better pitchers in the league – it’s going to be very tough to win those games,” Arango said. “And obviously, if you don’t score runs you don’t win.”

For Greenwich, Gibson, who started in center field, went 1 for 3, while junior first baseman Tommy Passamano was 1 for 2 and senior second baseman/captain Nathan Jones 1 for 2 for Greenwich, which managed three hits off the hard-throwing Koppel.

“When Deron is on, he is one of the top pitchers in the league,” Arango noted. “He was phenomenal and he usually is. He’s had a lot of starts in the league and he was impressive. We’ve faced a lot of good pitchers and his performance was as good or better than any of those guys.”

“They’re a tough team, they’re scrappy, they put pressure on you on the bases, they make the plays in the field, but I like our effort,” Arango said of Norwalk. “We just couldn’t get the big hit.”

Arango was especially pleased with Goodwin’s performance on the mound. Pitching has been a strength of the Cardinals, who got good starts from Passamano and senior Tyler Senft this week.

“When you give up four runs in an inning, it could mess with your psyche a little bit, he was angered for a brief moment then then he came out and threw three innings of zeros,” Arango said. “He’s done a great job he is a competitor. He threw 104 pitches and he didn’t want to come out.”

“Our guys are stepping up, that’s all we can ask for,” Arango continued. “Now, we have to bring these bats to the game and start manufacturing runs. I know these guys are willing to put things behind them.”

Greenwich visits Fairfield Warde Monday, visits hosts Trumbull Wednesday, then travels to New Canaan on Friday.