Facing a formidable Staples team that’s one of the top-ranked baseball squads in the State, Greenwich knew it had to be on its ‘A’ game when the wreckers visited Havemeyer Park’s field on Friday.

The Cardinals, indeed, came close to playing at their top level, displaying stellar pitching and strong defensive play, yet Wreckers junior left-hander Kai Nee was his usual sensational self on the mound, making it difficult for Greenwich to generate offense.

Nee pitched six shutout innings, allowing just one hit, while striking out 10 batters in Staples’ impressive 5-0 victory over host Greenwich. The loss snapped the Cardinals’ four-game winning streak. The Cardinals have an overall record of 6-6 and are 6-5 in the FCIAC heading into today’s road game versus Trumbull – another powerful squad in the state.

“We knew it was going to be a battle, we knew we were going to face Kai Nee today, one of the three or four best pitchers in the state, but I thought we were prepared, I thought our approach was good,” Greenwich coach Adrian Arango said. “We tried to make him work, but he executed his pitches and hit his spots.”

Staples posted a 12-0 victory over GHS when the teams first met this season in Westport on April 5, but the Cards were in this matchup right up until the end, when they loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“The last time we played these guys they run ruled us, this was a nip-tuck game,” Arango said. “I’m proud of the guys for coming out, fighting and not giving up until the very end.”

The Wreckers (8-4, 5-2 in the FCIAC) threatened to score in the top of the first inning off Cardinals junior right-hander Tommy Powers. Outfielder John Farnen, shortstop Andrew Oppenheimer and infielder Noah Saed each drew walks off Powers, loading the bases with no outs. Yet Powers pitched out of the inning unscathed, striking out a batter, while getting two fly ball outs to end the inning with no runs allowed.

“Tommy has been great for us, this is his first varsity experience as a junior,” Arango noted. “It’s bases loaded no outs in the first inning against one of the best teams in the state and he gets out of it with no runs allowed. That’s a credit to him for getting his composure and getting out of the inning.”

Staples managed to score runs in the second inning, taking a 2-0 lead. Senior Max Jossen doubled, junior Cooper Brundige walked and with two outs, Farnen hit a triple to the right field fence, driving home two runs and giving the Wreckers a 2-0 advantage.

The Wreckers then loaded the bases in the inning and Arango inserted freshman right-hander Luke Langhorne into the game. This appearance marked Langhorne’s first varsity appearance on the mound.

Langhorne got the final out of the second inning and Staples held a 2-0 lead.

“It’s the first of many varsity appearances,” Arango said of Langhorne, whose older brother Miles, was a star pitcher for the Cardinals and is currently pitching at the collegiate level. “Bringing him in with two outs and the bases loaded was a tough situation. We know what we have with Luke, he’s going to be with us for four years.”

It remained a two-run game until the fifth inning, as Langhorne pitched well in his 4 1/3 innings of work. The tall righty allowed three hits and one run, while striking out six batters in his varsity pitching debut.

“He’s so composed and poised for a freshman,” Arango said of Langhorne’s performance. “He’s already mature beyond his years on the mound in terms of what he needs to do out there. I think that showed.”

In the fifth inning, junior catcher Jake Goldshore hit a solo home run to left center field, putting the Wreckers on top, 3-0.

“Outside of one pitch for a home run, he kept their bats at bay,” Arango said. “He held the game to manageable. Luke has a good curve, a good change-up, a good fastball. When you have three pitches and you can command them and throw them where you want it’s only going to get better from there. The boys have embraced him being a freshman. Luke is going to do big things in that uniform for the next four years for us.”

Junior Jake Melley and sophomore Luke Tocci each pitched for GHS in the seventh inning, which saw Staples add three runs. Goldshore keyed the Wreckers’ three-run inning, which gave them a 5-0 lead, with a two-run single.

Greenwich got one single apiece from junior outfielder Emmy Bulis, junior infielder Aidan Brehm and Tocci, who started the game at shortstop.

“Credit to them, you know when you play Staples you’re going to have to play your ‘A’ game,” Arango noted. “I thought we played close to that. We put balls in play, they made all the plays. You are not going to face too many pitchers like – a Duke commit since his sophomore year.”

The Cards loaded the bases against a Wreckers reliever and Brehm and Bulis each singled. Yet the visitors earned the shutout win for their eighth victory of the season.

Still, despite the loss, Greenwich had a winning week this past week, going 2-1, earning victories against New Canaan and Bridgeport Central, putting it above the .500 mark overall.

“We played really good baseball and beat really good teams,” Arango noted. “We tightened things up. We’re a young team in terms of varsity experience and I think it took guys five, six, seven games to figure out that everything is a little bit faster up here.”

“I think the guys have figured it out, they now have 12 games under their belt,” he continued. Every day is a battle in the FCIAC we’ll take a 2-1 week every week. We’ve been very gritty, very tough, defensively we’ve been really good.”

Greenwich visits Trumbull today, travels to Danbury on Wednesday, then hosts conference rival Darien Friday on the team’s Senior Day.

Congratulations to Staples coach Jack McFarland for earning his 300th career win with Friday’s victory against Greenwich. McFarland has enjoyed an outstanding coaching career and has been a mainstay in high school baseball in the state for decades.