How’s this for an impressive turnaround?

Since starting its season with a record of 2-5, the Greenwich High School baseball team has won seven of its last eight games, improving its record to 9-6.

Even more impressive, the Cardinals have won eight of their 10 games against their formidable FCIAC foes and are in a three-way tie for first place in the conference standings.

Greenwich’s resurgence continued Friday when it celebrated its Senior Day with a key 6-2 win over Darien in an FCIAC matchup at Havemeyer Park in Greenwich. The victory capped a 3-0 week that also saw the Cardinals edge Trumbull, which was ranked No. 1 in the state, 4-3.

“It’s a great feeling on Senior Day against a rival,” said Greenwich senior John McHugh, one of the Cardinals’ captains. “Hats off to the underclassmen for coming prepared. They know what this means to the seniors and it’s a great feeling to win on Senior Day and we’re going to keep things going.”

Freshman Luke Langhorne was one of the underclassmen who ignited the Cardinals on their Senior Day. A right-hander, Langhorne received his first career varsity start and was outstanding, earning the win with a stellar five-inning outing.

Langhorne allowed two runs on six hits in five innings, while striking out seven batters in the winning effort.

“He’s going to be special, not only is he a great pitcher, he’s a great kid, he works hard and he never lost focus or never got down when he gave up runs,” McHugh said of Langhorne, whose older brother Miles was a standout pitcher for the Cardinals and is now competing at the collegiate level.

The Blue Wave (6-4 in the FCIAC) took a 1-0 lead by scoring a run in the top of the third inning. The Cardinals scored four runs in the fourth inning and two more runs in the fifth inning. Greenwich has become accustomed to having a successful Senior Day, as it is 4-0 the past four seasons.

“We’re on a roll, Senior Day is extra special,” Greenwich coach Adrian Arango said. “We’ve won every Senior Day since I’ve been here. It’s about honoring your seniors. We put a lot of importance into Senior Day. I don’t think people realize the journey of these kids from their freshman year on and what they poured into it.”

Following the Cardinals’ victory against the Blue Wave, the eight seniors on the team – Cody Baker, Troy Goodwin, Fin Junius, Max Marek, McHugh, Jacob Meyer, Michael Orrico and Tommy Passamano – were honored with a Senior Day ceremony.

“These eight seniors we have were my first group,” Arango noted. “They have gone above and beyond in so many ways. They are good leaders and good teammates – they’re eight of the best seniors that you could have.”

McHugh went 2 for 4 with two runs scored, Goodwin had one hit, one run scored and one RBI, Baker had a hit and scored two runs, while Passamano delivered one hit and one RBI for the victors.

“It’s always nice to win on Senior Day,” said Passamano, a captain, who has been one of the Cardinals most reliable starting pitchers this season. “It’s a fun time all-around, especially against a rival of ours.”

Junior second baseman Aidan Brehm went 1 for 2 with an RBI, while junior center fielder Jake Melley was 1 for 2 for GHS, which posted seven hits for the game, while playing errorless baseball.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the boys,” Arango said. “Darien has been playing good ball, so we knew it was going to be a tight game.”

Trailing 1-0, the Cards rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning off Blue Wave starting pitcher Owen Tyler. McHugh, who started at first base, led off the fourth inning with a single to left field. Goodwin, a shortstop/captain, singled up the middle, then Baker, a catcher/captain, laid down a perfectly placed bunt single, loading the bases with no outs.

Junior outfielder Emmy Bulis reached base on an infield error, which brought home a run, tying the score at 1-1. Brehm followed by hitting a sacrifice fly, giving GHS a 2-1 lead.

Passamano connected off Tyler for a run-scoring single to center field, then junior outfielder Nick D’Andrea executed a safety squeeze, driving in a run and putting the hosts ahead, 4-1.

“We’d seen him once through the lineup already, so we knew what he was coming with and I just knew what I had to do,” Passamano said of his clutch, RBI single in the fourth inning.

Meanwhile, Langhorne was solid throughout in his debut as a starting pitcher for Greenwich.

“Our pitcher did a really great job,” Baker said. “It’s Senior Day, so it’s great to come out and great a win on Senior Day. We had a freshman step up for us. Luke Langhorne did a great job, he didn’t shy away from the moment, that’s actually his first start today and first win, so a great start to the career for him.”

Arango was highly impressed with Langhorne’s outing against the Blue Wave.

“Luke is special, he’s a freshman, but he doesn’t pitch like a freshman,” Arango noted. “He prepares like a veteran and that’s a big part of what makes him special and as good as he is. It’s the first of many (wins) for him. He’s going to be out here wearing that Greenwich jersey for four years. Nothing fazes him, he works fast, he challenges hitters and he has three pitches that he throws for strikes. On the mound, he’s mature beyond his years.”

Second baseman Dominick Zawacki and centerfielder Teddy Smosky each went 2 for 4 with one RBI for Darien, which received two hits from catcher Jack Nee. Merritt Hole relieved Tyler on the mound for Darien in the fourth inning.

Greenwich padded its lead to 6-2 when Brehm laid down a bunt and the ball was thrown away, allowing two runs to score in the bottom of the fifth inning.

McHugh, a right-hander, pitched two scoreless innings of relief to pick up the save for the surging Cardinals.

“We had a cushion there for runs, so I could take a deep breath, take my time, do what I do and just enjoy the moment on Senior Day,” McHugh said of his pitching performance.

Indeed, McHugh has been difficult to score runs against when he enters a game on the mound in the late innings.

“Johnny’s been our closer for the whole year,” Baker said. “He’s one of those guys who I can trust to come in and shut the door for us. He’s got four pitches, he worked them all. He did a great job of shutting down that Darien lineup.”

Greenwich hopes to continue its winning ways when it hosts conference opponent Stamford Monday, visits Ridgefield on Wednesday and travels to Norwalk on Saturday.

“We’re rolling right now, we’ve won seven of the last eight,” Baker said. “Everyone is having fun. Everyone comes to practice with a good attitude, comes to games with a good attitude and we’ve become more resilient as a team.”

“The dugout has been a huge factor, they’ve been loud the whole game no matter what’s been going on,” Passamano noted. “They’ve been helping us a lot. I think that’s been one of the main factors.”

Indeed, Greenwich, which has already qualified for the CIAC Class LL state tournament, has put itself in prime position to receive a good seed in the FCIAC Tournament.

“We have a big week ahead – we’re at our all-time high in terms of confidence and we are going to carry that on this week and into the playoffs,” McHugh said.