Following a season in which it did not qualify for the FCIAC or Class LL tournaments, a rarity for the program, the Greenwich High School baseball team got right back on the winning track this spring, capturing the FCIAC West Division championship and earning the No. 2 seed in the FCIAC Tournament.

The Cardinals proceeded to win their opening-round game of the CIAC Class LL Tournament, defeating visiting Maloney, 5-2, before being edged by Fairfield Warde, 3-1, in the tourney’s Round of 16.

“We knew we were building something,” Greenwich coach Adrian Arango said at the Cardinals’ 2024 Baseball Banquet held at Tamarack Club in Greenwich on June 11. “We knew last year was an afterthought and we were going to get the program back to where we wanted it to be.”

Greenwich finished its 2024 regular season with a record of 12-8, including an 11-4 mark in the FCIAC, giving it the FCIAC West Division title. Their overall record, including the conference and Class LL tournaments was 13-10. The Cardinals were defeated in the FCIAC quarterfinals by Staples.

The 2024 season started with a 2-5 record for the Cardinals, who rallied to go 10-3 the remainder of the regular season. From April 17 to May 6, Greenwich registered a record of 8-1, putting their record at 10-6. Especially notable victories this past season came against Trumbull, Fairfield Warde, Darien, New Canaan and Danbury.

“If you look at the way the season started, maybe a little self doubt crept in, but at the same time from talking to the coaches and the captains, there was no way the hard work they put in during the offseason wasn’t going to pay off at the end,” Arango said at the Cardinals’ banquet. “For those who know the FCIAC and follow the FCIAC baseball, it’s as good as it’s ever been over the last five, 10 seasons. Every game is a battle. What we didn’t do this year is hang our head and give up. A lot of that comes down to our senior leadership, our captains who have been through these battles before and have played these teams before.”

Cody Baker, Troy Goodman Johnny McHugh and Tommy Passamano served as Greenwich’s varsity team’s senior captains for the 2024 season. Arango recognized the varsity members of the program, which included seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen, while Bruce Cunningham, the junior varsity coach, paid tribute to his athletes and John Schlesinger, the freshman coach, credited his players at the banquet at Tamarack Club, which included a dinner and slideshow highlighting the varsity, junior varsity and freshman team’s seasons.

“All four were the heart and soul of the program,” Arango said of his four varsity senior captains. “I feel very fortunate that they came through Greenwich at the time they came through and I could be their coach.”

Members of the GHS varsity team were recognized for the postseason awards they earned. McHugh, a first baseman and pitcher, was selected as a member of the 2024 Connecticut High School Coaches Association Class LL All-State Baseball team and received 2024 All-FCIAC First Team honors.

“He was a tremendous leader, a hard worker and an extension of the coaching staff,” Arango said of McHugh at the Cardinals’ banquet. “What he’s done for our program speaks volumes through his hard work, love of the game, his intensity and going out there and giving 110 percent every day.”

McHugh, who was also a standout football player during his athletic career at Greenwich High, excelling at tight end and on the defensive line, led the Cardinals in hitting with approximately a .400 batting average and topped the team in home runs and RBIs.

On the pitcher’s mound, he earned two wins and picked up three saves.

“Johnny had a tremendous season on the mound, at the plate in the field,” Arango said of McHugh. “All the awards he got this year were awards that were well-deserved. He is going to continue his athletic and academic career at SUNY New Paltz and I can’t wait to see him go up there.”

Baker, Goodwin and Passamano each earned All-FCIAC West Division honors this spring. Passamano was one of the Cards’ frontline starting pitchers and also played some first base, while helping the team offensively at the plate.

“He was a big part of our lineup he had a bunch of huge hits – great at-bats,” Arango said of Passamano. “Every time we put him out there on the mound, I felt confident. At the plate as well. I knew I could trust everything he did out there.”

Passamano will attend Penn State University in the fall.

“I wish I had more years with him,” Arango said of Passamano. “Tommy Passamano led the team in many pitching categories. Had a great season for us, providing huge wins on the mound.”

Like Passamano, Goodwin was one of Greenwich’s main starting pitchers. He also provided stellar defense as a slick fielding third baseman.

“He (Goodwin) gave everything he had for the program,” Arango noted. “He pitched through pain. No body did it better than he did at third base. I’ll miss his toughness, kindness and intensity for the game.”

Goodwin will continue his academic career at George Washington University.

“He left his heart and soul on the field at Greenwich,” Arango said.

Baker was a mainstay at catcher for the Cardinals. He did an outstanding job of working with the pitching staff, while provided significant contributions to the lineup.

“No one got hit by more pitches, no one got hit by more foul balls and no one played with a torn ligament in their knee so they could come back and play their final game in high school,” Arango said of Baker. “One thing that was always said about this young man by the pitchers is, ‘we love throwing to him.’ He got better at it every day.”

Bulis, a junior, emerged as an impressive, reliable outfielder for Greenwich. He received All-FCIAC Honorable Mention recognition.

“To make any of these teams with the level of talent in the league is extremely difficult,” Arango said of the All-FCIAC Baseball Awards. “There are so many good players that do not get recognized every year.”

Baker, Goodwin, Fin Junius, McHugh, Jacob Meyer, Passamano, Michael Orrico and Hayden Winig were Greenwich’s eight seniors for its successful 2024 season. Nick D’Andrea, Bulis, Aidan Brehm, Lucas Meinelt, Jake Melley, Max Marek, Tommy Powers and Hank van Schaik were the Cardinals juniors. Jayden Zych, Luke Tocci, Ryan Johnson, Brad Wallace and James Mora were the sophomores and Luke Langhorne earned a spot as a freshman pitcher on the varsity squad.

Also at the banquet, six team awards were presented to the varsity members of the team. McHugh received the team’s MVP Award for his sensational season. Meyer was presented with the Best Teammate Award. Tocci was named The Most Improved Player and Passamano got the Cards’ CY Young Award.

Goodwin received the Sportsmanship Award and Baker was presented with the Coaches Award. McHugh was also recently named the Greenwich High School Male Athlete of the Year.

“I’m very proud with the way the seniors brought everything together this year,” Arango noted. “The four captains, who have had the most experience, brought everyone along. This year, the success we had and the success we’ll have in the future hopefully, is the season that kickstarted that. In the end we may have not won the FCIAC and the states, but we won our division championship, we won key games and got ourselves out of a huge hole at the beginning of the season. I’m very happy with the season we had this season.”