Winners of three consecutive games and five of its last six, Greenwich High’s varsity baseball team is indeed, playing its best with the regular season having recently concluded and the postseason soon to begin.

The Cardinals have a record of 9-11 to finish the regular season, a solid mark considering where they once were.

After going 3-10 in their first 13 games, the Cardinals have turned their season around and their regular season-ending surge has qualified them for the CIAC Class LL State Tournament. Greenwich’s three recent victories have come against Westhill, Fairfield Warde and Brien McMahon.

“I am happy for the boys for never giving up and sticking with it even after starting 3-10,” Greenwich coach Adrian Arango said. “They never quit, never gave up and now we feel like we can compete with anyone.”

Against Fairfield Warde on May 18, Greenwich earned a 6-5 home win. Junior Luke Langhorne pitched six innings for the win, allowing five runs in six innings, while registering 10 strikeouts.

“Luke was tremendous,” Arango said following the Cardinals’ one-run win against Warde. “This was his best outing all year and he has been building up to this over the last few starts. Whatever woes he had in April are long gone and he is the pitcher we knew he could be, which makes us dangerous.”

Langhorne helped his own cause at the plate, going 2 for 4 with an RBI. Senior James Mora, who has sparked the Cards in the infield and on the mound since returning from an injury, pitched the seventh inning to pick up the save.

“Having James Mora, who has picked up three saves in the last four games, back, we are where we thought we could be before the season started,” Arango said.

Senior Luke Tocci went 2 for 4 with one RBI, senior Baxter Conte was 2 for 3 with one RBI and one run scored and Charlie Ginste, also a senior, had two hits a run scored and an RBI for GHS. Mora added a hit, a run scored and an RBI, senior Ryan Johnson had a hit and a run scored and junior Will Conte singled and scored a run in the winning effort. Greenwich finished the game with 10 hits against the Mustangs, who had five hits.

“A lot of clutch hits and big at-bats up and down the lineup,” Arango noted. “We executed another squeeze and we are executing our small ball, which has sparked our offense as a whole.”

In Greenwich’s 1-0 victory over visiting Westhill on May 14, senior Brayden Shockley led the Cardinals with an outstanding pitching performance. Shockley struck out six batters in 5 2/3 innings, while allowing only two hits, to earn the win.

Mora worked 1 1/3 innings to pick up the save for the Cardinals, who got one hit apiece from Langhorne and Will Conte, both of whom provided doubles. Jayden Zych, a senior, drove in the lone run of the game.

Greenwich’s latest triumph occurred on May 21st at Brien McMahon in Norwalk. The Cardinals edged the Senators, 8–7, for their ninth win of the season. Baxter Conte, who played first base, nearly hit for the cycle, as he homered, doubled and tripled to ignite Greenwich’s lineup against McMahon.

He went 3 for 4 at the plate with two runs scored and three RBIs, while Langhorne, who played right field, had one hit and drove in two runs in the win. Johnson delivered a hit and two RBIs, while Wells, who started in left field, was 2 for 3 with a walk and two runs scored for the victorious Cardinals.

Sophomore designated hitter Phil Tarantino and senior third baseman Brad Wallace added a hit apiece for the Cards, who saw Johnson, junior Jake Natale, Tocci and Shockley each pitched against McMahon. Johnson also hit a home run, while Langhorne tripled in the winning effort.

Greenwich has a scrimmage game on the road against Westhill on May 27 and then will compete in the CIAC Class LL Tournament. Currently, ranked 23rd in state in Class LL, the Cardinals will be on the road in the opening round of the state tournament, which they are heading in with plenty of optimism thanks to how they’ve played recently.

“Our seniors know their careers are winding down as Cardinals and they want to leave it all out there,” Arango said. “They have been a big part of our success of winning five of our last six games.”