Ruden Sports News

MIDDLETOWN — The Fairfield Warde baseball team saw a six-run lead whittled down to two, with Southington getting the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning of today’s Class LL championship. Starting pitcher Zach Broderick had left the game and Paddy Galvin, who had not blown a save or suffered a loss all season, had been nicked for three hits in a span of four batters.

On the verge of seeing the rarest of high school baseball trifectas — regular season, league and state champions — slipping from exclamation point to question mark, the mood on the field and in the dugout as Southington’s Manny Izzo came to the plate was exactly what you would expect from the Mustangs if you have followed them even somewhat closely over the past two months.

Quiet confidence.

“I wasn’t worried at all, I knew Paddy was going to finish the job,” Broderick said. “I knew he would get out of it.”

Six pitches later it was over. Galvin struck out Izzo and the Warde players converged on the mound to celebrate the school’s first state title since 1981; a consolidated Fairfield High School won the championship in 2002.

“Honestly I haven’t been able to take it all in yet,” said Garrett Larsen, who flourished as the offensive catalyst in the leadoff spot. “We just played our game, we knew we could do it and it just feels great. At the end we knew we had to throw strikes and let them put the ball in play. Of course they hit the ball but we got it done.”

Broderick finished his career 6-0 in postseason games. After getting the first out in the seventh he gave up a walk and single and coach Brett Conner called on Galvin, his closer.

Broderick allowed three runs on five hits. He struck out 10 and walked three.

“This is amazing,” Broderick said. “Four years, two FCIAC championships and now a state championship. This group of guys is so special. Going out with a state championship in my last year of high school is incredible.”

Broderick, whose father played on Warde’s 1981 team, pointed to the sky as he moved from the mound to first base. His grandmother, who he last saw 10 years ago until she came up from North Carolina last month for his senior day, passed away two weeks ago. The team kept the news private and it remained that way until Broderick, who has been the Mustangs’ emotional leader, teared up talking to the media afterward.

“I did it for her,” Broderick said.

When the third-seeded Mustangs (22-3) scored twice in the sixth on RBI singles by John Heitzman and Broderick to make the score 7-1, it appeared to be nothing more than cosmetics to an easy win.

But the fourth-seeded Blue Knights (21-4) came storming back with four hits, including a two-run double by Justin Chiulli that made it 7-5.

Galvin recovered and saved a game that moments earlier did not appear to need saving.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said Heitzman, who finished with two hits. “This team is special. Will Eustace and Griffin Polley are my two best friends and we’ve been playing for 12 years together now. Our last game together. It’s special.”

Warde took a 1-0 lead in the first on a two-out single by Polley, who finished with three hits and, after not pitching through the regular season and conference playoffs due to a shoulder injury, won two starts in the tournament.

After Southington tied the game in the top of the third, Warde scored three times in the bottom half, mixing four singles with two errors by the Blue Knights.

Warde, which finished with 13 hits, scored again in the fifth when Polley, who had singled, came around on a passed ball.

Seven different players had hits with five, including Broderick, Eustace and Galvin, finishing with at least two.

“These guys are so resilient and they’re all like a bunch of coaches to be honest with you, the way they carry themselves,” Conner said. “We were able to do enough to finish the job.”

Warde may yet make a clean sweep in accomplishments next week. After starting the season second in the preseason state poll, the Mustangs were No. 1 in the most recent voting, prior to the tournament. It is difficult to see what could have happened the last two weeks to sway anyone to drop them lower.

Conner, who last led Warde to the final in 2016 and who played his last high school game for Shelton in a quarterfinal loss to Fairfield during its 2002 title run, has demonstrated during the playoffs an appreciation for what his team’s success has meant outside the program.

“There’s nothing sweeter than being able to bring a title back to Fairfield,” Conner said. “This is a special time for Fairfield as a community. It’s been 20 years.”