Freshman Kochiss Sparks Fairfield Ludlowe Baseball To Win

This is the stuff of which fairy tales are made.

Mike Kochiss, a freshman who doesn't turn 15 until July 24, delivered the tiebreaking single in the bottom of the sixth inning Wednesday, as Fairfield Ludlowe survived a major scare before holding off Darien, 7-4, in a CIAC Class L first-round  contest.

The game was resumed Wednesday after it was suspended on Tuesday in the second inning with the eighth-seeded Falcons (19-5) leading, 1-0.

Kochiss' hit - which came off Dave Hickey, a future Division I pitcher - was part of a four-run rally in the sixth, when Ludlowe erased a 4-3 deficit.

The Falcons, who have won nine in a row,  will host No. 9 Rockville in a second-round contest on Thursday at Kiwanis (3:30 p.m).

"It feels great," said Kochiss, who lined a 3-2 pitch into left-center field to snap a 4-4 tie. "There's no greater feeling than that. We're gonna go far and hopefully we'll win it all."

Ludlowe coach Keith O'Rourke elected to not to bring back Tuesday's starter Steve Guasco, instead going with relief specialist Taylor Brown to open the third inning Wednesday.

Brown tossed three dominant frames, allowing only one hit, and the Falcons appeared to be cruising with a 3-0 lead through five.

But things unraveled for the Falcons in the top of the sixth, when the 25th-seeded Blue Wave (8-13) reached Brown for four runs. Still, the reigning FCIAC champions showed the mettle of a championship team in the bottom half.

Hickey, who is bound for Yale in the fall, replaced starter Ricky Hodges on the mound for Darien. However, Rob Ferrara drilled Hickey's first pitch over the fence in the left-center for a game-tying home run.

Zach Garoffolo followed with a walk and swiped second, the Falcons' sixth stolen base in the game. Hickey struck out the next two batters, setting the stage for Kochiss, the ninth-place hitter in the lineup.

On a club dominated by seniors - some of whom will be playing Division I ball next year - Kochiss has the utmost respect of his teammates - so much so that they call him "Stud".

O'Rourke was asked his thoughts on a freshman getting the game-winning hit in a state tournament game against a future Division I pitcher.

"Isn't it pretty cool?" O'Rourke said. "(Kochiss teammates) think he's the man."

"We try to put our players in position to be successful and having a freshman is a tricky proposition because they haven't been through what the seniors have been, but this kid is mature beyond (his years).  He's extremely mature. He's  out there because I feel he can handle it and he's got the physical ability to do it. It's exciting to know that we have him for another three years."

Indeed, without a baby-faced freshman who looks not a day older than his 14 years and 10 months, the Falcons very well might have been staring at the offseason.

"Before I got up there I was a little nervous," Kochiss said, "but when I got to the plate I felt very comfortable. I kind of knew I was going to get the hit."

Nick Rossomando and Max Senew followed with hits to make it 6-4, and Rossomando scored the seventh run on Hickey's wild pickoff attempt at first.

Alex Capoziello tossed a perfect seventh for the save.

After Tom Nagy's RBI single in the bottom of the first on Tuesday opened the scoring, Rossomando added a two-run single in the second shortly after the game was resumed to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead.

When Ludlowe took the field in the third, there was a new pitcher on the mound.

"(Guasco) could have thrown today," O'Rourke said. "As a coach, I feel responsible to make sure that I have his best interests at heart. This is a kid who had arm issues a month and a half ago. He told me he was ready to go today, but I didn't feel good aout it, and I knew I had a kid (Brown) with a full tank of gas who won the FCIAC championship game last week."

Brown ran into trouble in the sixth, however, when he hit the first two batters, including the No. 9 hitter. After a popup, John Anderson drilled a two-run double over the lead of left fielder Billy Malone.

After Brandon Tripodi singled to send Anderson to third, the Falcons played the infield back and conceded the tying run on Scott Dempsey's grounder to third. Dan Pidgeon's followed with a sinking line drive that got behind center fielder Alex Wright for a go-ahead triple.

"Giving them baserunners, like hitting the first two batters, especially the No. 9 hitter, are definitely mistakes that will make you pay in the later rounds," Brown said.

But the Falcons quickly responded, and O'Rourke was glad to get the first state tournament win out of the way.

"This was a tough first-round game, and we stepped up," O'Rourke said.