By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — The Staples baseball team defeated visiting Fairfield Ludlowe 11-2 Tuesday, but fell to  Trumbull 5-1 the next night.

In the win over Ludlowe, Andrew Oppenheimer pitched six strong innings, allowing four hits and five walks while striking out four. Nick Porzio tossed an inning of scoreless relief.

Cooper Brundige went 3-for-3 with three runs batted in and two runs scored. Luke Oakley was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Jake Goldshore collected two hits and a run batted in.

“Huge win. It puts us in a real good position for the FCIAC,” said Staples Coach Jack McFarland, whose team improved to 7-4 in conference play. Staples has sole possession of fourth place in the FCIAC standings with four games to play.

McFarland said one more win may or may not get his team in the FCIAC bracket, while two more victories for a total of nine likely gets the squad in. A tenth victory could give the Wreckers a first-round home game. Staples, which already has locked up a state playoff berth, also hopes to improve its ranking for that tournament.

In the loss at Trumbull, Jack Farnen had two hits and drove in Staples’ lone run. 

The Wreckers have been boosted by contributions from varsity newcomers this spring. They include freshman Cole Landgraf, who drilled a double for his first varsity hit, and freshman pitcher Bruce Schlegelmilch, who pitched a strong inning in relief.

“We’ve got a lot of new kids playing for the first time,” McFarland said. “The future’s bright.”

The Wreckers will visit Danbury at 11 a.m. Saturday. The regular season winds down with a pair of home contests, Monday against St. Joseph of Trumbull and Wednesday when Westhill of Stamford visits — both at 4:30 p.m. (Game schedules are subject to change; click for the latest updates.) 

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.