Crimson Eagles Defeated Blue Wave in Darien, 6-5, 40 Years Ago Today

The Andrew Warde High School baseball team survived its own mistakes in the field and a comeback effort from host Darien to defeat the Blue Wave, 6-5, in 13 innings on Friday, April 24, 1974.

Pitcher Kirk Anderson went 12 innings to pick up the win for the Crimson Eagles, but he had to battle seven errors from his fielders and the never-say-die Blue Wave.

Warde broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the 12th inning with a pair of runs on RBI hits by Jeff Hannon and Tim Walsh, but Darien responded with two runs on a two-base outfield error and Eddie Lechak's run-scoring hit.

The Eagles, now 6-0 in the FCIAC and 6-1 overall, struck for two more tallies in the 13th frame as a single by Jim DelVecchio and Bob Nielsen's double scored runs.

The game wasn't decided yet, however, as Chuck Santos-Duch led off the bottom of the 13th inning with a single and moved around on a stolen base, an error, and a groundout. Reliever Buddy Peck came into the game after the stolen base to save the victory for Anderson.

Darien, which fell to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in league play, opened the scoring in the fourth inning on Santos-Duch's RBI single, but Warde answered with a run in the fifth on consecutive two-base errors. The teams traded runs in the sixth to set the stage for extra innings.

Dave Catino, who pitched the final inning for the Blue Wave, took the loss. He was the fourth pitcher used by Darien.

Paul