STAMFORD - Bobby Augustyn could be a poster boy for Up With People even under the most dire circumstances. Stamford High School's buoyant baseball coach may be the closest thing there is to a cheerleader in the dugout, his fungo bat serving as a pom-pom.

But these are hardly dire times for Augustyn, which accounted for his giddy tone early last evening after the Black Knights' impressive 12-7 win at Westhill in the most highly anticipated regular season city baseball game in recent memory.

"This is just great," said Augustyn, bouncing up and down on his toes and seemingly in need of a restraint to keep his head from hitting the sky. "Isn't this great? This is what baseball is all about. We've got a team that is excited about the game and looks forward to being together every day."

Life is good when you are 15-1, ranked fifth in the state and your program has its best chance at its first Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference championship since 1980.

The Black Knights can beat you with power, finesse, pitching and defense. Often in the same game.

Yesterday they scored four times in the third inning with just one hard-hit ball, getting runs with the bases loaded on a walk and hit batter. Stamford players were hit by pitches five times in all, a testament to Westhill's uncharacteristic wildness and the fact that there is some serious mojo going in with this Black Knights team.

"We definitely have chemistry," said Luke Anderson, who yesterday was an example of all the means the Black Knights have at their disposal to get runners across the plate. "We all hang out together, all are friends. It's fun."

Anderson walked with the bases loaded in the third for the first of his four RBIs on the day. He singled home a run in the fourth. Then, after Westhill had put up four runs in the bottom of the sixth to get within 10-7, the Black Knights' catcher applied the final dagger with a two-out, two-run double.

"It's all about the hard work we put in day in and day out in practice," Anderson said.

It was the ninth time in 16 games that the Black Knights scored at least 12 runs in a game, a pretty good comfort margin for a team that has allowed three or fewer runs 10 times.

Pick your poison.

The last time there was this level of excitement surrounding Stamford was seven years ago, when they caught fire and won five straight games in an improbable run to the state championship.

"This team is a little different," Augustyn said. "Mike Megale was a step above everybody at shortstop and Dan Melzer was a great pitcher. Here we have players who all support each other collectively and that's what makes this team strong."

The Black Knights have won nine straight games since their lone loss, a 4-3 setback to Fairfield Ludlowe, the only remaining unbeaten team in league play.

Augustyn is aware his team has become one of the big stories in the FCIAC this spring, and seeing the hill at Westhill packed with fans yesterday was like an extra shot of caffeine for someone who should be on a strict decaf diet.

"I snuck a peak about the third or fourth inning and I haven't seen that big a crowd for a high school game in many, many years," Augustyn said.

You need another major character to complete the marquee, and the Vikings ably filled that role. Though they suffered their second straight loss, they are 12-4 and very much a championship contender. Anyone who writes them off does so at their own risk.

Westhill twice battled back against Gavin McCullough, who pitched five solid innings before tiring in the sixth. Todd Savatsky came in and got the save. Augustyn said one of the reasons for his decision to start McCullough yesterday was both to stick with his rotation, and because Savatsky was the better option out of the bullpen.

"If you told me we were going to score seven runs off of Gavin and Todd I'd take it," Westhill coach D.J. Mulvany said. "We have to right the ship. We have a great group of kids and we're not going to hit the panic button yet."

There is no reason for panicking. Yesterday they got a rare off day from starter T.J. Hickey, and ran into a scorching-hot team whose talent may only be exceeded by its humility.

"We're on a good run, but we can't get too cocky," Anderson said. "There is a lot of work still to do."

And a lot more bouncing around for Augustyn. Which begs the question, how high is up?

- Dave Ruden can be reached at dave.ruden@scni.com