Box Score BRONX, N.Y. – When you take into account the weather, the timing, and the importance of the situation, Mike Wallace might have thrown the best game for the Stags in recent memory. After the Stags lost two-straight opening the series, Wallace threw a two-hit complete game shutout striking out seven to give Fairfield their first MAAC win of the season on a windy day in the Bronx. Fairfield was victorious over Manhattan 2-0, as Wallace threw his second career nine-inning shutout.
“I was in the zone,” Wallace said. “The umpire was giving me a lot of good calls on the black of the plate. I was working my pitches well and throwing them for strikes.”
“It was the best game we pitched this year,” Head Coach Bill Currier said. “To throw a complete game this early was pretty impressive on a cold day today.”
The wind was zipping as temperatures dropped to 38 degrees at game time, but the pitching from both sides quickened the game's pace (one hour, 55 minutes).
After getting the lead in the fourth inning thanks to hits from Troy Scocca and Sal Ciccone, Wallace retired six-straight batters to put his number at 10-straight retired in the middle innings.
The only two hits that Wallace allowed were singles, including a grounder that just tipped off of Wallace's glove in the seventh. No runner for the Jaspers (5-13, 2-1 MAAC) reached third base until the final inning, but on his 120th pitch of the cold night, Wallace forced a ground ball to Sebastian Salvo to end the game.
“The way we pitched and played yesterday we could have easily still been stewing about it,” Coach Currier said. “But we made some adjustments, got a couple of runs across, but of course the story of the day was Mike Wallace. He kept them off balance and threw a great game.”
“After dropping two yesterday we knew we had to come to the field today and get a win,” Wallace said. “The defense played awesome behind me, we didn't have an error and we scraped a couple of runs and that got it done.”
The Stags (2-11, 1-2 MAAC) were in vital need for a win coming off a double header sweep against Manhattan 24 hours ago. That energy showed on the field. Maybe no more than when Wallace erased a rare base runner by turning a 1-6-3 double play as the runner took off from first. The pitcher then pumped his fist and congratulated his team before taking the ball back.
Fairfield managed eight hits on the night, with Salvo leading the team with two. The senior narrowly missed a home run early in the game as his deep fly to right was caught nearly two feet from the wall.
Needless to say, Wallace set season-high for the Stags in every single pitching category. The defense helped the gem become a reality. Michael Conti made a leaping play at short, and the outfield helped chase some line drives that could have dropped.
“We hope he goes out there and competes like he did tonight,” Currier said. “Keep the ball down and mixing three speeds, he just has to keep that up.”
“We really needed to get a win today,” Wallace said. “We can get a roll a little bit. We played a tough schedule to start but now we're going to get on a roll, play Canisius next weekend and really get things going.”
The Stags will try to play their first “true” home game when they welcome Hartford on Wednesday at 3pm.
