FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Trailing by three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Fairfield University baseball showed no signs of quit. The Stags loaded the bases with one out in the final frame, but Hartford's Collin Ferguson kept the pesky Stags off the board with a strikeout and a line out to give the Hawks a 6-3 victory in Fairfield's 2016 home opener. Three Stags notched two hits on the brisk afternoon for a Fairfield team who dropped their seventh-straight game.

Hartford (10-5) never trailed in the contest, starting with the very first pitch at Alumni Diamond which Aaron Wilson launched over the left field wall for his first of the season, and just the fifth for the Hawks.

The Hawks would find their power again in the fourth inning when David MacKinnon launched a solo shot to give the road team a 2-0 lead.

The Stags (4-12) got a run back during their at-bats in the fourth, when freshman Jack Gethings roped a double down the line, scoring Mac Crispino to put Fairfield on the board.

After Hartford got a run back in the fifth, the Stags fought back again. Troy Scocca notched a RBI single in the fifth and Kevin Radziewicz blooped a RBI single into left to tie the game in the sixth inning. A throwing error put Radziewicz at second and the potential go-ahead run on third with one out, but just like they did all game long, Hartford got the outs when they needed.

That was most evident with a three run lead in the ninth. Radziewicz led off the inning with a double and Jake Salpietro and Scocca drew one out walks, but the Stags could not get a run across the plate. The final out of the game was launched off the bat of Drew Arciuolo but right at the left fielder Nick Campana.

Radziewicz, Crispino, and Gethings paced the Stags with two hits apiece. Peter Horn was the lone Stag pitcher not to be charged with an earned run as he went 1.2 shutout innings.

The Stags will try and get back in the win column when they host Albany on Friday at 1pm.