QUEENS, N.Y. – When facing a team that won 40 games a season ago, you have to play a fundamentally sound game. That's exactly what the Fairfield University Baseball team did tonight as they manufactured two runs, relied on two magnificent pitching performances, and got timely defense as the Stags defeated regional power St. John's 2-1 at Jack Keiser Stadium. The win represented the first time that Fairfield has defeated the Red Storm since 2005.
The Stags (5-11) tallied just four hits in the game, but they made each one count.
Drew Blake would have two of the hits for Fairfield, including a single in the fourth inning that advanced
Kevin Radziewicz to second.
Anthony Boselli would tally a productive out as his sacrifice bunt brought both runners up a base and
Mitch Williams would convert his RBI chance with a run scoring groundout.
Fairfield scored their second run in eerily similar fashion. Radziewicz led off the fourth inning with a walk and Blake would follow with a single. Boselli advanced both runners with a grounder to first and Williams brought home a run with a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-1 in favor of the road side.
St. John's (9-7) would score a run in the bottom half of the inning, but they could not solve the pitching of
Josh Arnold and
Peter Horn. Arnold made the start and would throw a career-high six innings while allowing just two hits. Arnold retired the first nine batters to face him, before surrendering his only run in the fourth. Arnold would end his night by retiring the last seven batters.
Horn would relieve Arnold in the seventh and was able to strand the potential tying run at third by getting Matt Woods to groundout to short.
With an exciting game, there was a dramatic finish. With runners on first and second, Wyatt Mascarella lined a ball to the right side, but second baseman
Tom Ryan made a nice diving grab and doubled off the runner at first to secure Fairfield's first victory over the Big East squad in 13 years.
Radziewicz would score both runs for the Stags as he reached base three times on two walks and a double. Arnold picked up his first win of the season and lowered his ERA to a team-best 2.63. Horn notched his second save of the spring by finishing up the final three innings.
The Stags will try and keep this momentum as they open up their MAAC slate, traveling to Canisius for a three-game series starting on Saturday at 2:30pm.
