BUFFALO, N.Y. – John Signore pitched one of the best games of his collegiate career as the junior struck out a career-high 14 batter in eight two-hit innings, leading the Fairfield University Baseball to an exciting 1-0 extra inning win in the first game of Fairfield's doubleheader at Canisius. The Stags would fall in the nightcap in another pitching duel, 3-2 over the Griffs.
 
Game One (Fairfield 1, Canisius 0, 11 innings)
Signore was the star of Sunday's opener as he went pitch-for-pitch with Canisius' ace, and conference wins and ERA leader J.P. Stevenson. In an old-fashioned pitcher's duel, neither starter allowed a run and both pitched past the scheduled seven innings.
 
Signore would surrender only two singles by Liam Wilson, coming in the first and seven innings, during his eight-inning performance. Fairfield's (6-13, 1-2 MAAC) ace would not walk a batter until the eighth and would dig deeper to end the only real threat he faced all day. After he singled with one out in the seventh, Wilson would advance to third on a hit by pitch and a wild pitch with one out. Signore would strike out the next two batters swinging to end the threat. Eight of Signore's career-high 14 punch outs were swinging.
 
On the other side, Canisius' (13-7, 2-1 MAAC) ace Stevenson, who entered the game with a MAAC leading 3-0 record and 1.78 ERA, lowered that impressive mark as he also threw 7.2 shutout innings during his start. Fairfield tallied only five hits against Stevenson with their only threat coming in the fifth inning on back-to-back singles from Dan Ryan and Tom Ryan.
 
The game would come to the bullpens, and Fairfield's David Sacco would respond with three scoreless innings in picking up his first win of the season. Two of the three hits Sacco allowed came in the ninth on singles from Wilson and Christ Conley. The junior would escape trouble with a fielder's choice at third and a strikeout to end the inning.
 
Fairfield tallied the only run in the game in the top of the 11th as they started a two-out rally. Jack Gethings began with a walk and would later steal second. Kevin Radziewicz would advance Gethings to third with a single through the right side. Gethings would score on a fielding error.
 
Sacco would close the game with a 1-2-3 frame.
 
Game Two (Canisius 3, Fairfield 2)
Fairfield fell behind 3-0 after three innings capped off by a Wilson ground rule double in the third. It took the Stags until the seventh inning to figure out the Canisius pitching as they held Fairfield to just two hits in that span.
 
Drew Blake would start the Fairfield rally with a one-out double in the seventh and would later score on a Mitch Williams RBI single. Fairfield would manufacture another run in the eighth after singles from Tom Ryan and Anthony Boselli. Drew Arciuolo advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt and Gethings plated the second run with a sacrifice fly.
 
Blake drew a walk in the ninth, but the Stags could not bring him around for the 3-2 final.
 
Peter Horn had his second-straight impressive outing in the series as he threw the last three shutout innings.
 
Fairfield will next travel to Central Connecticut State for a 3pm start on Tuesday.