FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Baseball team completed their first series sweep over the Rider Broncs in 11 years by getting timely hits and executing pitches, taking the series with scores of 15-1 and 5-4. With the series sweep, Fairfield records their first conference series victory of the season and improves their league record to 5-4.
"It just gives us confidence that we can score some runs," Head Coach
Bill Currier said. "Hopefully as the weather warms up, our bats will stay warm and we will score more runs."
Game One: Fairfield 15 Rider 1
Jack Gethings' grand slam in the bottom of the second was the highlight as the Stags (11-16, 5-4 MAAC) scored all 15 of their runs in the first four innings. Dealing with cold temperatures that dipped into the 40s and winds that zipped through Alumni Diamond, the Stags bats heated up. Fairfield recorded 12 hits through the first four frames, to grab a sizeable lead that was never in doubt.
Drew Arciuolo led off the game with a double and was brought home by a RBI single by Gethings while
Ian Halpin would also add a run scoring double. Gethings would drive in five runs in the contest, tying his personal best.
Most of those RBI came on one swing of the bat, as the junior blasted his first career grand slam to extend the lead to 6-1. A seven run fourth inning blew the game open as
Anthony Boselli tallied a two-run double and
Dylan Reynolds drove home a pair with a single, one of three hits the lefty Reynolds would have in the opener. Arciuolo, who hit .750 (9-for-12) in the series, capped the frame off with a two-run triple.
John Signore would make quick work of the Broncs for the rest of the seven-inning game as the junior went the distance, surrendering a second inning run while striking out eight. With his 190 career strikeouts, Signore is now ranked in the top-five in program history passing Tim Dugan's mark of 189.
The Stags poured out 15 hits in the opener, with three hits coming from Arciuolo, Reynolds and Gethings.
Mitch Williams and Halpin also had a pair.
Game Two: Fairfield 5 Rider 4
The series finale featured the first time the Stags had trailed in the three games as Rider (6-20, 1-4 MAAC) scored first on a fielder's choice in the first.
As usual, the Stags would answer right back as Gethings plated the first run with a RBI double, scoring
Tim Zeng. That was the sixth RBI for Gethings on the day. After a sacrifice fly from Radziewicz, accounting for the 99th RBI of his career,
Drew Blake hit a RBI double into the right field gap and would later score on a wild pitch.
The Broncs would get all three runs back in the second, forcing the Stags to go to their bullpen. That move proved to be the difference as
Austin Pope would allow just two hits over the next 5.2 innings and held Rider off the board. Pope would also strikeout seven in his longest relief outing of the season.
The pitching of Pope helped the Stags get an opportunity to scratch across the go-ahead run against the Broncs' bullpen. That came in the fourth when
Tom Ryan started a two-out rally as he singled off the glove of the shortstop. Zeng would follow with a walk and Arciuolo would post his ninth hit of the series with a RBI double, proving to be the biggest hit of the game. For the senior, it was also his fourth extra base hit of the day.
David Sacco would come in to relieve Pope and would end up posting his first save of the season. The only real trouble for Sacco came in the eighth with two runners in scoring position and two out. Sacco got the swinging strikeout he needed, but the ball was in the dirt forcing Radziewicz to complete the play at first. The batter Christian Estevez ran on the first base line, giving Radziewicz a difficult angle for the throw. His throw went into the runner, bounced off his back and into the glove of the first baseman Boselli to complete the strikeout.
Sacco would fan the final two hitters he faced to complete the sweep for the Stags.
Fairfield will wrap up their four-game home stand when they welcome Hofstra to campus on Wednesday at 3pm.
