FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The longest winning streak in the nation just got more remarkable. The Fairfield University Baseball team extended their perfect record to an impressive 20-0 as they completed a pivotal four-game sweep against Monmouth by scores of 4-3 and 4-1.
Mike Caruso highlighted the dramatic victories as he launched a walk-off home run in the opener and
Ryan Strollo followed with his first career long ball in the night cap.
"As I tell my team, 'you should be proud and you should be very happy,'" Head Coach
Bill Currier said. "But as soon as Sunday is over and it turns to Monday it's time to get back to work. We're trying to keep it one game at a time, step by step, and not get too much into reading the clippings and reading where we're at. It's great but it's a matter of who's playing well in the tournament and who's positioned well for the playoffs. That's what we're still working for."
Game One: Fairfield 4, Monmouth 3
The Hawks jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead as they pushed across a run in the top of the first, forcing the Stags to play catch up.
As they have all season long, the Stags did respond in the bottom half of the frame. With runners in scoring position,
Sean Cullen lifted a fly ball to center field to tie the game at 1-1 and
Mike Becchetti gave the Stags the lead at 2-1 with a RBI single.
Fairfield would add on to that lead with a
Ryan Strollo RBI single in the third.
John Signore would keep a 3-2 lead intact going into the final inning as the right hander surrendered just two runs while striking out nine in six innings.
In the final frame, the Stags flashed their leather as second baseman
Griffin Watson and the first baseman Cullen each recorded diving stops leading to the first two outs of the frame. However, the Hawks would tie the game on an error putting the score at 3-3.
That set up the dramatics for Caruso, who did not take long to take the stage. Caruso crushed the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the seventh over the scoreboard to give the Stags a thrilling 4-3 victory.
Caruso and
Justin Guerrera led the Stags with two hits apiece, with Caruso's big blast being the biggest of Fairfield's six hits in the game.
Game Two: Fairfield 4, Monmouth 1
The Stags would only grab four hits in the nightcap, but the strong starting pitching of
Bryson Cafaro,
Jason Hebner,
Eli Oliphant, and
Nick Grabek allowed just two base knocks and one unearned run.
Cafaro, who lowered his ERA to a team best 0.52, was once again strong through the first six frames, with six strikeouts and 10-straight retired.
The biggest of Fairfield's four hits came off the bat of Strollo who launched his first collegiate home run, a three run shot to put the Stags up 4-0.
Monmouth would scratch across their only run in the seventh after back-to-back two out walks and a throwing error.
The Hawks continued to threaten in the ninth as they loaded the bases with two outs and facing the Fairfield closer Grabek. The right hander secured his third save of the season as he got the pinch hitter to ground out to short and extend the winning streak to 20-straight games.
Cullen drove in the other run for the Stags with a RBI triple in the fourth. Becchetti was inches away from driving him home but his line drive was grabbed by the leaping shortstop.
Fairfield defended their number one spot in the national RPI rankings, extending the longest winning streak in the country to 20-straight.
The Stags also lowered the nation's best ERA to a miniscule 1.96 and the best WHIP in the nation to 0.87.
Fairfield will defend that perfect record with their first road game of the season when they head to Saint Peter's for a Wednesday doubleheader at noon.
