FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The magical Fairfield University Baseball season continues to get even more unbelievable. Today, the Stags started a new chapter in their storybook season, relying on clutch pitching and of course some magic, to sweep the eighth-seeded Manhattan Jaspers in the MAAC Quarterfinals by final scores of 2-1 and 8-5 to advance to the MAAC Championship Round. As the top-seed the Stags will host the MAAC Championship for the first-time ever on their home field.
 
"We just showed resiliency to keep at it," MAAC Coach of the Year Bill Currier said. "Their pitchers threw very well for a length of time and we weren't recognizing  some pitches at the plate and chased some out of the zone. But we got better as the day went on. Some guys stepped up with (Mike) Becchetti's go-ahead homer in the first game and then Danny Ryan and Justin (Guerrera's) back-to-back homers in the second game."
 
Game One: Fairfield 2, Manhattan 1
 
All-MAAC First Team pitcher Michael Sansone found himself in another pitcher's duel as he matched Manhattan's Logan Muratalla pitch-for-pitch as both hurlers tossed zeros for most of the game.
 
The Stags did score early as they scraped across a run in the bottom of the second. Sean Cullen started the frame with a single to left. After Muratalla retired the next two hitters, Cullen made a heads up playing by advancing to second on a pitch that just hit the dirt, heading into scoring position. That 90 feet proved to be crucial as the MAAC Player of the Year Mike Caruso grounded a RBI single up the middle to plate Cullen and give the Stags a 1-0 lead.
 
Both pitchers would respond with scoreless innings until the seventh, but it didn't come without hard work. The Jaspers made Sansone work as they fouled off 20 pitches over the first four innings, forcing Sansone's pitch count to rise above 80 pitches in just four frames. However, the extra work did not seem to bother the southpaw as he only got better with runners on base.
 
Manhattan would have a runner on in seven-straight innings against Sansone but he kept the Jaspers off the board. He worked around a Richie Barella leadoff triple in the second, and two runners in scoring position in the sixth on a crazy pickoff play. With runners on the corners, Sansone threw over to first base where the runner broke for second, after a pump fake from the first baseman Cullen, the runner from third broke for home but the Stags caught him in a rundown.
 
Sansone would pick up the strikeouts when he needed to and ended his day with a career-high eight strong shutout innings with eight strikeouts on just one walk. The victory was his eighth of the season, tying the program's single season win mark.
 
Sansone's clutch pitching kept the Stags with a 1-0 advantage heading into the seventh inning. The Stags would pick up a crucial insurance run as Mike Becchetti led off the seventh with a solo shot, his third of the season.
 
That run proved to be vital as the Jaspers almost stole the game in the ninth. The Jaspers would get the first two runners on in the ninth but then suffer back-to-back strikeouts and found themselves down to their final out. That out proved a little bit elusive for the Stags as Sam Franco rocketed a long line drive that hit off the middle of the wall, plating Manhattan's first run of the game and bringing the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position. After an intentional walk, Bryson Cafaro would get the final out on a fly ball to center.
 
The Stags would pick up only seven hits in the opener, with Matt Venuto having the only multi-hit game.
 
 
Game Two: Fairfield 8, Manhattan 5
 
The long ball was the story of the nightcap with both teams combining for four homers.
 
Manhattan was the first team to go yard when Matt Padre crushed a three-run shot in the third inning to give the Jaspers a 3-0 lead.
 
That score would hold to the fifth inning as the Stags flashed the leather. Third baseman Charlie Pagliarini ranged to his right into foul territory to glove a softly hit ball and threw over to first on the run to retire the side in the fifth.
 
The Stags used that momentum on the offensive side as they broke through for five runs in the bottom half of the frame. Caruso started the inning with a pop fly double that landed in the middle of four infielders right in front of the pitchers mound. Venuto would follow with a bloop single of his own down the right field line to put runners at the corners. After a meeting on the mound, Owen Wosleger lined a RBI single into right field to get the Stags on the board. Dan Ryan would follow with the biggest hit of the game as he launched a three-run shot over the left field wall to give Fairfield the 4-3 lead. On the very next pitch, Justin Guerrera followed with a homer over the left field scoreboard, his MAAC leading 11th of the season.
 
The Jaspers would hit the final of the game's four homers as Sam Franco tied the game with a two-run shot in the seventh to knot the game up at 5-5.
 
After all the long ball, the Stags used small ball to regain the lead in the eighth. With two runners in scoring position, Ryan Strollo laid down a safety squeeze that was able to score Caruso from third as the throw bounced out of the catcher's glove, making the score 6-5. The Stags would load the bases looking to crack the game open as Guerrera lifted a fly ball near the right field line where Manhattan's right fielder gave a long run to get to the ball but it dropped out of his glove allowing two more runs to score and make the game 8-5.
 
John Signore retired all seven batters he faced, including a perfect ninth inning to clinch the Quarterfinals series victory and the 22nd individual win of his career. With the victory, Signore passes Keeffe Cato '79 for the most wins in program history.
 
For the first time ever, the MAAC Championship will be held at Alumni Diamond with the top four seeds heading to Fairfield's campus. The Stags, who improved their record to 35-1, will next take the field in the opening round of the MAAC Championship on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

More information regarding the 2021 MAAC Championship, including a complete bracket and schedule, will be available on FairfieldStags.com following the conclusion of the MAAC quarterfinals on Saturday. Next week's games will be open to the public. A capacity crowd is expected inside the venue; fans are welcome to bring their own chairs and sit beyond the outfield wall.