FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After a year full of dramatic wins and unprecedented history, the Fairfield University Baseball team will try and cement the 2021 season as the best ever in program history when they host the 2021 MAAC Championships at Alumni Diamond this week. The top-seeded Stags will open up the Championship round when they take on fourth-seeded Canisius on Wednesday at 11am. The tournament will mark the first-ever conference championships in the 70 year history at Alumni Diamond.
The Stags earned the right to showcase their talent in front of their home fans by clinching the MAAC Regular Season Championship and the tournament's top seed, their third in the last five years. The Stags did so with the most dominating regular season in MAAC history, posting a 35-1 record marking the highest winning percentage in NCAA Division I history.
All games of this week's championship are open to the public. In addition to seating inside the venue, fans are invited to bring their own chairs to sit beyond the outfield wall and enjoy the action. Food and beverage concessions will be avaialble for purchase.
The entirety of the tournament will also be broadcast live by the Stags Sports Network on ESPN+ with J.J. Duke and Chuck Sadowski on the call.
The success for the Stags started immediately as the squad started the season with 28-straight victories. That historic accomplishment catapulted the Stags into the national spotlight as the program earned their first-ever national ranking when they were slotted 23rd in Baseball America. The Stags are currently ranked No. 25 in Collegiate Baseball News and No. 28 in the College Baseball Writer's poll. Fairfield also sits as the top-ranked team in New England in the NEIBA poll, holding that position for seven of the eight weeks during the season. It is the first time in program history that the Stags were ranked No. 1 in the NEIBA poll.
The Stags officially started their pursuit for the program's second MAAC Tournament title when they hosted eighth seeded Manhattan in the MAAC Quarterfinals, sweeping the Jaspers in two highly contested games. Fairfield held on to win the opener 2-1 after the Jaspers were able to get the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position after a lining double that hit against the wall. The MAAC Relief Pitcher of the Year,
Bryson Cafaro was able to settle down and end the game with a flyout with the bases loaded.
Michael Sansone picked up his eighth win of the season in his eighth start as he went a career-high eight innings without allowing a run and striking out eight. Over his last three starts, Sansone has pitched to a miniscule 0.41 ERA with one earned run in 23 innings. Sansone's eight wins are tied for the program's single season record. The left-hander was one of five Stags named to the All-MAAC First Team.
The Stags clinched the series sweep in the next contest with an 8-5 victory that featured Fairfield's 15th come from behind win of the season as they trailed 3-0 entering the fifth inning. The Stags would erupt for five runs in the frame, highlighted by back-to-back home runs by
Dan Ryan and
Justin Guerrera on back-to-back pitches.
Ryan had the biggest hit of the game with a go-ahead three run homer in the fifth, snapping a season long 0-for-12 skid. Guerrera followed Ryan's blast with a solo shot on the very next pitch, boosting his home rum total to a MAAC leading 11. Guerrera's 11 home runs rank second in single season program history, trailing just Carmine DeVito who had 13 round trippers in 2010.
All of the top four seeds advanced to the Championship Round with Monmouth, Rider, and Canisius traveling to Fairfield for the tournament. The Stags will start their tournament hopes with the opening game against the Griffs.
The Griffs were the first opponent the Stags saw this season, sweeping Canisius in a four-game series which began their historic stretch. Canisius has gone 19-10 since that opening series, most recently winning two out of three against Marist to advance to the Championship round. Max Grant, Vinny Chiarenza, and Jake Burlingame are all batting over .350 with 16 home runs combined for the trio.
The tournament will be double elimination with the winner of the matchup moving on to play on Thursday at 3pm and taking on the winner of the Monmouth and Rider contest. The loser of each contest will play Thursday at 11am.
