FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Today the breaks did not go the Stags way. The Fairfield University Baseball dropped the opening game in the 2021 MAAC Championship round, falling 4-1 to the Canisius Golden Griffins. With the loss, the Stags will now play in an elimination game on Thursday at 11 a,m. against Monmouth.
Canisius will advance to the winner's bracket final on Thursday at 3 p.m. against Rider for a spot in the MAAC Championship Final.
The Stags could not solve Canisius' right-hander Matt Duffy as the freshman tossed the first complete game of his career with a personal best 10 strikeouts. The Stags managed just four hits against the right-hander.
Justin Guerrera was the first Stag to get to Duffy as he lined a 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for the first run of the game and give Fairfield the 1-0 advantage.
That lead was short lived as the Griffs answered back in the top of the fifth. A lost fly ball turned into a RBI double for Jake Burlingame to tie the score at 1-1.
Michael Sansone was matching Duffy pitch for pitch at that point, striking out eight in the first five innings.
He would run into trouble again in the sixth as Canisius produced soft contact and found some holes. After getting the first two out, Canisius started a two out rally with three-straight hits. Carlin Dick got the big two out hit with a dribbler through the right side and
Mike Handal's throw home just barely missed Max Grant with the second run for the Griffs. Jacob Victor would bring home another run with a bloop single and the Griffs capped their scoring with a wild pitch.
The Stags had life in the top half of that frame with runners at second and third with two outs but the second baseman Grant made a nice play ranging to his right to end the inning.
Fairfield almost got closer in the bottom half of the seventh when
Matt Venuto lined a pitch over the right field wall which would have been his second homer of the season, but he was called out on appeal for missing home plate. It was Venuto's second hard hit ball of the day, as his long fly ball a couple of innings earlier was caught steps in fornt of the centerfield wall.
The Stags would go in order in the next two frames to drop to the elimination game. The Stags will face second seeded Monmouth on Thursday at 11am.
