AUSTIN, Texas – It seems only fitting that the most historical season in the history of the Fairfield University Baseball program finished under the lights in front of a sold out crowd of 7,000 fans. The Stags' storybook season came to a close as the Stags fell short in the finals of the Austin Regionals falling to No. 2 Texas by a score of 12-2. With the win, the Longhorns advance to the Super Regionals.
"I'm super proud of our guys for the way they battled in this tournament," Head Coach
Bill Currier said. "The two games we won we were behind in both of them and came back. We played hard and dealt with the rain issues and adversary things and came to play every day. Getting two wins, the first MAAC team to do that in years and putting us on the map. That was vital not only to our program but the whole school. Everybody was watching us and pulling for us, not only for our win record but just a small school like this beating a program like Arizona State. It's just a phenomenal achievement."
The Stags fell behind in the first inning without giving up a hit.
Jack Erbeck who was making his 2021 season debut got the starting nod in the Regional Final and recorded two outs in the first four batters, including a strikeout of All Big-12 First Team member Mitchell Daly. However, that would be the final out that Erbeck could record as he walked four batters, including forcing in the game's first run.
The Big-12 co-Regular Season Champions, Texas would score four runs in the second and five more in the third.
Fairfield would get their first runs on the board in the third on back-to-back doubles by
Ryan Strollo and
Owen Wosleger. Strollo recorded the first hit against Texas starter Pete Hansen as he went the other way and hit near the top of the wall.
Mike Handal would bring in the next Fairfield run as he reached on a throwing error, allowing Wosleger to score.
The Stags could not solve Hansen as he struck out a career-high 13 Stags in 6.2 innings.
The pitching for the Stags settled down as they allowed just two runs in the final six innings. Freshman
Peter Ostensen was impressive as he struck out a team-high four batters in just two innings of work.
Billy Fitzgerald and
Tristan Amone also worked scoreless frames.
Wosleger led six Stags who recorded hits as he went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI, and a run scored.
Ethan Hibbard would tally the final hit of the Stags season with his first career hit in the ninth.
Fairfield had two selections to the Austin Regional All-Tournament team in
Matt Venuto and
Mike Handal. Venuto did a remarkable job replacing the MAAC Player of the Year
Mike Caruso, as he led the team with a .462 average in the tournament. Handal set the tone for the Stags as he launched a home run in the very first at-bat in the tournament.
The Stags historical season rewrote the program's record books as they set a new program record with 39 wins and earned the conference's first-ever At-Large bid. The Stags took advantage of the opportunity as they not only earned the program's first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament but they also reached the Regional Final.
Their historical year featured the best regular season in NCAA Division I history with an outstanding 35-1 record and a .975 winning percentage. The Stags set a program and conference record with 28-straight wins to open the season, not only captivating the national baseball landscape, but also getting the first-ever national ranking as they reached No. 23 in the Baseball America poll.
"I'm super proud of the guys because they came to play every day," Coach Currier said. "That's so hard to do in baseball with 18 to 22 year olds. They showed up to play hard and consistent, that's what is hard to do in this game. That is one of the hardest things to ask of a college player to show up everyday, play hard, play consistent and win that many games. I don't know if it could ever be repeated but it's a phenomenal feat with the records we set with this team. Real proud of how they pulled together for each other, it was unequal to any team that I had here."
It's difficult to find the final sentence to completely wrap up this historical season, but the stories that will be passed down will make sure that the excitement and memories of this unprecedented year will never be forgotten.
