FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Colin McVeigh earned his second save is as many days by pitching the final three innings and
Matt Zaffino launched the go-ahead homer in the sixth to give the Fairfield University Baseball team a 4-2 win over Niagara, completing the three-game sweep over the Purple Eagles. McVeigh struck out seven of the 13 batters he faced while Zaffino's three-run homer was the offensive difference.
"It's a good sweep for our team," Head Coach
Bill Currier said. "I'm proud of the guys for hanging tough in tough weather after playing two yesterday. McVeigh came in and really shut the door and did a great job with Zaffino picking up a three-run homer to put us up. The story of the game is those two coming through with clutch opportunities."
The two teams had to battle through rain for the majority of the game which affected both team's offenses as they combined for just nine hits in the contest.
For the third-straight game, Niagara was the first team on the board as they scored a run on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly in the third.
The Stags would fight back in the fifth with
Dean Ferrara bringing home a run with a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded.
The biggest swing of the game came in the sixth when Zaffino launched a towering shot to left on the first pitch he saw in the at-bat. His round tripper plated
Colin Kelly and
Mike Becchetti while turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead. It was the 10th-straight game that Zaffino has driven in a run.
That would be the last offensive punch for the Stags, but just by a few inches.
Mike Caruso also launched a long fly ball that just missed being fair inside the foul pole.
The Fairfield bullpen of
Peter Ostensen and McVeigh would keep the lead right where it was at 4-2 as the duo combined for the final six innings. Ostensen picked up his second victory of the spring by tossing three shutout innings while allowing just one hit.
McVeigh continued his shutdown performances by finishing the final three frames allowing just one hit and striking out seven of the 13 batters he faced. His biggest punchout came in the seventh as he stranded the bases loaded by getting Benny Serrano to strikeout swinging.
The save was the second for McVeigh in as many days as the right-hander has struck out 15 batters this week over six innings of work.
The Stags are back in action on Tuesday when they head to St. John's for a midweek matchup at 3pm.
