POMONA, N.Y. – The Fairfield University Baseball team dropped their opening game in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships as they fell to the fifth-seeded Rider Broncs 4-3 in 12 innings on Thursday. Socrates Bardatsos drove in the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly, allowing the unearned run to cross home plate.
The Stags got off to a fast start by plating two runs in the bottom half of the first.
Matt Venuto brought home the first run of the game as he doubled over the head of the center fielder to bring home
Charlie Pagliarini to make the score 1-0.
Matt Zaffino would follow with a RBI single to bring home Venuto and put Fairfield up 2-0.
Michael Sansone would be in control for most of the seven innings he pitches but ran into trouble in the fourth as he surrendered three runs on three hits. Brendan O'Donnell drew a bases loaded walk to put Rider on the board and the Broncs would tie the game on a fielder's choice. Jordan Barbiere put the Broncs up with a RBI single to left center and make the score 3-2.
That was the only problem for Sansone who would hurl seven terrific innings, tying a season-high with 10 strikeouts and allowing only the three runs. Three of the six hits he allowed was in the third frame as well as two of the three walks. The left-hander would toss 119 pitches during his championship outing.
The Stags offense would find a way to tie up the game in the sixth with Venuto starting the rally with a triple that hit the top of the wall in left field. He would easily score on a sacrifice fly by Zaffino that knotted the game at 3-3. That run would be the 55th run driven in by Zaffino, tying the program's single season record set in 2019.
That would be the only offense the Stags would find in the next six innings as Rider's closer Cal Stalzer shutdown the Stags over 5.2 frames. He would throw 97 pitches in relief and tally five strikeouts.
Fairfield would have a chance to walk-off with a win in three-straight innings but could not find the luck.
Mike Becchetti flied out to the deepest part of the ballpark just feet in front of the center field wall.
Colin Kelly would just miss a double in the 11th with a line drive a foot off the chalk.
The Stags were put in that position due to nice efforts in relief by
Jack Erbeck and
Peter Ostensen. Erbeck would toss three innings of hitless ball while striking out the side in the top of the ninth.
Fairfield would put the game-winning run in scoring position in the bottom half to the inning but Stalzer would strike out back-to-back hitters to end the threat.
The Broncs would plate the eventual game-winning run in the 12th as the first batter reached on an error. He would take second on a stolen base and then head to third on a groundout. Bardatsos would bring him home with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Stags would record seven hits with Venuto and Zaffino both tallying multiple hits. Kelly picked up his 200th career hit in the fourth.
Fairfield will now play in an elimination game on Friday at 12:30pm.
