BRONX, N.Y. – Colin McVeigh tossed seven shutout innings while striking out four and leading the Fairfield University Baseball team to a 5-0 shutout victory at Fordham in the rubber game of a three-game set. The Stags bounced back from a walk-off 7-6 setback in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.
"McVeigh was very good," Head Coach
Bill Currier said. "He kept his pitch count down and extended into the seventh. And then Pete came in and was very good his second appearance in the series."
Offensively,
Charlie Pagliarini provided the big hit in the nightcap as he launched a two-run homer in the fifth. The long ball was the sixth of the year for Pagilarini and the 22nd of his Fairfield career, moving him into the top-5 in program history.
On the mound the duo of McVeigh and
Peter Ostensen kept the Fordham's bats at bay with six combined strikeouts and one walk in Fairfield's first shutout of the season.
Game One: Fordham 7, Fairfield 6
Fordham's Peter DeMaria launched a walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to clinch a 7-6 decision over the Stags in the opener.
The Stags had rallied to tie the game with four runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run double from
Matt Bucciero. That hit extended Bucciero's hit streak to seven-straight, a span where he hit .458 with seven RBI and four multi-hit games.
Griffin Watson would follow with a run-scoring single and Pagliarini would force in a run with a bases loaded walk.
Watson had two RBI hits in the first game, as his single to center in the second strated the scoring for the Stags.
Mike Handal also provided a spark as he launched a solo homer for the second-straight game in the sixth.
Game Two: Fairfield 5, Fordham 0
The Stags wasted no time scoring in the nightcap as
Mike Becchetti brought in the game's first run with a two-out double in the first. The two-bagger was his fifth of the season, tying for the team lead.
Fairfield extended their lead with a three-spot in the fifth with Handal starting the scoring with a RBI ground out. Pagliarini provided the biggest blast as he launched the first pitch of the at-bat over the right field wall. Pagliarini reached base six times in 10 plate appearances in the double header.
JP Kuczik capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
That was more than enough run support for Fairfield's starter McVeigh as he kept Fordham scoreless through his seven innings of work. The right-hander scattered six hits and struck out five in picking up his second win of the season.
Ostensen not only made the lead stay but also preserved the shutout as he surrendered just one hit in the final two innings. Ostensen made his second appearance in the series and combined for four shutout innings with five strikeouts and one hit in the series.
Fairfield will have one more midweek non-conference contest on Wednesday at Central Connecticut State before starting MAAC play. First pitch with the Blue Devils is scheduled for 2pm in New Britian, Conn.
