EMMITSBURG, Md. – The Fairfield University Baseball team scored 17 times against Mount St. Mary's but the final run was the most important as Mike Handal broke a 16-16 tie with a two-out solo shot in the ninth inning for a 17-16 victory on Saturday afternoon. Handal set a single game program record with six runs scored and Nick Sturino added a career-high seven RBI in the victory.
 
"Short fences and high winds don't make a comfortable day to pitch," Head Coach Bill Currier said. "Handal was clutch in the ninth by drilling a home run off the scoreboard. It's better to win ugly than lose."
 
The Stags held leads of 12-2 and 16-8 before holding on for the victory.
 
Fairfield would hit three more homers in the game with two of those coming in the first two innings. Charlie Pagliarini started off the slugfest with a solo shot in the first, extending his team lead to nine homers this year. Sturino would start his career day with a two-run shot in the second.
 
Fairfield would score at least a run in each of the first three frames, plating three more in the third. Handal and Matt Bucciero both recorded RBI singles in the stanza.
 
The Stags would score 10 runs in the fifth to seventh innings, capped by a six-spot in the fifth. Handal started the scoring with a RBI double, which would be followed by a two-run double by Sturino. The Stags would have three RBI doubles in the inning with Ethan Hibbard also picking up a run-scoring two-bagger.
 
Sturino would add another RBI double in the sixth and a two-run double in the seventh. His seven RBI was two shy of a single game record and the most by any Stag since Mitch Williams drove in eight in 2017.
 
Mount St. Mary's would fight back with 14 runs scored from the fifth to eighth inning. The Mountaineers would hit two homers in the eighth to tie the game.
 
After the first two were retired in the ninth, Handal drove a 2-2 pitch off the scoreboard to give the Stags the lead for the final time.
 
The Mount would have the first two men reach but Bowen Baker forced a ground ball that would erase the front two runners on a double play. He would get the win by striking out the final batter to end the game.
 
Handal and Sturino paced the Stags with four hits apiece. Handal went a perfect 4-for-4 with six runs scored and three RBI. Sturino would go 4-for-5 with two runs scored and seven RBI.
 
Mike Becchetti went 1-for-4 in the leadoff spot, extending his hitting streak to 16-straight games, the sixth-longest in program history.
 
Colin McVeigh struck out eight in 5.2 innings.
 
Fairfield hit three homers on the day, bringing their season total to 40, which is already tied for the fourth most in program history.
 
The two teams will play the rubber game of the three-game series tomorrow at noon.