POMONA, N.Y. – Charlie Pagliarini continued his torrid season, tying his career-high with seven RBI on the power of a grand slam and a three-run shot while
Blake Helmstetter tossed eight strong innings in leading the Fairfield University Baseball team to a 12-4 win over Quinnipiac, clinching a spot in the MAAC Championship Series. The Stags will appear in the MAAC Championship Series for the third time in the last four seasons and will face the Rider Broncs. The Stags will have to beat the Broncs twice to be crowned the MAAC Champions.
"I think the two stars of the game are Pagliarini and Helmstetter," Head Coach
Bill Currier said. "Pagliarini certainly gave us the long ball at the right times with plenty of guys on base. Helmstetter really stepped up and threw three pitches for strikes and that's the kid we recruited and transferred here. He stepped up and did a great job and picked up our whole staff."
For the first time in the tournament, the Stags were the team on the board first, plating two in the first inning helped by an error and a fielder's choice.
The real power for the Stags started in the second as Fairfield started a rally with two outs and one on.
Griffin Watson would single and
Noah Lucier would walk, setting the stage for Pagliarini. The senior infielder crushed a 2-1 pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam, his second grand slam this month.
Pagliarini would take center stage again in the fourth as he blasted a three-run shot to right field, tying his career-high with seven RBI. That blast brought his season total to 24 home runs and 97 RBI, currently the second most in the nation. His 24 homers is also the second most in a single season in MAAC history. The long ball was also the 40th of his career.
That was the only offense that Helmstetter would need as he threw one of the best games of his career, dazzling Quinnipiac's bats for eight strong innings.
In those eight innings, he allowed six hits, four runs (three earned) while striking out seven. He allowed just one hit through the third and seventh innings while retiring 15 of the 18 batters he faced.
Mike Becchetti added a RBI double in the sixth and
Matt Bergevin crushed his second homer of the tournament with a two-run shot in the eighth.
Five different Stags tallied a pair of hits with Lucier pacing the team with four runs scored.
Fairfield will now advance to the MAAC Championship Series for the third time in the last four years. They will have to beat the second-seeded Rider Broncs twice tomorrow to be crowned the MAAC Champions. First pitch at Clover Stadium is at noon.
