FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Baseball team clinched at least a share of their fourth-straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Regular Season Championship and the number one seed in the upcoming Championships with a hard-fought 4-2 win over Quinnipiac at Don and Chris Cook Field.
Blake Helmstetter earned the win in relief by retiring 10 of the 11 batters he faced and
Matt Bergevin drove in three in the victory.
Dean Ferrara also made history with another two-hit day, bringing his season total to 90 base hits, the most in a single-season in program history.
"It was a well-pitched game on both sides," Head Coach
Bill Currier said. "It was a good college game with good defense and good pitching. We kept at it and we have to give our hitters credit for finally coming through at the end of the game. Bergevin had a real good day but the story was the pitchers keeping them at one run."
The two teams battled through an old-fashioned pitcher's duel with
Ben Alekson battling through 5.2 frames while Quinnipiac starter Mason Ulsh dominated through his 7.1 frames.
Alekson allowed five base runners in the first two innings but beared down and stranded all five. The Bobcats led off the game with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. After getting a sacrifice bunt, Alekson would get a huge strikeout and a ground out to end the jam.
Quinnipiac would load the bases in the second, but Alekson would get a fly out to center to escape trouble.
The Bobcats would push through with a solo shot in the third, but the Stags would match that with a solo shot from Bergevin for his MAAC-leading 17th of the season.
Alekson battled to keep the game deadlocked, stranding another pair of runners in the fourth and one more in the fifth. With the go-ahead run in scoring position, Helmstetter came in relief and induced a fly out to keep the game tied.
The Stags could not solve Quinnipiac starter Ulsh as the right-hander gave up just the solo homer through his first seven innings.
Fairfield finally came through in the eighth with a one out single by Ferrara and then
Luke Nomura beautifully executed on a hit-and-run over the shortstop's head, bringing Ferrara to third while advancing to second on the throw.
Quinnipiac would finally go into their bullpen and Bergevin took advantage, driving the first pitch he saw into the left center field gap plating a pair and putting the score at 3-1.
Nick Sturino would cap the scoring with a bases loaded walk later in the frame.
That was all Helmstetter would need as he retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced, allowing only a solo homer in the ninth in picking up his fifth win of the year.
With the win, the Stags improve the country's best conference-record to 20-3 while winning their 12th game in their last 13 tries. They also become the first MAAC team to ever win four-straight regular season titles and will be the number one seed in the upcoming MAAC Championships in Pomona, N.Y.
Fairfield will close out the regular season tomorrow with Senior Day. The Stags will honor the historic senior class with pregame ceremonies starting at 12:40pm and first pitch at 1pm.
