FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Baseball team allowed four runs in the top of the ninth inning as they fell to the Quinnipiac Bobcats 9-7 on Senior Day. The Stags complete the regular season with a 20-4 conference record, and a 32-22 overall mark. Fairfield will be the number one seed in the upcoming MAAC Championships and play their first game on Thursday at 11am in Pomona, N.Y.
The Stags held a 7-5 lead going into the last inning before Quinnipiac plated four runs on five hits, highlighted by a two-run go-ahead double to CJ Willis.
Before the game, the Stags honored the eight-member senior class who combined for 140 wins, the most by any senior class in program history. They also amassed an 87-15 record against the MAAC in their careers, the highest conference winning percentage in the nation over that span.
Fairfield scored the first run of the game as
Zach Selinger lifted a sacrifice fly to center in the second.
The Stags' lead would be short lived as Quinnipiac belted a pair of solo homers in the third to go ahead 2-1.
Fairfield would get the lead back on a two-out rally. Nomura started the rally with a two-out single and would steal second to get into scoring position.
Matt Bergevin would work out a walk and
Matt Bucciero would follow with a two-run double down the left field line to give the Stags a 3-2 advantage. Bucciero would finish with a team-high three hits.
After Quinnipiac tied the game in the fourth on another solo homer, the Stags would score three-straight for a 6-3 lead.
Tyler Kipp singled on a hard ground ball to the shortstop, bringing home a run. The errant throw would allow another run to score to put the Fairfield lead to 5-3. The Stags had another productive out in the sixth on a
Luke Nomura RBI ground out.
Quinnipiac continued to fight back to put the score at 6-5, but the Stags gained what looked to be a big insurance run with a Nomura RBI single to right in the eighth.
That set the scene for the Bobcats' four-run ninth inning and the Stags would go in order in their half to close out the regular season.
The 32-win regular season is Fairfield's fourth-straight 30-win season and the eighth under Head Coach
Bill Currier. Fairfield is one of three MAAC teams to reach 20 wins during a 24-game conference slate. The Stags also became the first MAAC team in history to win four-straight MAAC Regular Season Championships and will be the top-seed in the upcoming championships.
Fairfield will play the lower remaining seed in Pomona, N.Y., at Clover Stadium on Thursday at 11am. The Stags will be looking for their second MAAC Tournament Title and third NCAA Regional appearance in program history.
