POMONA, N.Y. – The top-seeded Fairfield University Baseball team will begin their quest for the program's second MAAC tournament title and third NCAA Regional appearance when they open up play in the MAAC Championships on Thursday at 11am in Pomona, N.Y. The Stags, who won a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship – their fourth in as many years – will take on the lowest advancing seed from the tournament's first day games. Fairfield will be looking for their first MAAC Championship since 2016 and their first Regional appearance since 2021.
After posting a 20-4 conference record, the Stags were well-represented on the conference's award list with eight All-MAAC honorees, five on the First Team, and a major award. Senior right-hander
Colin McVeigh was voted the MAAC Pitcher of the Year and earned a spot on the All-MAAC First Team joining
Ethan Hibbard,
Zach Selinger,
Dean Ferrara, and
Matt Bucciero. Infielders
Luke Nomura and
Matt Bergevin joined the All-MAAC Second Team while
Ben Alekson picked up a spot on the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
McVeigh becomes Fairfield's first-ever MAAC Pitcher of the Year after posting a perfect 8-0 record with a 1.84 ERA in eight starts in the conference. He tallied 91 strikeouts in 78.2 innings, tying the most by a Fairfield pitcher in a decade. He is one of the most efficient pitchers in the country, leading the MAAC with a 1.04 WHIP and 5.06 strikeout-to-walk ratio, both ranking in the top-30 in the nation. His nine wins also ties the program's single-season record.
He also anchored a pitching staff that led the MAAC in both ERA (4.92) and WHIP (1.42) while tallying 451 strikeouts, already breaking the program's single-season record. The Stags have three pitchers ranked in the top-10 in the conference in strikeouts with McVeigh,
Bowen Baker, and
Blake Helmstetter.
The Stags also enter tournament play with one of the MAAC's top offenses, leading the league in: average (.306), runs (424), hits (564), on-base percentage (.412) and slugging percentage (.510).
At the top of those numbers is All-MAAC First Team third baseman
Dean Ferrara who broke the program's single-season hits record with 91, which is also one shy of tying the conference's single-season mark. Ferrara ranks in the top-five in the country in base hits and in the top-30 with his .394 average.
The Stags also feature the conference's top home run hitter in
Matt Bergevin who has launched 17 long balls this season. Fairfield has four student-athletes with 10 or more home runs to account for a league-best 82 round trippers.
This is Fairfield's 12th appearance in the MAAC Championships and their fifth-straight, the longest stretch in program history. Fairfield has qualified for the MAAC Championships eight times in the 13 years under Head Coach
Bill Currier after reaching the tournament just three times in their previous 30 seasons.
If the Stags win their first game they will advance in the winner's bracket and compete on Friday at 11am.
