POMONA, N.Y. – The Fairfield University Baseball team fell in the first game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship Series by a 10-6 final score to the Niagara Purple Eagles. The Stags' biggest hit came in the seventh on a pinch-hit grand slam by
JP Kuczik that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead. However, Niagara belted two homers in the eighth to regain the lead and eventually the championship.
Kyle Lesler got the starting nod in the championship and impressed through 4.2 innings by firing eight strikeouts while surrendering just one run and four hits. He struck out at least one batter in four of those frames including punching out the side in the fourth.
Fairfield's best inning came in the seventh as the squad loaded the bases with nobody out after back-to-back hit by pitches off
Zach Selinger and
Ethan Hibbard.
Nick Sturino would follow with a four-pitch walk setting the scene for Kuczik's heroics. He would crush the 1-0 pitch into the right field stands for a pinch hit grand slam and give the Stags a two-run lead.
The Stags would add to that advantage after
Dean Ferrara walked, took second on a balk, and scurried to third on a wild pitch. He would eventually score on another wild pitch.
Niagara would push across seven runs in the eighth to take a 10-6 lead and eventually seal the MAAC title.
The Stags had three representatives on the MAAC All-Tournament team with
Luke Nomura,
Tyler Kipp, and Lesler taking home the honors.
Fairfield finished the season with 34 wins, the fourth-straight season they have reached the 30-win mark. They also advanced to the MAAC Championship Series for the second-straight year and the fourth time in their last five chances.
As a team, the Stags struck out 484 batters, setting a new single-season program record.
Colin McVeigh highlighted that group with 94 punch outs, the most by a Fairfield pitcher in over a decade. He also became the first Fairfield hurler ever to be named the MAAC Pitcher of the Year by the conference.
At the plate, the Stags pounded out 603 hits, the second-most in program history. Ferrara was atop of that leaderboard with 96 base knocks, setting the conference's single-season record. Despite losing 65 percent of their home run total from last season, Fairfield belted 88 long balls, which also ranked the second-most in school history.
Matt Bergevin led the conference with 18 homers while Hibbard tallied 17.
