After coming off a series loss against the Quinnipiac Bobcats, the Stags hosted one of their last home games of the season as they took on the Fordham Rams. Coming into this game, the Rams had posted almost a perfect record, posting five wins in seven games. Behind good pitching and a long two-run home run off the bat of Drew Blake ‘18, the Stags were victorious as they took the game with a score of 6-4.
Freshman right-hander Gavin Wallace was on the mound for Fairfield. Wallace pitched three solid innings for the Stags, as he finished with two strikeouts and only allowed one earned run to score.
“Gavin stepped it up, did a much better job this time than last time,” said head coach Bill Currier. “We’re happy with the way he threw pitches for strikes, where he only had a fastball for a strike his last start. It was good to see him throw a pretty solid three innings.”
As the bottom of the third started, Fordham had a one-run lead. The Stags kicked off the inning with a walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt. The team had a runner on second with less than two outs, and then came Drew Arciuolo ‘18 to the plate and he reached base via a Fordham error, which allowed the Stags to score. After another Fordham error, the base runners for the Stags were able to score. They held a 2-0 lead when Fairfield’s Troy Scocca ‘17 came to bat. After a long at-bat, Scocca drove in another run on a RBI single to left-centerfield. The Stags finished the inning up 3-0.
“They weren’t all hard-hit balls, but we found a way to keep the bat through the zone and put some good swings on some pitches,” said Currier. “He [Kirk Haynes Jr.] had a little trouble with his off-speed stuff too, so we were looking for the fastball more and we hit it with some guys on base.”
The Stags had a new pitcher for the start of the fourth inning, as Mike Bonaiuto ‘17 took the mound and gave up two runs to Fordham as they cut their way back into the game. The Stags lead 3-2 as the bottom of the fourth started. Senior Alex Witkus stepped to the plate with two outs, and was hit by the pitch. Witkus then stole second base and reached third base on an error. Arciuolo connected for an RBI single to left center and push the Stags lead to 4-2.
After allowing a few hits and one run, the Stags decided to bring in Anthony DiMauro ‘15 with runners in scoring position with less than two outs. DiMauro answered the challenge by retiring the next two batters and finishing the inning without allowing a run.
“He had a little bit of life in his arm today, he had a little bit of zip on it. When Tony keeps it down with a little life in his arm, he’s tough to hit,” said Currier. “He’s going to get some ground balls with that sinker.”
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Blake came to bat with a runner on second and two outs. He blasted a long two-run home run over the right field wall to push the Stags lead 6-3.
“I was seeing the ball very well and on the last pitch, he brought it in a little bit. It was down low and I got a good piece of it and it went far,” said Blake.
The Stags were able to close out the game as they finished the game 6-4.
“We just got to keep it rolling,” said Blake, “we’re hoping to get a win tomorrow and go right into the weekend with a nice win streak.”
The Stags are set to travel to Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut to take on Sacred Heart University on Wednesday, April 22.
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