The Fairfield baseball team opened up MAAC play 2007 with a win, beating Niagara today 1-0 at Fordham’s Houlihan Park.
The game was a real pitchers’ duel, as Fairfield junior right-hander Ryan Calabrese went toe-to-toe with Niagara righty Mike Wilson ’08.
Calabrese pitched a gem, going the full nine innings and giving up only five hits. Wilson went a solid seven, striking out 11 and allowing three hits.
While Calabrese only struck out two of the 31 batters he faced, most of his outs came on the ground or in the air. He had no walks on the day.
Head Coach John Slosar said he was very pleased with the Stags’ performance.
“We really played under pressure today,” said Slosar. “We responded under pressure for nine innings.”
Despite an overall record of 6-7, Niagara came into the game riding a hot streak. The Purple Eagles put on a show during their Spring Break trip in early March, going 5-1, pounding out 61 runs and hitting .368.
The Stags, who entered the game at 1-8 on the season and had been struggling of late, were not intimidated by the strong Niagara squad.
In the second inning, freshman David Dudish drove in the only run of the day on a single with two men on base.
Fairfield would go on to notch only three more hits, but coupled with Calabrese’s pitching, this proved just enough to hold the Purple Eagles.
Calabrese, who transferred this year from Nassau Community College, has made an immediate impact on the Stags’ pitching rotation.
Today’s win put him at 2-2 on the year. In 27.1 innings pitched, he has given up 21 hits and struck out 15.
Calabrese said being able to help the team early on has been great.
“Obviously, it’s exactly what I wanted to do,” he said, acknowledging that the coaching staff had high expectations for him as a weekend starter.
“It felt good, especially with the way we’ve been struggling. It was great to come out to put a win on the board and have a good game. Everybody played well,” he added.
Even though the Fairfield bats generated only one run of offensive support, Calabrese said he has no doubt they will come around.
“I have a lot of confidence in our hitters,” said Calabrese.
Slosar said that the hitters’ comfort level at the plate is difficult to gauge.
“It’s tough to say because of the quality pitching we faced,” he said.
Nonetheless, he recognized that the offense needs to do better.
“We had opportunities to break the game open and we didn’t capitalize on [them],” said Slosar.
Fairfield left nine runners on base, compared to Niagara, who stranded four. Fairfield’s best chance came in the fourth, when the Stags loaded the bases, but could not get a man home.
Fairfield moves to 1-0 in the MAAC and 2-8 overall. Niagara drops to 0-1 in the league and 6-8 overall.
The Stags will continue conference play against Niagara with a twinbill on Monday, also at Fordham’s Houlihan Park.
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