The opening series of play for the Fairfield University baseball team featured some of the classic highs and lows of baseball. But as all good teams do, the Stags bounced back in the series and walked away with their first series win after defeating Florida Gulf Coast 2-1 overall.
Attacking from the first inning, the offense only managed to garner a walk in the first inning before the rest of the side was retired. Fairfield pitching seemed to have a cold start, with starting right-handed pitcher Ben Alekson ‘27 giving up five runs in the first two innings of the game. Any hopes for relief were squashed as they piled on two more with the men Alekson left on base. The Stags were hitless while the Eagles were tallying up their runs. By the time Matt Bucciero ‘26 hit a single, it was already the fourth inning.
The Eagles would score again with a solo home run in the fifth and later an RBI single in the seventh inning. The Stags showed signs of life and made contact during the eighth inning, which resulted in Dean Ferrara ‘25 hitting a single to bring Nolan Colby ‘28 home with two outs. However, Fairfield failed to build momentum and the last batter was struck out. Accepting the drab game, the Stags would turn their attention to game two of the series after losing 9-1.
With the bad taste of losing by eight runs the day before, the Stags recouped and started their redemption match. From the first at-bat, there was a noticeable shift in attacking opposing pitching that was missing the game prior. While the first inning was scoreless for the Stags, it was obvious that the offense was on the cusp of breaking out. Taking advantage of an error and picking up a hit, the Stags ended their side with two runners in scoring position.
Unfortunately, this momentum was halted when starting left-handed pitcher Bowen Baker loaded the bases and lost a run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning for the Eagles.
Nonetheless, the Stags picked things back up when Sean Meth knocked a much-needed home run, the team’s first of the season and the first in his career. This tied things up 1-1, until the fourth inning when Luke Nomura hit a clutch two-out single to put the Stags ahead.
Scoring resumed in the sixth inning for the Stags; capitalizing on a double from Nick Sturino ‘25, Ferrara hit a two-out single to allow the infielder to score. Runs kept on coming in the seventh as well thanks to a Billy Sullivan and Sturino single. Lastly, a Bucciero sacrifice fly in the eighth capped out the scoring for the Stags at eight runs all while the pitching staff kept the Eagles at one run.
The Eagles threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth when they managed to hit a three-run homer with no outs, but the next three batters were quickly retired and the Stags had evened up the series. By the last out, the Stags had tallied up 13 hits and only allowed three hits along the first eight innings.
The rubber match of this series started off with the Stags scoring three runs off three hits, which was quickly matched by a three-run homer from the Eagles and then bested by an additional two-run home run to put them up 5-3.
This did not deter the Stags offense, TJ Schmalzle ‘26 hit a solo shot to left center and pushed Fairfield to a single-run defecit.
Florida Gulf Coast added another run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-4. At the top of the fifth, Bucciero hit a single that brought Ferrara home. Tyler Kipp ‘25 added to the momentum and hit a triple to right field to put the Stags up 7-6. One last run was brought in for the Stags thanks to JP Kuczik ‘26.
The Eagles managed to score another three within the next three innings, while the Stags only added one on a Kipp RBI single. By the bottom of the eighth it seemed as if the Eagles were to get the last laugh on another RBI single for their tenth run of the day.
Patience and good plate discipline paid off for Fairfield, as they did not let the dwindling amount of guaranteed at-bats get to them. A series of two singles, reaching base on an error and a walk resulted in a tying run at 10-10 after Sturno worked a nine-pitch at-bat. They attempted to capitalize on the frazzled defense, but Bucciero was caught at home and Colby was struck out to end the assault.
First-year left handed pitcher Brendon Miller shut things down in the bottom of the ninth and sent the game into extras. Ferrara hit one down the middle and advanced on a sacrifice bunt. He shuffled to third on a wild pitch and hung out while the Eagles collected the second out. His time to run home came off a double from Bucciero, and he did so safely to put the Stags ahead by one. The last out was earned and it was up to Miller to keep the win.
The Eagled managed to squeeze out a single, but Miller kept his grounding and struck the next two out. The man on first stole his way to second base and the Eagles thought they had a fighting chance from another walk, but the Stags collected the force out and won the game 11-10.
After gaining their footing, the Stags look to Virginia for a single match against Lehigh followed by two versus Richmond and three at James Madison. Their match against Lehigh is on Friday morning at 10:30 am.
