Darien Senior Legion Falls to Fairfield, 4-1

Darien Senior American Legion pitcher Mike Miller was firing on all cylinders Wednesday afternoon, surrendering just four hits in a stellar outing.

But Fairfield starter Avery Salveson one-upped his counterpart with eight strikeouts through six strong innings en route to a 4-1 Fairfield victory.

"My arm was tired earlier in the summer, so I hadn't started for a week and a half," said Salveson, who also allowed only four hits. "The long rest really helped me today. I felt good out there and all my pitches were working."

The visitors scrapped all day, but an inability to convert scoring chances hindered them from start to finish. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak.

Multiple runners were stranded in scoring position due to strikeouts and inning-ending double plays. A trio of crucial errors also contributed to the loss. 

"Our guys were working hard out there, but our bats didn't help us enough today," Darien coach Mike Petrona said. "It was also a little bit of a letdown fielding-wise.

"Mike pitched a great game, but we didn't help him out enough in other areas. We've got a bunch of talented, hard-working guys, though, so I'm confident we will bounce back from this one."

Darien (6-7) simply couldn't solve the riddle that was Salveson, as the Fairfield starter shifted gears and mixed pitches with prowess.

Whenever a Darien rally appeared imminent, a stellar defensive play by Fairfield's  infield slammed the door with dazzling defensive work.

Along with Salveson, Fairfield (3-9) also enjoyed a big day from Tyler Colby, who mashed singles in the third and fifth innings to manufacture a 3-0 lead for the hosts.  

Darien fought hard to respond, but it proved to be too little, too late.

In the top of the seventh, facing Fairfield closer Jimmy Dowd, Darien got two runners on base with just one out. Kevin Sousa scored after a single by Mike Alfieri, as an errant throw to third base from the outfield enabled Sousa to storm around the bag with the visitors' lone run.

A deft play in the outfield then nailed a Darien runner at second, and Dowd notched a strikeout before inducing a game-ending pop up.

For Darien, a critical final month of action will determine the club's postseason fate.

"Fairfield played a great game, and I give them plenty of credit, " Petrona said. "At the same time, we were missing a few key guys today. In these final few weeks, I really think we have a good shot to make the tournament. We had a winning streak going before this loss, so I still think we are definitely headed in the right direction."

Darien returns to action on Thursday at home (5:30 p.m.)  against Westport.