Fairfield Clinches MAAC Playoff Berth, Look to Claim Regular Season Title Hosting Quinnipiac

The Fairfield University baseball team (26-23, MAAC 15-6) has clinched a berth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, and the Stags will collide with Quinnipiac (9-12) in a key, three-game conference matchup at home beginning Thursday in quest of the MAAC regular season championship and number one seed.

Fairfield’s 8-4 triumph at Monmouth on Sunday cemented its appearance in the MAAC playoffs, and winning two out of three in the pivotal series against the Hawks gave the Stags sole possession of first place with a 15-6 mark.

The MAAC tournament is scheduled Wednesday, May 25 through Sunday, May 29 at the home of Manhattan College, Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, NY.

“Before the game, we said: ‘we’ve been working for this all season, it all comes down to this.’ We left it all on the field,” said the senior second baseman Brendan Tracy, who had three hits in the contest.

“We hope that all games at the end of the year have this kind of importance,” added Head Coach Bill Currier. “To have two teams fight for first-place, it’s a good series.”

The Stags struck early, scoring a pair of runs in the opening frame, and doing it with just one hit, courtesy of steady first baseman Mac Crispino. The switch-hitter came through with his 26th RBI of the season to extend the Stags lead to 2-0. Fairfield had opened the scoring with a RBI groundout by Kevin Radziewicz.

The Stags’ offense was not the only area that looked a little sharper with the bright lights of a first place spot at stake. Whether it was Jack Gethings hustling out a base hit from a routine ground ball to second or Michael Conti with a fully extended dive to get an out, the Stags wanted this game. And to do so, they took advantage of every opportunity.

Tyler Gambardella brought home a run in the third with a sacrifice fly, the clutch-hitting Michael Conti drove in two with a single to make the score 5-0, and the Stags never looked back.

Starting pitcher Kyle Dube retired the first 10 batters in dominant fashion. But in the fourth inning, Monmouth appeared ready to break through with runners on first and third, and only one out. But the cagey right-hander executed the “fake-to-third-throw-to- first” play to pickoff the runner at first for a vital second out, and then retired the side without damage.

In the fifth, the Stags added to what became an insurmountable lead when Troy Scocca lined a two-run homer through the 22 mile-an-hour wind to make the score 7-1.

Monmouth got back in the game with three runs in the sixth, and threatened again in the seventh, but Mike Bonaiuto, pitching in his third-straight game, shut the door with two runners on. The ace reliever with the tidy 2.36 ERA completed the game with two more scoreless innings.

“I think this is one of the biggest wins we’ve had since I’ve been here,” added Tracy. “It’s good for us going into the tournament because we have the confidence we can beat all the top teams. We are rolling at the right time.”

Monmouth closes out its season with non-conference contests against Hofstra on Tuesday, and a three game series against UMass Lowell on Friday and Saturday, so their conference record is finalized at 16-8.

Canisius, Marist, and Siena are all 13-8 in the conference with three games remaining.