Box Score

HAMDEN, Conn. - Junior Matt Tiagwad (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) drove in four runs to help power the Fairfield University baseball team to an 8-6 victory at Quinnipiac University this afternoon. With the win, the Stags have captured eight-straight to improve to 11-9 this season.

Tiagwad finished the day 3-for-5 with a homerun while Tucker Nathans (Warwick, N.Y.), the reigning MAAC Player of the Week, went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Rookie Ryan Furbeck (Oakland, N.J.) went 2-for-4 with a double, his first career homer, two RBI, and two runs scored.

The Stags opened the game by tacking three runs on the board in the top of the first. Furbeck led off with a double to left center and Bill Rafferty (Guilderland, N.Y.) followed with a single down the left field line to plate Furbeck. After Nathans doubled, Tiagwad drove in Rafferty to give Fairfield the 2-0 lead. Senior Mike Joyce (Smithtown, N.Y.) put the Stags ahead, 3-0, with a sac fly.

After Quinnipiac (6-13) got on the board in the bottom of the second, Tiagwad hit a two-run bomb in the top of the third to make the score 5-1. The Stags then added three more in the top of the fourth inning. Rookie Tyler Wosleger (East Hampton, Conn.) led the stanza off with a single up the middle and Furbeck followed with a homer to give Fairfield a 7-1 advantage. With two on and no outs, Tiagwad singled to right center to plate Rafferty to cap off the run.

Quinnipiac got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fourth and got the offense going in the bottom of the sixth, chasing starter Sam Robertson (Ridgefield, Conn.) before scoring two runs. After junior Rick Piccirillo (Trumbull, Conn.) got the Stags out of the sixth inning, he set the Bobcats down in order in the seventh and eighth. The Bobcats began to rally in the bottom of the ninth, pulling within 8-6 with two outs. Junior Justin Servino (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) checked into the game and struck out the final batter to notch his fifth save of the season.

Robertson (2-1) got the win after going 5.1 innings, scattering four runs, three earned, and striking out seven batters. Piccirillo went 3.1 scattering two runs on three hits with a strikeout.

The winning streak is the longest since 1991 when the Stags were victorious in eight-straight games. Fairfield's longest winning streak is 10 games which was achieved in 1972.

Fairfield is back in action tomorrow, April 1, at Fordham. The Stags return home to host Niagara beginning with a doubleheader on April 4. Saturday's game will be streamed live for a small fee on www.FairfieldStags.com in partnership with B2 Networks.