May 7, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Sophomore Peter Allen's (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Fairfield University baseball team an 8-7 come-from-behind victory on a bright Sunday afternoon at Alumni Diamond.
The Stags (14-27, 8-12 MAAC) trailed 6-0 before scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the bases loaded and one out, sophomore Tyler Birrittella (Tarrytown, N.Y./Sleepy Hollow) lofted a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to plate senior Jim Girolamo (Wayland, Mass./Wayland), who was hit by a pitch.
That brought freshman George Lisi (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) to the plate, and he reached on an error by the Canisius (16-32, 7-14 MAAC) third baseman. That allowed sophomore Albie DeSimone (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) to score. Then junior Brian Schappert's (Wyckoff, N.J./Saint Joseph's University) infield single brought home Allen, who drew a walk.
Canisius tacked on a run in the top of the eighth inning, to make it 7-3, but in the home half of the eighth, the Stags scored four runs on four hits and an error. Senior Doug Anderson (Randolph, N.J./Delbarton) singled, and senior John Scaife (Ansonia, Conn./Ansonia) doubled to put runners on second and third.
Girolamo's single through the left side of the Canisius infield plated Anderson, and after a line-out and Girolamo's 12th stolen base of the season, Allen laced a double down the left field line to clear the bases. Birrittella then drew a walk, and Lisi reached on an error to load the bases for Schappert, whose ground out tied the game at 7-7 as Allen scored.
In the bottom of the ninth, Anderson drew a leadoff walk, and went to second on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt, by Scaife. With the go-ahead run already in scoring position, Girolamo moved Anderson up 90 feet with a ground out to second. DeSimone walked, and Allen beat out an infield single to shortstop to give the Stags the win.
Allen finished the afternoon 2-for-3 with a double, three runs batted in and two runs scored. Anderson also had a pair of hits for the Stags, and crossed the plate twice. Anderson now has 173 career hits, and needs one more to tied Cristian Jung (1996-99) for fourth place on the school's all-time hits list. It also gives him 40 for the season, and he has now recorded 40 or more hits in each of his four seasons with the Stags.
Canisius scored four runs in the first inning, as Dan Clifford's two-run single to right centerfield, highlighted the scoring. In the second inning, Gabe Baida's single to left plated Brian Hartmann to make it 5-0. It would stay that way until the fifth inning, when Matt Mazurek scored on a passed ball.
Senior Dan Breen (Troy, N.Y./Troy) pitched three innings of relief to get his first win of the season. With his appearance this afternoon, Breen moves into sole possession of second place on the school's career appearance list. He gave up one run on no hits and two walks.
Freshman Doug Ciallella (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) started and survived a rocky start, to retire 16 of the last 21 batters he faced. Ciallella gave up six runs (one earned) on seven hits and three walks, while striking out two batters.
Matt Weber started for the Griffs and pitched six and a third innings of work, giving up only three runs (one earned) on one hit and four walks. He retired 14 of the first 17 batters he faced. He eventually gave way to Alex Winiewicz who took the loss giving up five runs on six hits and three walks in two and a third innings.
Fairfield returns to action on Saturday afternoon, as it travels to New Rochelle, N.Y. for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series at Iona College. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 12 p.m.
