FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The Iona University baseball team dropped a pair of games to Fairfield on Friday afternoon, falling 14-6 and 2-1 at Cook Field. The Gaels served as the designated home team since the series was originally scheduled to be held at City Park but was moved due to unplayable field conditions caused by last Saturday's storm.
GAME ONE: Fairfield 14, Iona 6
The Stags had the first run cross the plate in the top of the first on a wild pitch and that was followed by an RBI single to right center for the early lead.
Fairfield put up crooked numbers in the with a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings for a 6-0 lead.
Iona got going in the bottom of the fourth inning as senior
James Kemp started the frame with a single through the left side. Freshman
Carter Groen followed with a double to left center to put a pair in scoring position. Graduate student
Jim Pasquale drove in the first Iona run on an RBI single to left field. Sophomore
Anthony Zollo added another run on a sacrifice fly to left field to cut the deficit to four.
The Gaels offense continued to click in the fifth inning as sophomore
Josiah Ragsdale led off with a hit by pitch then advanced to third on a double from junior
Jayson Gonzalez. Kemp drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases for Iona. Groen then lifted the sacrifice fly to center for the first run of the inning. Pasuale followed with another RBI single, this time to right center. Zollo made it a one score game with an RBI single to right field to bring the score to 6-5.
Fairfield pushed the lead back to two on a two-out RBI double in the sixth. The momentum continued with two runs in the seventh and five runs in the seventh to jump out in front 14-5.
Iona grabbed one run back in the bottom of the eighth as a run came across on a double play with the bases loaded and no outs to bring the final tally to 14-6 in game one.
The Gaels registered 13 hits in game one as all nine batters recorded a hit. Pasquale led the way with three hits for the game while Gonzalez and Zollo both added two hits.
GAME TWO: FAIRFIELD 2, IONA 1
Game two was slow to get going through the first three innings of play. The Stags broke through in the top of the fourth inning with a one-out sacrifice fly to left field to grab the 1-0 lead.
Iona was held without a hit until a one-out single by Gonzalez through the left side in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Freshman
Brendan Callanan had a strong outing for the Gaels, surrendering just one run on five hits with two walks while striking out a career-high seven batters.
Fairfield doubled its lead in the sixth inning with a two-out solo home run to right field. Junior
Carl Kuentzel settled in after the home run, holding the Stags to just one hit in the final three innings.
The Gaels looked for a rally in the bottom of the ninth as Ragsdale led off with a walk. Gonzalez then singled to third for a pair of runners on base. Both advanced into scoring position on a flyout to center field. A wild pitch allowed Ragsdale to cross the plate and get Iona on the scoreboard as Gonzalez representing the tying run reached third base. Fairfield regrouped and recorded back-to-back strikeouts to seal the 2-1 ball game.
UP NEXT
The Gaels and Stags conclude the season series tomorrow with a 2:00 p.m. start from Cook Field.
