Box Score First Shutout Of The Season For The Bulldogs
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Yale baseball team could not have found a better way to break-out of its six-game slide, using timely hitting and dominant pitching to shutdown Fairfield, 4-0, at Alumni Diamond on Wednesday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (9-14, 2-6 Ivy) smacked 13 hits in the victory, three of which belonged to senior outfielder Joe Lubanski (Collegeville, Pa.), who turned in his strongest performance of the season.
Four other Elis had multi-hit games, including senior Eric Hsieh (Laguna Niguel, Calif.), who went 2-for-4 and bumped his league-leading batting average to .447. Freshman catcher Alex Boos (Indianapolis, Ind.) was 2-for-4 at the dish with an RBI for the Bulldogs.
Yale used a "pitching-by-committee" approach against the Stags, using six pitchers in the game with not one throwing more than three innings. Junior Chris Moates (Smithville, Ga.) had the start, throwing two scoreless innings in his short outing.
Junior Chris Lanham (Houston, Texas) hurled a scoreless frame in the third inning in relief of Moates, picking up the win (3-3). Freshman Drew Scott (Henrico, Va.) worked quickly and effectively in his three innings of relief, allowing no runs, one hit, and striking out three.
The Bulldog pitching staff combined for nine strikeouts and just one walk against Fairfield, scattering seven hits in Yale's first shutout of the program's 150th season.
"This was our most complete game in a while. Obviously, we've been struggling, but today showed that we can do it," said Yale head coach John Stuper. "Our pitchers were great, we got some really key hits from Lubanski, Toups, and Slenker. That's what we're capable of doing."
Coming off a loss to Holy Cross on Tuesday night, the Bulldog bats once again started off slow, this time against Fairfield starter Gavin Wallace. The Elis were held scoreless in the first three innings, before Lubanski changed that in the fourth, delivering a two-out, RBI single.
"I've tried to focus on sticking with the approach, which is focusing on hitting the ball hard and the other way. I'm finally starting to get comfortable after a rough start to the year," said Lubanski. "Now that I have more at-bats, I feel more comfortable seeing the ball."
Lubanski's RBI hit was part of a two-out rally for Yale, after senior Robert Baldwin (Austin, Texas) was hit by a pitch and Boos singled, setting up the opportunity for the left-handed slugger.
Moates, Lanham, and sophomore Chasen Ford (Lake Forest, Calif.) combined for four scoreless frames to start the game, giving the Bulldog offense a chance to produce without facing a deficit. In the fourth inning, Ford was aided by a spectacular running catch by Lubanski in left field, robbing the Stags of extra bases.
In the fifth inning, Yale's offense would break-through with three runs on five hits, including RBI singles by Toups, Boos, and Lubanski. For Toups, it was his 13th RBI of the season, tying him with sophomore Richard Slenker (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) for the team lead.
A 4-0 lead was all the Bulldog pitching staff would need on Wednesday, as Scott mowed through the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Fellow freshman Eric Brodkowitz (Potomac, Md.) retired Fairfield in order in the eighth, including two strikeouts.
Freshman reliever Mason Kukowski (Katy, Texas) pitched a strong ninth, capping off a brilliant performance by the Yale pitchers.
"I was especially proud because midweek games can be kind of a drag for players," said Stuper. "After you come off a big weekend or a lousy weekend, you should love to play baseball no matter what, but sometimes it's a grind. We bounced back today after yesterday and I'm really happy about it."
The Bulldogs now prepare for a big four-game set at home this weekend against division-rival Dartmouth. The two teams will play doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday, starting at 12 p.m. from Yale Field. Follow the action on the game's live stats or on the Yale All-Access audio broadcasts.
Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity
