PONOMA, N.Y. – Former Peoples Academy (PA) star Ben Alekson used his big right arm to help his Fairfield University baseball team punch their ticket to the NCAA Division I tournament with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Championship over the weekend.
The sophomore righty scattered nine hits and struck out eight to earn the win in Fairfield’s 13-3 opening round victory over Sacred Heart on Friday. The Stowe native improved his league best record to 9-1 on the season with an earned run average of 3.24. Alekson is 15-2 in his two years with Stags and has emerged as their ace, recording 78 strikeouts in 89 innings of work this spring. Fairfield avenged a pair of regular season losses to Rider two weeks ago that dropped them out of the top seed, with a weekend sweep of Broncs, including a dramatic 7-6 on Sunday in extra innings. Nolan Colby’s tenth inning blast gave the Stags the lead for good, laying claim to their first MAAC Championship in nearly a decade. Fairfield is coached by former University of Vermont skipper Bill Currier, who won nearly 500 games with the Catamounts prior to the baseball program’s end in 2009. Currier took over the Stags in 2012 and has now led them to the Big Dance twice in the last five years. He undoubtedly will be giving the ball to his ace in Fairfield’s regional opener. Alekson is no stranger to big games, having led PA to three consecutive state titles (2022 vs Hazen Union), earning him Veermont Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year honors in 2023.
Alekson and the Stags will open up the tournament in Conway, SC against #13 ranked Coastal Carolina on Friday night. The game will be streamed live on ESPN + at 6 p.m.
