Fairfield baseball drops 2 to SEC leaders

FAIRFIELD — The Burlington baseball team has been a force in the Southeast Conference this season, and although that force was met with resentment in Fairfield on Thursday night, the Trojans couldn’t completely crack the Grayhounds’ honor.

Burlington erupted in its final at-bat to beat the Trojans 8-0 in Game 1 on the Trojan’s senior night. Fairfield led in Game 2, but fell 6-3.

“I think the hardest thing is, on senior night, not at least being able to get one win,” said Fairfield head coach Josh Allison. “We played some really good baseball for several innings.”

Fairfield starter Tate Allen was solid in Game 1, holding Burlington to just one run in the first six innings. The Grayhounds, however, kept Fairfield’s bats silent all game, and poured on seven runs in the final frame.

Allen threw 6.1 innings, giving up two total runs (one earned) against a stacked Burlington lineup. He allowed just two hits and struck out two batters.

A fifth-inning run gave Fairfield a 3-2 lead in Game 2, but the Burlington bats finally woke up in the sixth. The Grayhounds scored three runs in the sixth inning and one more in the seventh.

Brad Woodburn had the Grayhounds off balance at the plate through five innings. He gave up five runs (four earned) over six innings of work.

Connor Lyons scored two runs in the loss. Caden Septer was 1-for-3 with a triple. Nate Woodburn, Brad Woodburn and Evan Haines all had singles.

Fairfield is now 12-13 overall and 8-7 in conference play. The Trojans will travel to Washington (5-14, 3-11) on Monday night.