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Fairfield reigns again!
Miller’s homer leads Trojans past Grayhounds in SEC title game
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FAIRFIELD — It looked improbable just one week prior, but the Fairfield Trojans have pulled off the comeback and are once again Southeast Conference baseball champions.
After trailing Burlington by just two games with four to go, the Trojans found themselves in a winner-take-all on Thursday night when the Grayhounds came into town. A clutch two-run home run by senior Cason Miller helped Fairfield skip past Burlington 3-2 en route to a second-straight title.
Miller stepped up to the plate with one runner on in the bottom of the sixth inning. Burlington had given Miller new life after dropping a foul pop-up, and the Trojan senior made them pay.
Miller, who has battled injuries all year long to even be on the field, crushed a two-run blast that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, and sent the Fairfield faithful into a frenzy.
“I was just going up there trying to do a job,” said Miller. “I’d say there was a little pressure, but I just had to stay calm and trust my fundamentals.
The homer would end up putting Fairfield in the lead for good. Starting pitcher Dain Burkhart stranded one on in the top of the seventh, and the Trojans could celebrate their second-straight championship.
“The emotions were through the roof,” Miller said. “Just with the stakes of this game, and how we lost two to them earlier this year, and come back and beat them when it mattered.”
Burlington had lost one game to Fort Madison and one to Mt. Pleasant in the week leading up to the game. Fairfield took care of business on its end, and that set up the Trojans for a chance to steal it on the very last night of play.
“All year we’ve had grit,” said Fairfield head coach Josh Allison. “But the positivity in the dugout, and supporting each other, and just the little things tonight were really important for us.”
Burkhart threw all seven innings in the win, giving up two runs (one earned) on nine hits. He struck out three batters and didn’t walk or hit a batter all night long.
“He just finds a way to compete,” said Allison. “He’s a competitor out there on the mound, and he knows how to pitch.”
Miller finished the night 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs to lead the offense. Luke Konczal was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Spencer McCready scored a run as a courtesy runner.
The win moved Fairfield to 20-9 overall. The Trojans finished 13-2 in conference play, beating Burlington (12-3) by one game.
