BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Interstat) — Jack Sheldon fired five hitless innings and the Fairfield Stags broke a scoreless tie with a three-run eighth inning to beat the Sacred Heart Pioneers 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game.

Sheldon, the top star for Fairfield, struck out five and did not allow a hit or an earned run over five innings. He was followed by Brendon Miller, who worked three innings and gave up two earned runs without allowing a hit while striking out four, and Jimmy Mulvaney and Nick Kelly combined for a scoreless ninth. Sacred Heart starter Jake Friel matched Sheldon for most of the game, pitching 4⅔ innings of one-hit ball with six strikeouts.

Fairfield improved to 26-20 overall, while Sacred Heart fell to 14-28.

The game remained scoreless through seven innings as both starting pitchers dominated. Fairfield managed only two hits through the first seven frames, with JP Kuczik doubling in the sixth and Zach Stephenson singling in the fifth. Sacred Heart had just three hits in those innings, including two singles by Ronan Donohue, and grounded into two double plays.

The decisive moment came in the top of the eighth. With one out, Nolan Colby walked and Kuczik singled to right field, with Liam McIlroy pinch‑running for Kuczik and stealing second. Connor Scanlan then doubled to left field, driving in both McIlroy and Colby to give Fairfield a 2-0 lead. After Sacred Heart reliever Jase Schueller was replaced by Hector Alejandro, Jake Haarde singled to center, scoring Scanlan to make it 3-0.

Sacred Heart mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth. Jw Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch, and Gavin Donohue singled. After Mulvaney relieved Miller, CJ Nolan walked to load the bases. Ronan Donohue singled down the right‑field line, scoring Fitzgerald and keeping the bases loaded. Will Cook then grounded into a double play that allowed Gavin Donohue to score, cutting the lead to 3-2. Kyle Cincinnati walked, and after Nick Kelly replaced Mulvaney, Drew Martin stole second, but Chris Wilson flied out to center to end the game.

Ronan Donohue finished 3-for-4 with an RBI for Sacred Heart. Scanlan went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Kuczik was 2-for-4.

The win came a day after the teams played two games Friday, both listed as 0-0.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Fairfield 5, Sacred Heart 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Fairfield with a 71.90 percent probability to win.