Feb. 15, 2006
EDISON, N.J. - The Fairfield University baseball team was picked to finish eighth in the 2006 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) preseason coaches poll voted by the league's 10 head coaches.
Fairfield finished eighth in the poll despite returning 22 letter winners, seven positional starters, and a first-team All-MAAC selection from last season, shortstop Doug Anderson (Randolph, N.J./Delbarton).
In 2005, Anderson garnered first-team All-MAAC selections after batting .292 with two homeruns and 27 runs batted in. He finished third in the MAAC with 16 stolen bases, and led Fairfield with 32 runs scored and finished third on the team with 49 hits. Over the summer, he was selected to his second All-Star appearance in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL).
Le Moyne and Manhattan are the top choices to win the 2006 MAAC Championship, each finishing with 87 points in the poll, just four ahead of Marist with 83 points. Siena was picked fourth with 76 points, followed by Niagara (58), Rider (49), Canisius (47), Fairfield (29), Iona (23), and Saint Peter's (11).
In addition, Fairfield returns senior first baseman John Scaife (Ansonia, Conn./Ansonia) who finished fifth in the MAAC in runs batted in with 47, and fifth in the conference with seven homeruns. The senior first baseman, hit .304, while leading the team with 51 hits, and finishing second with a .401 on-base percentage.
Fairfield opens the 2006 season on Friday, Feb. 24 with the start of a three-game series at James Madison University. The 2006 home opener is slated for Tuesday, March 21 against St. John's University. First pitch for the Stags and Red Storm is slated for 3 p.m. at Alumni Diamond. The MAAC portion of the schedule begins Saturday, March 25 with a three-game series against LeMoyne.
