March 17, 2005
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield University baseball team travels to Philadelphia this weekend for the Villanova Baseball Bash. The Stags will square off against three Philly schools beginning with the host Wildcats at the Ballpark at Plymouth Meeting, in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., on Friday at 3 p.m.
On Saturday, the Stags will face Saint Joseph's University at 12 p.m., at Elmwood Park's Latshaw/McCarthy Field in Norristown, Pa. Fairfield will finish the Villanova Baseball Bash, with Temple University on Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m., at Ambler Field in Ambler, Pa.
Also taking part in the Baseball Bash, are Savannah State and the University at Albany.
Fairfield will be looking to win its first game of the season, after opening the 2005 campaign with an eight-game trip to Virginia. On its spring break trip, Fairfield faced the two top teams in the Northeast, according to the latest CollegeBaseballInsider.com Northeast Coaches Poll, No. 1 Virginia Commonwealth and No. 2 George Mason.
The Fairfield pitching staff, despite taking some tough early season defeats, has turned in some solid pitching performances this season. Last time out, junior Sean Keegan (Middlebury, Conn./Pomperaug) held George Mason, to only two hits through the first five innings, en route to giving up only two runs on five hits in six innings of work.
In addition, sophomore Ed Kamintzky (Astoria, N.Y./Regis) pitched well against Liberty University on the team's trip during spring break. He gave up only one run on four hits and four walks in eight innings on the hill. The second-year hurler struck out five batters, and lowered his ERA to 1.00, which is good for tops in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
Junior John Scaife (Ansonia, Conn./Ansonia) leads the Stags in hitting with a .304 batting average. He has one homerun, and is tied for the team lead in doubles with three. Scaife also leads the team in slugging percentage (.565), and on-base percentage (.385).
Also producing at the plate for Fairfield is freshman Adam Chilelli who was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week, last week, after hitting .300 in his first full week as a collegiate player. Chilelli is second on the team with a .294 batting average, and leads the team in runs batted in, with four. He is also hitting .600 with runners in scoring position.
Villanova, is ranked 15th in the Northeast, according to the latest coaches poll, on March 15. The Wildcats defeated LaSalle on Wednesday afternoon, 4-3. James Dolbier was 1-for-3 with a run scored, while Ryan Arcadia went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Mark Cardillo also went 1-for-3, and scored once for the Wildcats who improved to 7-4-1 on the season.
Dolbier is Villanova's leading hitter with a .375 batting average. He has one homerun, and six runs batted in this season. Alan Day is second on the team with a .372 batting average with two homeruns and five runs batted in.
Saint Joseph's is 2-13 on the season, and 0-1 at home in 2005. The Hawks will face Albany on Friday afternoon, before meeting the Stags on Saturday. In 50 at-bats this season, Mike Gentile is hitting .300 for the Hawks with 15 hits and 11 runs batted in. Adriano Petrutz is 0-2 with a 4.66 ERA in five appearances for St. Joe's.
Temple is among others receiving votes, in the Northeast Coaches Poll, and are 5-6 on the season, after a 5-2 win over Penn on Wednesday afternoon. Temple will meet Savannah State on Friday and Albany on Saturday.
Marc Wagner is hitting .368 for the Owls, and Mike Weckenman is hitting .323 with one homerun and five runs batted in. Weckenman has 10 hits and two doubles on the young season. Tim Foulkrod is 2-0 with a 0.45 earned run average. Eric Fritz is 1-1 with a 1.46 ERA.
Following the weekend in the Philadelphia area, the Stags will head to St. John's University on Tuesday, March 22, and the next day, the Stags will open the home portion of its schedule against Central Connecticut State. First pitch for the home opener is slated for 3 p.m. at Alumni Diamond.
