March 24, 1999
This Week - The Stags will host Fairleigh Dickinson University on Thursday at 3:00 pm in a non-conference game. Fairfield will then travel to Rider for their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games of the season. The Stags will meet the Broncs in a doubleheader on Saturday at 12:00 pm and then for another double-dip on Sunday at 12:00 pm
Home Sweet Home - After this weekend at Rider, the Stags will have played 16 of their first 18 games on the road. They will begin a seven-game homestand when they host Iona on Thursday, April 1st in a MAAC doubleheader.
Streaking - The Stags have won four straight games, their longest win streak of the season. During that stretch Fairfield is hitting .315 and the pitching staff has carried a 3.09 ERA. Sophomore short stop Ed McCrann (Middle Village, NY) is batting .462 (6-for-13) during that stretch with two doubles, three RBI and his first collegiate home run. Senior second baseman Cristian Jung (Brewster, NY) is just as hot at the plate, batting .500 (9-for-18) over the last five games. During that stretch, Jung has two doubles, four RBI and is a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts.
Jim Knows Baseball - Junior center fielder Jim Lopusznick (Leonardo, NJ) has gotten off to a fast start. Lopusznick leads the Stags in hitting (.368), on base percentage (.435) and RBI (11), primarily in the leadoff spot. He is also tied for the team lead in doubles (3) and triples (1) and is second on the squad in stolen bases (6-for-6). Lopusznick has also been the starting quarterback for the last three years for the Stag football team which won the MAAC Championship this past fall.
Thieves - The Stags have already racked up 36 stolen bases in 42 attempts for an average of 2.77 per game. Ten different players have at least one stolen base. Junior right fielder Tom Lopusznick (Leonardo, NJ) leads the team with a perfect 8-for-8 mark.
Perfect Game - No, not that kind...this one came from senior third baseman Kevin Toohill (Pompton Plains, NJ) who was a perfect 4-for-4 vs. Hartford on Tuesday. Toohill collected three singles, a triple, scored four runs, drove in a run and stole a base.
Last Time Out - On Tuesday, the Stags defeated Hartford 12-10 for their fourth straight come-from-behind victory. Along with Toohills 4-for-4 day, freshman Ryan Bittner (Emerson, NJ) went 3-for-5, with two RBI and two runs scored. Stag starter Ryan Holsten (Wilmington, Del.) tossed seven solid innings, scattering seven hits, allowing just two earned runs and striking out seven batters. Freshman Dan Krines (Huntington, NY) earned his first collegiate win with 1 2/3 innings of relief work.
Coach's Corner -
Head Coach John Slosar is in his 15th season at the helm of the Stags and carries a career record of 252-290-6 into Thursdays contest. Before taking over the reigns in 1984, Slosar served as an assistant coach at Fairfield for eight years. All totaled, since coming to Fairfield, Slosar has helped the Stags to one MAAC Championship, four MAAC South titles, six ECAC playoff appearances and nine 20-win seasons. In the last four years, Slosar has led the Stags to three seasons of 20 wins or more and two MAAC South Championships, including the 1997 South crown. For his efforts in 1997, he was named MAAC South Coach of the Year.
