March 26, 2003
On Deck... The Fairfield University baseball team looks to snap its five-game losing streak with a non-conference game with Central Connecticut State University. Today's game completes the season series with the Blue Devils, as CCSU took the first meeting of the season in New Britain, 7-4. The game was called after seven innings due to darkness and rain.
Stag Tracks...
**Junior Pablo Tamayo (Miami, Fla./Ransom Everglades) struck out seven batters against Siena on Saturday afternoon. He is tied with fellow classmate Tom Maisano (Farmingdale, NY/Chaminade) for second on the team with 12 K's. Senior Paul Gorra (Quaker Hill, Conn./Waterford) leads the team with 13 punch-outs.
**Junior Antuan Barnett (Bronx, NY/Rice) continues to produce at the plate this season. He leads the team with two home runs and seven runs batted in, while raising his average to .300 after Sunday's game. Last season the Rice graduate hit .262 with seven home runs and 29 RBI.
**Freshman Doug Anderson (Randolph, NJ/Delbarton) is tied for the team-lead in hits with 12. The freshman is having a solid start to his collegiate career hitting .286 with one home run and five runs batted in. He is also tied for the team lead with five doubles.
Last Time Out... Siena's Ryan Biter hurled a complete game shutout, giving Siena a 6-0 win over the Fairfield University baseball team, at Alumni Diamond, on Sunday afternoon. Bittner was in control throughout, as he retired 20 of the last 23 batters including 18 in a row. He would scatter three hits, while striking out eight Stags (2-9, 0-3 MAAC) on the day.
Fairfield's Paul Gorra (Quaker Hill, Conn./Waterbury) struggled on the hill yielding three runs on five hits and five walks. The senior right-hander struck out six in six innings of work.
The Saints (4-16, 3-0 MAAC) would cross the plate twice in the second inning after a Tony Cipolla drove home Shawn Hampton on a single to centerfield. After being moved over to third base he would come home when Chris DelVecchio grounded into a double play.
Bill Lazio scored on a wild pitch in the top of the third inning, and the Saints added a pair in the top of the seventh inning.
Freshman Doug Anderson (Randolph, NJ/Delbarton) led the Stags at the plate going 1-for-2 with a walk, and Antuan Barnett (Bronx, NY/Rice) would go 1-for-4.
In The Nutmeg State... Fairfield will play six games against teams from the State of Connecticut. The Stags will begin their series with in-state rivals with a trip to Central Connecticut State on March 20. The Stags will host the 2002 NCAA Tournament participant Blue Devils, at Alumni Diamond on March 26. Fairfield will also have a home-and-home series with the University of Connecticut (April 1, at home, and April 22, at Storrs). The Stags will play single games at Hartford on April 9, and at Yale on April 23.
No Summer Vacation... Junior right handed pitcher Tom Maisano (Farmingdale, NY/Chaminade) had a productive summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). Maisano was 4-1 for the Danbury Westerners with a 1.57 earned run average, and a team-high 45 strikeouts in 46.0 innings pitched. He was selected to the NECBL All-Star game, and helped lead the Westerners to the playoffs.
MAAC Coaches Pick Stags For Seventh... The Fairfield University baseball team was picked seventh in the 2003 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Preseason Coaches Poll. Marist finished first with 93 points, followed by LeMoyne (87), Rider (77), Manhattan (68), Siena (66), Iona (51), and the Stags with 37 points.
Baseball America Tabs Stags For 7th... Baseball America picked the Fairfield University baseball team to finish seventh in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in the publication's 2003 college baseball preview issue. It picked defending champion Marist to repeat followed by LeMoyne, Manhattan, Rider, Siena, and Iona.
Looking Ahead... Fairfield travels to West Point, NY tomorrow afternoon for a non-conference game with Army, and returns to Alumni Diamond for a weekend Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) weekend series with Niagara University.
