March 29, 2004
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Looking to rebound after dropping two-of-three games to Marist College in the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series of the 2004 season, the Fairfield University baseball team is slated to take on a pair of in-state rivals, before hosting Canisius College this weekend.
The Stags travel to the hometown of starting second baseman senior Nick Hudyma (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) to complete the home-and-home series with Central Connecticut State. Last week, the Blue Devils rallied to take a 9-5 win at Alumni Diamond on Wednesday afternoon.
The Blue Devils enter the game winners of 10 of their last 12 games, to sport a 12-5-1 overall record, and a 5-1 mark in the Northeast Conference (NEC). They are coming off a three-game sweep of Long Island University, including a 9-4 win on Sunday afternoon. Keith Stegbauer is the team's leading hitter with a .462 batting average, with 14 runs batted in.
After the Central Connecticut road clash, the Stags will be back at Alumni Diamond to face Head Coach John Slosar's alma mater, the University of Connecticut. UConn. are 9-9 overall and 0-3 in the Big East after being swept at Villanova last weekend. The Huskies face Rhode Island at home on March 30, and are at Yale on April 1 before coming to the North Benson Road campus.
Mike Leonard is UConn's leading hitter with a .414 batting average, and has two homeruns and 13 RBI. On the hill for the Huskies, Joe Smeraglino is 3-2 with a 4.60 ERA in 15.2 innings of work.
Fairfield enters the week with a 3-9 overall record, and a 1-2 in the MAAC. Over the weekend, senior Tom Maisano (Farmingdale, N.Y./Chaminade) turned in a solid pitching performance on Saturday afternoon. He allowed only one run on six hits and struck out five in seven innings of work.
He is a perfect 2-0 on the season, and has a 2.25 earned run average. The Long Island native is eight strike outs behind Steve Colcord for fourth place on the school's all-time strikeout list.
Hudyma is hitting .250 for the Stags this season, with 12 hits, and six stolen bases. He is 6-for-7 in stolen base attempts this season. Sophomore Doug Anderson (Randolph, N.J./Delbarton) is also hitting .250, and has three homeruns and 10 runs batted in. Anderson also has a .326 on-base percentage.
After the pair of mid-week contests, Fairfield will host Canisius College for a three-game MAAC series on Saturday afternoon, with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
