March 31, 2004
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield University baseball team returns to Alumni Diamond, on Thursday afternoon, for a match-up with in-state rival, the University of Connecticut. Fairfield enters the game fresh off a 7-4 win on the road at Central Connecticut State on Tuesday afternoon, in New Britain.
Fairfield is 4-9 overall and 1-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) while UConn is 9-10 overall, and 0-3 in the Big East.
All-Time vs. Connecticut... Today's Connecticut-Fairfield game is the 58th meeting between the two Connecticut schools since the 1973 season. UConn. holds a 45-12-1 advantage, including last year's thrilling 13-8 game at Alumni Diamond.
About Connecticut... Connecticut is 9-10 overall and 0-3 in the Big East after falling to Villanova in the first conference series of the season. Mike Leonard is the team's leading hitter with a .426 batting average, and has 26 hits in 61 at-bats this season. He has also driven in 14 runs this season. He has a .656 slugging percentage and a .526 on-base percentage. On the hill, Joe Smeraglino has a 3-2 record with a 4.60 ERA, and 11 strike outs in 15.2 innings of work.
Last Time Out... Senior Andy Lynn (Montville, N.J./Delbarton) was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a run batted in, while sophomore Doug Anderson (Randolph, N.J./Delbarton) was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, and sophomore John Scaife (Ansonia, Conn./Ansonia) who was also 3-for-5 with a run batted in and a run scored, as the Stags defeated Central Connecticut State on the road, 7-4.
Quick Hits... Senior Nick Hudyma (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) is tied for fourth in the latest MAAC rankings in stolen bases with six ... Against Central Connecticut on Tuesday he swiped three to up his total to nine. Hudyma has also stolen home twice this season ... The New Britain, Conn., native also leads the team with six multiple-hit games this season ... Senior Matt Young (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) has a team-best 1.93 ERA. Last weekend against Marist, Young pitched four scoreless innings in relief, and have yielded only six hits in 14.0 innings of work ... In the last 36 innings Fairfield has only committed two errors. The Stags have played errorless ball in the last 17 innings ... Scaife leads the team with a .353 batting average, and also sports a team-high .405 on-base percentage ... Scaife enters today's game with the Huskies riding a six-game hitting streak, which ties David Soucy (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) for the longest this season for the Stags ... Fairfield University Head Coach John Slosar was a member of the 1972 NCAA College World Series team for the University of Connecticut ...
Up Next... Fairfield hosts Canisius College in a MAAC series starting with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
