April 2, 2004
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield University baseball team is back in action, after Thursday's game against the University of Connecticut was called off due to rain, when it opens a three-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series with Canisius College, at Alumni Diamond this weekend. The last time Fairfield took the field, it defeated Central Connecticut State on the road Tuesday afternoon, 7-4.
All-Time vs. Canisius... Fairfield and Canisius have met 18 previous times heading into this weekend's series, and the Stags hold a commanding 14-4 edge. Last season, Fairfield split with the Golden Griffs, winning the first game, 8-5, but fell in the nightcap, 7-2. Fairfield has won three of the last four games with the Buffalo, N.Y. school.
About Canisius... Canisius enters the weekend with a 1-14 overall record after getting swept by St. Bonaventure on March 31, and have the same 1-2 record in the MAAC as the Stags. Gabe Baida is sporting a team-high .341 batting average with 10 runs batted in 44 at-bats this season. Kevin Smith is a shade behind, batting .340 with one homerun and six RBI in 53 at-bats. On the hill, Dennis Wellman is 1-2 with an 8.66 ERA. Kevin Seitz is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA. As a team, the Griffs are batting .216 with two homeruns and 41 runs batted in.
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 ... It has been awhile since Canisius has seen Alumni Diamond. The last two years Fairfield has made the trip to Buffalo to play the Griffs, and in the 2001 season, Fairfield and Canisius played a three-game series at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn.
Last Year at Canisius (April 6, 2003)... Tom Maisano (Farmingdale, N.Y./Chaminade) struck out 11 batters to earn his second victory of the season, as the Stags defeated Canisius 8-5 in the first game of a doubleheader at the Demske Sports Complex. Fairfield dropped the nightcap, 7-2.
Maisano tossed seven and one-third innings of six hit ball, in the opener, and Antuan Barnett (Bronx, N.Y./Rice) was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs batted in. Nick Hudyma (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) smacked two singles, and a double while driving in three runners.
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) was 3-for-5 with a run scored and a run batted in, as the Stags defeated Central Connecticut State on the road, 7-4.
Up Next... The series will conclude on Sunday afternoon with a nine-inning game at 12 p.m.
