April 12, 1999
This Week The Stags will host Central Connecticut State in a non-conference game on Tuesday before beginning a stretch of eight straight league games. On Wednesday they will travel to Jersey City, NJ for a key MAAC doubleheader at St. Peters. The Stags will then return home for twin-bills with MAAC North opponents Niagara on Saturday and Canisius on Sunday.
Last Time Out The Stags dropped both ends of a MAAC doubleheader at the hands of LeMoyne College on Sunday. The Stags fell 6-4 in the first game and 5-2 in the second game. Fairfield scored first in the opener, putting up two runs in the first inning. Paul Macchio drove in the first run on a bunt base hit and advanced to second on the play. After Macchio stole third base, he scored on a wild pitch by Dolphin starter Steve Bechard. The 2-0 lead stood until the bottom of the fourth when LeMoyne exploded for all six of its runs to take a 6-2 lead and chase Stag starter Dan Krines. Fairfield rallied for two runs in the fifth, but pulled no closer. Jim Lopusznick continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Macchio went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. In the nightcap, LeMoyne built a 5-0 lead going into the sixth when the Stags got two runs on a double by Macchio. Dolphin starter Jaime Steward managed to shut down the Stags the rest of the way, setting them down in order in the seventh.
Stag Leaders - Center fielder Jim Lopusznick continues to lead the Stags in batting average (.387) and on base percentage (.487). Fraternal twin brother Tom Lopusznick is third on the squad with a .337 batting average and leads the team in home runs (7), slugging percentage (.641) and stolen bases (22-for-24). Cristian Jung has raised his batting average to .339 and leads the Stags with 37 hits.
On the Hill - Tuesday's scheduled starter Mick Feeley carries an 2-4 record into the game with a 9.95 ERA. As a team, Fairfield's ERA is at 6.61. Dave Catelotti leads the pitchers with a 3.75 ERA. Catelotti gave up his first extra-base hit over the weekend, a double. All other hits against the righty have been singles. Steve Colcord is right behind him at 4.17 and is tied for the team lead with three wins. Ryan Holsten also has three wins without a loss and a 4.88 ERA.
Thieves - The Stags continue to run almost at will, swiping 88 stolen bases in 109 attempts. That's an average of 3.03 stolen bases per game. Ten different players have at least one stolen base and seven players have at least six stolen bases. With 19 regular season games remaining, the Stags are on pace to shatter the program's single season record of 118 stolen bases set by the 1977 team.
Big Week - Although the Stags dropped five of seven last week, Paul Macchio swung a hot stick and for his efforts was named MAAC South Player of the Week. Macchio batted .591 (13-for-22) in seven games with three home runs, 14 RBI's, 10 runs scored and was a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts. Last Monday he set a new Fairfield single game record with eight RBI vs. Manhattan, only to have it tied three days later by freshman slugger Sean Easton who drove in eight vs. C.W. Post. Macchio also tied single game records with five hits and five runs scored vs. C.W. Post. Easton also tied the single game hit record with five vs. the Pioneers.
Coach's Corner - Head Coach John Slosar is in his 15th season at the helm of the Stags and carries a career record of 259-299-6 into Tuesday's 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.
MAAC STANDINGS (as of 4/12) NORTH MAAC OVERALL W L Pct. W L T Pct. Siena 12 2 .857 16 14 0 .533 LeMoyne 9 3 .750 11 6 0 .647 Marist 6 4 .600 14 14 0 .500 Niagara 7 6 .538 7 12 1 .375 Canisius 4 10 .286 9 16 0 .360
SOUTH MAAC OVERALL W L Pct. W L T Pct. Rider 8 3 .727 15 12 0 .556 Iona 5 7 .417 12 16 0 .429 Fairfield 5 9 .357 12 17 0 .414 Manhattan 5 9 .357 13 20 0 .394 St. Peter's 2 10 .167 7 23 0 .233
