Weekly Notes

The Stags will play its final MAAC road series this week when they travel to Siena College, May 11-12. The two teams play a doubleheader on Friday followed by a single game on Saturday. First pitch for both days is 12pm.

On The Web: Siena will be providing GameTracker and Live Video for all three games.

Fairfield (21-25; 9-9 MAAC) vs. Siena (18-31; 8-10 MAAC): The Saints took two out of three from the Stags last season and have won five of the last six meetings. Last year, Ryan Plourde went 4-for-8 with three walks, a homer, and two RBI in his first series against Siena. Scott Warwick picked up the victory last year, scattering one run on five hits with four strikeouts in 8.0 innings. Brett Shulick scattered two runs on six hits in 7.1 innings but was on the losing end of 3-1 decision. For his career, Anthony Hajjar is batting .333 against the Saints.

A Look at Siena: Siena fought off a sweep by Rider University on Sunday, defeating the Broncs, 3-2, to stay alive in the quest for a MAAC Tournament berth. Entering Friday, the Saints have won four of their last six games. As a team, Siena is hitting .263 while yielding a 5.94 ERA. John Rooney is hitting .320 with 27 RBI to lead the Saints offense. On the mound, Ryan Poplawski has a 4.46 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 70.2 innings.

Last Time Out: Fairfield is coming off a tough 8-5 loss to MAAC leader Manhattan College in the rubber game of the series between the two schools. Junior Jack Giannini went 2-for-4 for the Stags with a run scored while junior Anthony Hajjar went 1-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, one driven in, and a stolen base. Taylor Sewitt (6-1) picked up the win, scattering four runs, three earned on six hits with six strikeouts. Jacob Marchus picked up the save. Senior Brett Shulick (5-4) took the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings.

MAAC Round-up: Manhattan is currently in first place in the MAAC while Canisius is in second. At 9-8, Marist is in third place while Rider is in fourth with an 11-10 record. Fairfield sits tied with Saint Peter's at 9-9 in the league, one game ahead of Siena with six games to play. The Peacocks face off with the Jaspers this week while the Red Foxes host Canisius and Rider plays its final series of the year at Iona.

Fairfield Among the MAAC leaders: The Stags pitching staff leads the MAAC with a 4.24 ERA with opponents hitting just .279. Fairfield is also third in the MAAC in strikeouts with 272 and leads the league in pickoffs (14). Individually, senior Scott Warwick is second in the league with a 2.58 ERA, tied for third in strikeouts (50), and fourth in opponent batting average against (.248). Offensively, Fairfield is fifth in runs scored (223), second in walks (170), and third in triples (10). Sophomore Ryan Plourde is fourth in the MAAC in batting average (.344) and fifth in on-base percentage (.438). Senior Larry Cornelia is third in stolen bases (23).  Defensively, the Stags lead the MAAC with 44 double plays and stand fourth in fielding percentage (.965).

National Notice: Senior Larry Cornelia is ranked 29th in the country in stolen bases with 23. He averages 0.5 per game which ranks him 36th nationally.

Moving On Up: With a pair of hits on May 5, junior Anthony Hajjar cracked the top-10 on Fairfield's career hits chart. The first baseman currently has 158 career hits which is good for tenth all-time. Tucker Nathans holds the career record with 263 hits during his four seasons as a Stag.

It's a Steal: Senior Larry Cornelia has stolen a career-high 23 bases this year and is the first Stag to swipe 20+ bases in a season since 1999. During that campaign, Tom Lopusznick stole 33 while Paul Macchio had 21 stolen bases. The Fairfield single season record for steals is 37 which Bill Barnes set in 1978.

Let's Turn Two: The Fairfield defense has turned 44 double plays so far this season. Last year, the Stags tied the single season record with 46 double plays. Fairfield has turned three double plays in a game on three different occasions this season, most recently against Canisius on April 29.

Up Next: The Stags added a non-league game on May 14 as they will head to Bears and Eagles Stadium in Newark, N.J. to face NJIT at 6:30pm. Fairfield returns home to close out the regular season against Marist, May 17-18. The Stags and Red Foxes will play a single game at 12pm on May 17 followed by a 12pm doubleheader on May 18 which is also Senior Day.