Fairfield opens its final week of the regular season with a stop at Seton Hall on Tuesday at 6pm in South Orange, N.J.
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Fairfield (28-20) vs. Seton Hall (36-11): Fairfield and Seton Hall are meeting for the first time since the 2000 season. In their last meeting, the Pirates notched a 6-3 victory. Fairfield is 2-10 all-time against Seton Hall with the last Stag victory coming during the 1979 campaign.
Scouting the Pirates: Seton Hall has won 15 of its last 19 contests entering Tuesday, including a three-game sweep of Xavier over the weekend. The Pirates are 17-1 at home this season. Sal Annunziata was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll after batting a team-high .417 in three games against Xavier. Annunziata is batting .351 and currently leads the Big East in RBIs (46), doubles (16), total bases (94), and slugging percentage (.540). Annunziata is one of five Pirates hitting over .300 this season. D.J. Ruhlman leads Seton Hall with a .371 batting average while Derek Jenkins has a .344 batting average and has stolen 35 bases.
National Notice: In the national statistical rankings released by the NCAA on Monday, two Stags were among the leaders. Junior Alex Witkus is ranked 11th in stolen bases per game (0.60) and 10th in stolen bases with 27 this season. Witkus is 25th among the NCAA Division I career active leaders in stolen base (55). Senior Ryan Plourde is the 24th toughest batter to strike out in the nation. Plourde has struck out just 10 times in 165 at-bats which translates to one strikeout every 15.6 at-bats. Plourde is 14th among the NCAA Division I career active leaders in walks (113) and 32nd in triples (11).
Single Season Victories Record: With their 6-2 victory over Quinnipiac on Sunday, May 11, Fairfield recorded their program-record 28th victory of the season. The previous standard of 27 victories was set by the 2012 version of the Stags.
Clinched it: With their 12-8 win over Quinnipiac on May 10, the Stags secured a berth in the MAAC Championship. Fairfield will be making their second tournament appearance in the last three seasons. The MAAC Championship will be held May 21-24 at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J.
Quick Hits: Senior Rob LoPinto has reached base safely in each of the last 12 games … Junior Alex Witkus is on a four-game hitting streak in which he's batting .500 (6-for-12) with three runs scored and three RBIs … Rookie Mac Crispino is hitting .444 (4-for-9) with four RBIs with runners in scoring position with two outs … As a pinch hitter, sophomore Brendan Tracy is batting .600 (3-for-5) with four RBIs and a slugging percentage of 1.600. Two of the three hits were for extra bases … Jack Giannini is hitting .600 (3-for-5) with the bases loaded with nine RBIs this season.
Can't Catch Him: Junior Alex Witkus is 27-for-29 in stolen bases this season. The 27 stolen bases are the most by any Stag since the 1999 season when Tom Lopusznick swiped 33. For his career, Witkus has stolen 55 bases in 64 chances which places him fifth all-time at Fairfield.
Keeping Up Appearances: Junior Tucker Panciera has made the most of his appearances this season. The lefty is 7-2 with a save in 18 appearances. The seven victories are the second most in single season history. Panciera needs one more to tie the record (8). He has a 3.54 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 40.2 innings pitched.
Looking Ahead: The Stags close out the regular season May 16-17 with a visit from Marist. The two teams will play a single game at 3pm on May 16 followed by a doubleheader on May 17. Prior to the start of the doubleheader on Saturday, the Stags will honor their senior class of Christian Fox, Rob LoPinto, Brian Murphy, and Ryan Plourde.
