Third-seeded Fairfield will open 2014 MAAC Baseball Championship action on Wednesday, May 21 when the Stags face sixth-seeded Manhattan at 12pm at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J.
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About the MAAC Championship: The 2014 MAAC Championship will be held May 21-24 at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J. and will be hosted by Monmouth. For the first time in the 21-year history of the event, six teams will compete in the MAAC Championship. The double elimination format will feature three games per day on May 21 through May 23, until the championship round on May 24, when one game is scheduled (two if necessary). The rain date is scheduled for May 25. FirstEnergy Park is the home of the Philadelphia Phillies Class A affiliate Lakewood BlueClaws.
Fairfield & the MAAC Championship: The Stags are making their second MAAC Championship appearance in the last three seasons. With their 12-8 win over Quinnipiac on May 10, the Stags secured a berth in the MAAC Championship. They locked up the third seed by virtue of their win over Marist on May 17. Fairfield earned the third seed in the 2012 MAAC Championship, returning to the postseason tournament for the first time in nearly a decade. During that tournament, the Stags were eliminated after dropping a pair of one-run games. The Stags were edged, 2-1, by Canisius in the opening round and fell to Manhattan, 1-0. The entire 2000 MAAC Championship was played in a day. The Stags played their opening game on the campus of host Marist, defeating LeMoyne, 3-1. Fairfield headed to Dutchess Stadium for the championship game where they fell to Marist, 11-5. The Stags finished as the runner-up to Siena in 1995 and made a MAAC Championship appearance in 1997. Fairfield won a pair MAAC South Championships in 1993 and 1991. The Stags also won a MAAC title in 1983.
Fairfield vs. the Field: Fairfield met four of the five teams in the MAAC Championship field this season, taking three of those series. The Stags did not meet the Jaspers during the regular season. Fairfield took two out of three games from Canisius, Quinnipiac, and Monmouth this year. Siena is the only team to win a series against Fairfield, taking two out of three contests.
Fairfield (30-22; 15-8 MAAC) vs. #6 Manhattan (17-31; 11-13 MAAC): The Stags and the Jaspers will be meeting of the first time this season. Last year, Fairfield captured the series from Manhattan. After dropping the first game, 4-3, due to ninth-inning rally by the Jaspers, the Stags took the next two games. Mike Wallace tossed a four-hit complete game in the 3-1 victory. Wallace threw all 7.0 innings, giving up just one run and walking just one batter. Fairfield also posted a 7-4 win behind the pitching of Aaron Howell, who scattered four runs, two earned, on five hits in 6.1 innings. Fairfield is 68-43 all-time against Manhattan. Jack Giannini is a career .385 hitter against the Jaspers.
Scouting the Jaspers: Fairfield helped Manhattan clinch a berth in the MAAC Championship by winning two games against Marist over the weekend. The Jaspers have won their last four games entering the MAAC Championship, including a three-game sweep of Saint Peter's. As a team, the Jaspers are batting .234 this season. Christian Santisteban is hitting .319 with 21 RBIs and 21 runs scored. Brendan Slattery is hitting .312 with 22 RBIs while Chris Kalousdian is hitting .286 with 20 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. As a pitching staff, Manhattan has a 4.67 ERA with 223 strikeouts over 406.1 innings. Joey Rocchietti (2-5) has a 3.25 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 88.2 innings while Michael Martin (3-6) has a 3.35 ERA.
Checking In: In the final New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Coaches Poll, the Stags were ranked third for the third consecutive week. Bryant was first followed by Hartford and the Stags. UConn, Central Connecticut, and Northeastern rounded out the group.
National Notice: In the national statistical rankings released by the NCAA on Monday, two Stags were among the leaders. Junior Alex Witkus is ranked eighth in stolen bases with 29 this season and ninth in stolen bases per game (0.60). Witkus is tied for 24th among the NCAA Division I career active leaders in stolen bases (57). Senior Ryan Plourde is the 20th toughest batter to strike out in the nation. Plourde has struck out just 10 times in 176 at-bats which translates to one strikeout every 17.3 at-bats. Plourde is 13th among the NCAA Division I career active leaders in walks (117) and 36th in triples (11).
Winning Ways: With their 9-5 win over Marist on May 18, Fairfield registered its first-ever 30-win season. 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. At eight games above .500, the Stags will finish the year with a winning record for the first time since 2000.
Quick Hits: Junior Sal Ciccone is riding a four-game hitting streak entering the MAAC Championship. The shortstop is hitting .462 (6-for-13) in that span … Junior Sebastian Salvo is also heating up, batting .545 (6-for-11) with six RBIs and five runs scored over the last four games … Fairfield has recorded 10 or more hits in six of the last 10 games. The Stags have 18 games this season with 10+ hits ... As a pinch hitter, sophomore Brendan Tracy is batting .667 (4-for-5) with four RBIs … Senior Rob LoPinto has reached base safely in 14 of his last 15 games … Fairfield has turned 45 double plays this season while hitting into 30.
Single Season Success: Senior Ryan Plourde has drawn 36 walks this season, the fourth-highest single season total in program history. It's also the most since 1982 when Bill Albino had 34. Plourde has scored 43 runs, tying him for the fifth most. Bill McMahon is the single season leader with 49. Sophomore Mike Wallace has two shutouts this season. The single season record is three which is held by Keefe Cato and Steve Becker. With 13 starts, Wallace is one away from tying Dan Krines for the single season record.
Can't Catch Him: Junior Alex Witkus is 29-for-31 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 swiped 57 bases in 66 chances good for fifth all-time at Fairfield.
Just Jake: Sophomore Jake Salpietro has been one of the Stags' top hitters this season as he's batting .308 with 42 RBIs and 32 runs scored. Twenty-two of his 56 hits are for extra bases, including 16 doubles, five homers, and a triple. Salpietro has 16 multi-hit games as well.
MAAC Attack: Sophomore Mike Wallace is 5-2 in MAAC games this season with a 2.26 ERA. Wallace has struck out 35 batters and walked just eight in 51.2 innings against MAAC opponents. Junior EJ Ashworth is 3-0 in MAAC games this season with a 2.38 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 45.1 innings. Junior Alex Witkus hit.312 with 17 stolen bases and 18 runs scored in MAAC games this season.
