FAIRFIELD, Conn. – With an historic start to the 2021 season, the Fairfield University Baseball team is now listed among the nation's best. The Stags earned the program's first-ever national ranking in a national poll as they were slotted No. 23 in Baseball America. The ranking rewards a Fairfield team who holds the nation's only unblemished record at 25-0 while securing the No. 2 spot in the national RPI poll.
"It's good for Fairfield to get the national attention but it's especially good for the players and the coaches who have worked so hard in this difficult year on their own and at practice," Head Coach
Bill Currier said. "They've been doing the difficult work in the weight room and in the preseason. They haven't been sitting back and reading their clippings, they've been coming out with the same energy, the same confidence, and the same way around their business every time they have stepped on the field."
The Stags had plenty of accomplishments to put on their top-25 resume, highlighted by a perfect 25-0 record, the only unblemished record in the nation. That record has helped the Stags hold a No. 2 spot in the current RPI rankings after sitting in the top spot for several weeks throughout the season.
Fairfield has achieved this success on the mound and at the plate as they rank in the top-5 in several categories. The Stags currently hold the best ERA (2.63), WHIP (0.97) in the country with four different pitchers tallied a sub 2.00 ERA. The Stags are also the national leaders in walks per nine innings (2.2) while placing third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.7).
At the plate, the Stags hold the seventh best scoring offense in the NCAA averaging 8.5 runs per game. Fairfield has shown their team contribution to that number with a .327 batting average and a .425 on-base-percentage, both ranking among the top-5 in the country. The Stags also hold the second spot with a .519 slugging percentage.
Individually, the Stags have two players ranked in the top-10 in the country in batting average with
Mike Caruso (.439) sitting fourth and
Mike Handal (.421) securing the ninth spot. Caruso also leads the nation in on-base-percentage at a .562 clip. Shortstop slugger
Justin Guerrera finds himself fifth in the nation with an .804 slugging percentage.
On the mound,
Jake Noviello anchors a starting staff that has a trio with an ERA under 2.00. Noviello sits in the top-15 in the country in both ERA (1.64, 14th) and WHIP (0.79, eighth).
The national rankings go along with other polls that have featured the Stags. Fairfield ranks as the No. 1 team in New England in the latest NEIBA poll and also holds a No. 15 mark in 11 point 7s mid-major power rankings.
The Stags will put their perfect record and national ranking on the line when they host Siena for a four-game series at Alumni Diamond starting with a Saturday doubleheader at noon.
