After Two Straight Losses, Baseball Must Rebound

In yesterday’s loss to Central Connecticut, the baseball team had as many hits as errors—not a stat you like to have.

Of the Stags’ five hits, two came in the final inning of play.

Against a strong Le Moyne team this weekend, Fairfield cannot afford to give the opposition extra outs. Experienced teams know how to capitalize on mistakes.

The Stags must also consistently put the ball in play and get on base. We know they can hit. They proved it this past weekend with an offensive display in Monday’s Niagara doubleheader.

-Frank Romano

Women's Tennis Crushes St. Peter's in MAAC Opener

The Stags women's tennis team made it two for two against St. Peter's for the Fairfield tennis teams by shutting out the Peacocks, 7-0, on Monday in Jersey City, NJ.

Paulina Rys `10 played her first MAAC match at number one singles and faced tough competition from St. Peter's Vanessa Pangikas. Rys won in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 10-5.

Lauren Bonanno `09, Alexis Accomando `07, Gabriela Davila `09, and Courtney Price `08 all also picked up singles victories. The Stags picked up a sixth singles victory by default, as St. Peter's did not have enough players.

The Stags won the doubles point as the Peahens forfeited the third doubles spot. Fairfield split the matches it did play, as Davila and Rys won at first doubles, but Accomando and Bonanno fell in the second spot.

Fairfield stays on the road, traveling to Storrs, Conn. for a matchup against UConn on Thursday, before returning home for the next five matches, four of which will be against MAAC opponents.

-Tom Cleary

Men's Tennis Bounces Back With Two Wins

After a tough loss to Hofstra this past week, the Stags men's tennis team bounced back by defeating St. Peter's to open up the MAAC season. Fairfield then knocked off Rhode Island, in Kingston, R.I.

On Sunday the Stags had their first conference match and pulled out a 5-2 victory over the St. Peter's Peacocks in Jersey City, NJ. Jon Fernando `07 led the way with a victory at one singles, 7-6, 6-2 over Cprime Realista of St. Peter's. Despite losses at two and three singles by Ryan Berthod `10 and Zach Morrison `07, Fairfield pulled out the singles victory with wins from Balazs Szilka `08, Chip Palumbo `09, and Glen Gannon `09.

Fairfield swept the doubles points as all three teams defeated the Peacocks.

The Stags had little time to rest, as they had to travel to the University of Rhode Island for a match against URI on Tuesday. Fairfield picked up its second straight victory, this time winning 6-1. Fernando again opened things up with a victory at one singles over URI's top player, Henrik Alstrom, 6-2, 6-1. Berthod fell at two singles, but the other four singles players won their matches.

Fernando and Palumbo won at one doubles and Berthod and Morrison claimed victory at third doubles. Gannon and Szilka were the only team to lose to the Rams.

Fairfield, now 7-5 overall on the season, is back in action right away as the team returns home to play its first home outdoor match, against Fordham, at 3:00 on Thurs. March 29. The Stags are home for the next six matches, all but two against MAAC opponents.

-Tom Cleary

Softball breaks out their bats against Yale

Today's games against Yale were definitely a morale booster for Stag softball. Even though the team only won one game, both were very close scores.

The most important part of today's win was that the Stags showed they could come out hard on offense. Four different players (Ringnalda '07, Griswold '10, D'Alessandro '08 and Trifolis '10) logged home runs, not to mention the many other players who managed to get on base and hold their own.

The result of the second game shows a growing trend for the team in that how they start the game is usually how they end it: when they come out strong at the start they usually finish off well, but a few errors in the first two innings means trouble.

Overall today was definitely a positive for the Stags: beating an Ivy League team that had been on a 6 game winning streak would improve anyone's outlook.

We'll see if the Stags can hold onto this attitude as they move into Saturday's games against Niagara.

-Michelle Morrison

Softball Goes 1-2, Borst Wins MAAC Rookie Of The Week

The Stags had a disappointing weekend, going only 1-2 and dropping to 4-12 on the year.

After a 5-3 win against Stony Brook, the Stags dropped their next two to Long Island and Quinnipiac.

However, they have still not played a game at home and the MAAC schedule opens this weekend at Fairfield. Hopefully, this will change the Stags' fortunes.

There were some bright spots, though. Freshman Meghan Borst led the way, battting .429 for the week, recording an ERA of 2.79 and earning a save. For her efforts, she was named the MAAC Softball Rookie of the Week in addition to being named to the Stony Brook Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Junior Julia Jacoby was also named to the All-Tournament team. Jacoby is hitting .420 for the year.

One concern for the Stags is their offense, as they are only hitting .241 as a team and have scored only 49 runs in 16 games. Fairfield's opponents are holding the Stags to a 2.19 ERA, while the Stags are yielding a 5.89 ERA.

-Chris Simmons

Crew Places Well At Murphy Cup

The women's crew team was competitive during its trip to Philadelphia this past Saturday to race in the Murphy Cup.

The novice 8 took fifth in its heat with a time of 6:10.87. The Naval Academy won the race. The novices were lead by coxswain Therese Stallard, Emily Petrow, Alysse Merullo, Diana Wescott and Mary McGrath.

The varsity 8 placed fourth behind Bucknell, Dowling and Lehigh with a time of 6:21.07. The varstiy crew consisted of coxswain Daria Anuszkiewicz, Liz Ulles, Sam Rosen, Lindsay Ryan, Mary Crowley, Sara LaFouci, Jessica Braveman, Rebecca Bowes and Mallory Reimers.

Fairfield will return in two weeks in the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J.

-Chris Simmons

Softball Preview: Fairfield vs. Yale

Here’s what the softball team is looking forward to in tomorrow’s game versus Yale:

Yale:
Record of 12-2 overall
Only losses to Cleveland State and Butler
Fantastic fielding
Have not given up more than 3 runs in any game so far, total of 23
Very young team: only 3 seniors and 2 juniors
Currently on a 6 game winning streak
Tomorrow is the last game before Yale begins Ivy League play
Key players: Aracelis Torres ’08, Tracy Timm ’10, Megan Enyeart ‘19

Fairfield:
Record of 4-11 overall
Wins against Appalachian State, Miami, Iona, Stony Brook
Recent streak of fielding errors
Heavy on freshman and juniors
Coming off a loss to Quinnipiac
Pattern: start the game off slowly, rush to catch up at the end
Key players: Cagney Ringnalda ’07, Meghan Borst ’10, Julia Jacoby ’08, Erin Frank ‘08

-Michelle

Softball Takes One, Leaves Two

This weekend the Fairfield softball team headed out to Stony Brook, N.Y., for three games in the Stony Brook Invitational.

The girls started out well, posting at 5-3 victory against host school Stony Brook early Saturday morning. Once again, Julia Jacoby '08 stepped up at the plate for the Stags, slamming a two-run double in the second. Cagney Ringnalda '07 pitched the majority of the game before passing off the glove to Meghan Borst '10.

Things went downhill from there, as the team moved on to a noontime matchup against Long Island. Fairfield let up nine runs before it was able to return three, but a last-ditch effort was not enough and left the score at 9-3.

It was deja vu all over again on Sunday, as the team faced off against Quinnipiac University and let up 10 runs in the first inning. Jacoby, Borst, Breanne Morschauser '08 and Kristie Trifiolis '10 all struck back, but the game ended at 12-6.

The team is back in action on Wednesday against Yale.

-Michelle Morrison

Baseball's MAAC Win Just What the Doctor Ordered

After losing its last seven games, Fairfield entered today's game against Niagara needing a win. The Stags got just that, beating the Niagara Purple Eagles 1-0 in a shutout pitching performance by Calabrese.

While Fairfield is 2-8 overall, it is now 1-0 in conference play, and that's what matters.

The Stags are a young team, so learning how to play as a unit will take time. Today's strong defensive play is definitely a sign of improvement.

After all, pitching and defense wins games.

-Frank Romano

Softball Finishes Aztec Invitational With 2-3 Record

The Fairfield softball team finished up its weekend in San Diego with an overall record of 2-3. The Stags started the weekend well, defeating Miami (OH) and Iona, but suffered losses to Fordham and San Diego State on Saturday.

Today, the girls fell to the University of Utah in a heartbreaking shutout, 10-0.

Despite many base hits and opportunities, the Stags couldn't take it the whole way against Utah pitcher Karina Cannon.

Julia Jacoby '08 Erin Frank '08 were the only sources of offense on the day. Each connected for a single, but remainded stranded on the basepaths.

The Stags play this Thursday against Wagner at Alumni Softball Diamond.

-Michelle Morrison

Baseball Winless In Florida

The outcome of Fairfield baseball’s Spring Break trip wasn’t all that bright, despite spending the week in the Sunshine State.

After losing their first three games in Florida earlier in the week, the Stags finished the trip with losses to Miami (OH), Vermont and Dartmouth. Friday’s game against Army got rained out in the fifth. The Stags fell to 1-8 overall.

On Wednesday against Miami, Fairfield scored early — but not often. The Stags started off with a bang, scoring two runs in the first inning. They would not score again.

The Redhawks scored five in the third, then finished it off with two runs in the sixth.

This pattern continued in the second game of the day, versus Vermont.

After the Stags jumped ahead with a 2-0 lead in the first, it looked as though they would continue their great play from Monday, when they lost to the Catamounts in 11 strong innings.

Unfortunately, unlike in Monday’s game, the pitching and hitting were not there. Vermont went on to pound out 12 runs over the course of the game, for a final score of 12-3.

Fairfield’s scoring drought continued in Thursday’s game against Dartmouth. Junior Ryan Calabrese pitched six strong innings, but the Stags’ bats could only put one run on the board.

Calabrese allowed two runs, one of which was unearned, before handing the game over to senior reliever Michael Colucci. Colucci gave up two runs in three innings of work for a final score of 4-1.

Senior pitcher Ed Kamintzky put together a quality outing on Friday before the rain fell, giving up two hits in four and one-third innings. The game was tied at 0-0.

Fairfield will look to build off these positive pitching performances come next week. The Stags take on St. John’s on Tuesday, Central Connecticut State on Wednesday, and Quinnipiac on Thursday. Fairfield begins its first weekend conference series this Saturday versus Niagara.

-Frank Romano

Stags Fall 7-5, 7-2 In St. Paddy's Day Matchups

The luck of the Irish was not with the Fairfield softball team this Saint Patrick's day.

The girls lost both their games in the Aztec Invitational, sinking 7-5 against Fordham and 7-2 against San Diego State.

The Stags faced Fordham first. By the bottom of the fourth, they had jumped out to an early lead of 5-0. Fordham struck back in the fifth, driving in seven runs, five of which came on a Fairfield fielding error.

The girls managed to put a few runners on base over the next innings, but failed to round the full diamond, leaving the score at 7-5.

At 10 p.m., Fairfield squared off against the host of the Aztec Invitational, San Diego State.

For the first half of the game neither team seemed to dominate, as the only run scored came in the second inning on a strategic bunt by San Diego State.

As the game went on, San Diego State pitcher Christina Ross continued to thwart the Stag offensive effort, striking out one Fairfield batter after the other.

The Stags threw in a last ditch effort in the top of the seventh, when freshman Meghan Borst slammed a home run to bring herself and Breanne Morschauser '08 around the bases. This was not enough however, and the game ended at 7-2.

-Michelle Morrison

Softball Wins Two

The Stags opened the Aztec Classic with two wins on Friday, the first over Miami (OH) and the second in the nightcap versus Iona.

The first game was close throughout as Miami (OH) and Fairfield traded scores. Eventually, the Stags broke through with a two-run inning in the top of the fourth, only to have the Redhawks come back to score four in the bottom of the sixth to take a 5-4 lead. However, Fairfield was able to put two on the board in the top of the seventh and hold Miami to get the win. Senior Cagney Ringnalda pitched the entire game and had a pair of hits as well.

In the nightcap, Fairfield beat previously undefeated Iona by the score of 6-5. The Stags were behind early 5-1, but were able to put runs on the board in each of the last three innings to come back. They won on a single by freshman Meghan Borst with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Borst also pitched the last four innings to record the win.

Fairfield will continue to play in the tournament on Saturday against Fordham and San Diego State.

-Chris Simmons

Baseball Opening Weekend Recap

The Stags started the 2007 season with Delaware State this weekend, winning one-out-of three. While the pitching may not have been as solid as Fairfield would have hoped, the Stags will take plenty of positives with them into the week ahead. Here’s a performance breakdown:

WHO'S HOT

-the bats

• -Fairfield tallied 31 hits in the series. Of those hits, 4 were home runs and 4 were doubles.

-Peter Allen

• -The junior DH is batting .500 (6 for 12) so far.

-David Dudish

• -The freshman 3B already has 5 RBIs on the year.

WHO'S NOT

-the defense

• -Fairfield gave up 23 runs over the three games.

-Frank Romano

Softball Opening Weekend Recap

The Stags started the 2007 season this weekend, going 1-4 at the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. While the pitching and offense may not have been as strong as Fairfield would have liked, the Stags will look to build off the positives and improve on the negatives. Here’s a performance breakdown:

WHO'S HOT

-Casey Ringnalda

• -The senior P started three of the five games. While she comes out of the weekend with a 1-2 record, she tallied 12 strikeouts in 18 innings of work.

-Erin Frank

• -The junior C went 2 for 3 in the final game against Appalachian State.

-Meghan Borst

• -The freshman P went the final 3 innings vs. Appalachian State, allowing 0 hits and 0 runs for the save.

WHO'S NOT

-the bats

• -The Stags tallied just 4 runs in 35 innings of play

-Frank Romano

Men's Tennis Picks Up Third Win of Season

The Stags bounced back from a 7-0 loss to Boston College last week to pick up a victory over Monmouth, 4-3.

The Stags picked up the doubles point with wins by No. 1 doubles Jonathan Fernando `07 and Chip Palumbo `09 and No. 3 doubles, Zachary Morrison `07 and Glen Gannon `08.

Fairfield fell behind 3-1 after Fernando, Ryan Berthod `10, and Palumbo all lost their singles matches. Balazs Szikla `08 and Gannon each picked up wins to even the score at 3, and then Morrison picked up a win to give the Stags the match.

The Stags will now head to Florida for Spring Break, where they will play four matches.

-Tom Cleary

Baseball Drops Series Finale to Deleware State

The Stags fell to 1-2 on the season and dropped their opening series to Delaware State with a 9-3 loss at Soldier Field in Delaware.

Freshman pitcher Robert Gariano made his first career start and pitched 3 innings in the loss. Gariano allowed six runs on five hits, but just three of those runs were earned, as Fairfield committed three errors in the first two innings. Gariano had trouble with control in the first, allowing two passed balls.

Delaware State starter Josh Schmidt shut down the Stags offense for six innings, allowing just five hits and one run, while striking out six.

Sophomore second baseman Dave Jermaine led the Fairfield offense, going 3-5 with a RBI.

The Stags return to the northeast for a game at Hartford, before traveling to Bradenton, Fla. for seven games during spring break.

-Tom Cleary

Fairfield Softball Strikes Out Against Princeton

Continuing a depressing trend for the weekend, the Fairfield softball team fell to Princeton University with a score of 2-1.

The game was part of the Tar Heel Invitational, a tournament held at UNC Chapel Hill. Seven schools were in attendance: Appalachian State, Rutgers, Liberty, Marshall, Rhode Island, Princeton and UNC.

On the mound for the Stags, Casey Ringnalda ’07 pitched a decent game, securing five strikeouts.

The team dominated the game until the 5th inning, mostly due to an excellent defensive effort. Julia Jacoby ’08 scored for the Stags in the bottom of the 3rd off a single from Riannon Thomas ‘08.

In the 5th, the game started going downhill as Princeton secured two runs while Fairfield only grabbed one more.

This left the game at a 2-2 standoff until the top of the 7th, when Princeton’s Kelsey Quist made it home off a hit from Beth Dalmut.

The Stags are back in action on March 14th, away against San Diego.

-Michelle Morrison

Baseball Wins One, Loses One vs. Delaware State

Fairfield lost its first Saturday game against Delaware State, 8-6, but won the second, 9-6.

Senior Ed Kamintzky got the loss in Game One, while junior transfer Ryan Calabrese got the win in Game Two.

The Stags' offense was firing on all cylinders, as the squad combined for a whopping 21 hits over the two games.

-Frank Romano

Softball Falls to Liberty in Second Game of Invitational

Fairfield lost to Liberty University, 8-0 Friday night in its second game of the Tar Heel Invitational. Stags’ pitcher Jen Gilbert got the loss, while the Flames’ Terra Lowe got the victory.

After scratching out only one hit against North Carolina Friday afternoon, the Stags again went quiet at the plate. Fairfield scratched out only one hit against the Flames, who racked up 12.

Gilbert gave up six runs in 1 and 2/3 innings of work. Lowe pitched a gem for five solid innings, striking out six.

Fairfield’s only hit came from 2B Riannon Thomas, who singled in the fourth.

-Frank Romano

Baseball Weekend Series Preview: Fairfield vs. Deleware State

Site: Soldeir Field, Dover, Del.
Time: Sat. 12 and 3 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.

FAIRFIELD
0-0 Overall
0-0 MAAC Conference

PITCHING PROBABLES
Sat. Game 1: E. Kamintzky (LHP)
Sat. Game 2: R. Gariano (RHP)
Sun: R. Calabrese (RHP)

PROBABLE STARTERS
Philip Espinosa, C, 5-10, Sr.
Michael Joyce, 1B, 6-1, So.
Dave Jermine, 2B, 5-7, So.
David Dudish, 3B, 6-2, Fr.
Albie DeSimone, SS, 5-11, Jr.
Jason Rago, LF, 6-1, Fr.
Bill Rafferty, CF, 6-1, Fr.
Brian Rudolph, RF, 6-4, Jr.
Peter Allen, DH, 6-2, Jr.

DELAWARE STATE
1-6 Overall
0-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

PITCHING PROBABLES
Sat. Game 1: T. Tevis (LHP, 0-1, 4.26 ERA)
Sat. Game 2: D. Perkins (RHP, 0-2, 6.39 ERA)
Sun: JR McAllister (RHP, 1-1, 10.38 ERA)

-Frank Romano

Softball Falls to North Carolina, 1-0

The softball team lost its first outing of the year today against North Carolina, 1-0. The game took place at Chapel Hill as part of the Tar Heel Invitational. Stag senior pitcher Cagney Ringnalda got the loss, while Tar Heel sophomore pitcher Lisa Norris got the win.

Ringnalda gave up four hits and struck out six in a full seven innings of work. North Carolina’s lone run came in the second off two clean hits and a fielder’s choice.

Norris took care of business after that, ultimately giving up one hit and striking out 13 on her way to a complete game.

Fairfield’s only hit came from 3B Dani Griswold, who tripled in the second inning.

The Stags continue their tournament play on Saturday, taking on Rutgers at 2:30 p.m. and Appalachian State at 7 p.m.

-Frank Romano