The strong pitching in Fairfield’s third game against Siena was a positive in an otherwise rough weekend.
The Stags received great pitching from Kamintzky and later, Fico. The two allowed five hits and no runs over the entire game.
The first two games did not go as well, as starters Calabrese and Gariano both got tagged with losses.
With the MAAC standings still very close, Fairfield must put together a good showing against top-ranked Manhattan this weekend.
-Frank Romano
Monday, April 30, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Baseball Diamond Notes: Slide Continues
Fairfield lost its fifth straight game yesterday, falling to UConn 8-0.
Freshman starter Kevin Fico did not pitch badly. He gave up five runs in six innings, but got no run support.
The most glaring example of the offensive struggles came in the fourth, when the Stags let a one-out, bases loaded situation slip away.
While UConn is a Big East force, Fairfield should be able to execute with runners in scoring position.
Leaving men on base has been one of the team’s biggest problems all year long. To stay competitive, the Stags need to consistently put the ball in play and get men home.
-Frank Romano
Freshman starter Kevin Fico did not pitch badly. He gave up five runs in six innings, but got no run support.
The most glaring example of the offensive struggles came in the fourth, when the Stags let a one-out, bases loaded situation slip away.
While UConn is a Big East force, Fairfield should be able to execute with runners in scoring position.
Leaving men on base has been one of the team’s biggest problems all year long. To stay competitive, the Stags need to consistently put the ball in play and get men home.
-Frank Romano
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Baseball Diamond Notes: Offensive Woes Return
Fairfield’s offense, which had shown signs of life last week against Iona, went into cardiac arrest on Saturday.
Fairfield notched only five hits combined in yesterday’s doubleheader and scored only one run.
The Stags’ hitters made their pitchers look like aces. Clearly they are not, as Canisius entered the series in tenth place in the MAAC.
Despite the setback, Fairfield must salvage the series with a win today in the final game.
To be in playoff contention, the Stags need to get back on track and finish the season strong.
-Frank Romano
Fairfield notched only five hits combined in yesterday’s doubleheader and scored only one run.
The Stags’ hitters made their pitchers look like aces. Clearly they are not, as Canisius entered the series in tenth place in the MAAC.
Despite the setback, Fairfield must salvage the series with a win today in the final game.
To be in playoff contention, the Stags need to get back on track and finish the season strong.
-Frank Romano
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Pitching And Defense Wins Games, But Hitting Helps, Too
In last weekend’s conference series, Fairfield had solid pitching.
This weekend, Fairfield got great pitching again, but this time, they also got great hitting.
The Stags pounded out 18 hits in yesterday’s doubleheader with Iona. Seven different batters got hits in game one, as opposed to three or four, like had been the case for the last several weeks.
11 hits came in game one, while seven came in game two.
The most important improvement was in two-out hitting.
In game one, Fairfield notched all seven of its runs on two outs. Six of them came on legitimate hits, while only one came on a passed ball.
If the Stags want to build off yesterday’s strong performance, they must continue to hit in the clutch.
-Frank Romano
This weekend, Fairfield got great pitching again, but this time, they also got great hitting.
The Stags pounded out 18 hits in yesterday’s doubleheader with Iona. Seven different batters got hits in game one, as opposed to three or four, like had been the case for the last several weeks.
11 hits came in game one, while seven came in game two.
The most important improvement was in two-out hitting.
In game one, Fairfield notched all seven of its runs on two outs. Six of them came on legitimate hits, while only one came on a passed ball.
If the Stags want to build off yesterday’s strong performance, they must continue to hit in the clutch.
-Frank Romano
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Baseball Better than Expected?
We here at The Mirror have been pretty tough on the baseball team all year long. But despite their struggles outside the MAAC conference, they have managed a 6-5 MAAC record so far. That record puts them in fourth place, much higher than the eighth-place finish the MAAC coaches predicted in the pre-season.
The Stags have done it with good pitching, as Ryan Calabrese, a junior who transferred from Nassau Community College this season, and senior Ed Kamitzky have been strong in MAAC play. Freshman Rob Gariano stepped up his game with his shutout of Iona on Saturday.
Fairfield has been winning the games it was supposed to, defeating Iona, who is 3-7 in conference play, twice, and also sweeping 2-7 Niagara. The Stags struggled against the top teams in the conference losing two out of three to second place Le Moyne and being swept by third place St. Peter's.
But their one win against Le Moyne was one of only two losses the Dolphins have had in the MAAC so far.
Fairfield has received good hitting at times, but the bats have also slowed down at key points this season. Junior Peter Allen has been Fairfield's best hitter, leading the team in batting average (.395), RBI (19), and home runs (3).
Allen has reached base safely in 31 straight games as well. He has been one of the top hitters in the conference.
As of April 9, he led the league in slugging percentage and doubles, and was in the top five in on-base percentage.
The baseball season is a long one and the Stags still have 15 MAAC games to play before the MAAC Championships on May 24, but as of now Fairfield is having a better season than most people expected.
-Tom Cleary
The Stags have done it with good pitching, as Ryan Calabrese, a junior who transferred from Nassau Community College this season, and senior Ed Kamitzky have been strong in MAAC play. Freshman Rob Gariano stepped up his game with his shutout of Iona on Saturday.
Fairfield has been winning the games it was supposed to, defeating Iona, who is 3-7 in conference play, twice, and also sweeping 2-7 Niagara. The Stags struggled against the top teams in the conference losing two out of three to second place Le Moyne and being swept by third place St. Peter's.
But their one win against Le Moyne was one of only two losses the Dolphins have had in the MAAC so far.
Fairfield has received good hitting at times, but the bats have also slowed down at key points this season. Junior Peter Allen has been Fairfield's best hitter, leading the team in batting average (.395), RBI (19), and home runs (3).
Allen has reached base safely in 31 straight games as well. He has been one of the top hitters in the conference.
As of April 9, he led the league in slugging percentage and doubles, and was in the top five in on-base percentage.
The baseball season is a long one and the Stags still have 15 MAAC games to play before the MAAC Championships on May 24, but as of now Fairfield is having a better season than most people expected.
-Tom Cleary
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Baseball Diamond Notes: Offense Sputters Yet Again
Fairfield failed to score a run in yesterday’s loss to St. Peter’s, brining its total runs scored this weekend to a meager three.
The offense, which showed signs of life last weekend against Le Moyne, came to a screeching halt.
The Stags struck out nine times and left 11 men on base. They notched only five hits.
In each game of the three-game series, Fairfield had more strikeouts than hits. To be in contention, Fairfield must consistently put the ball in play and get on base.
As of right now, there are only three or four guys swinging the bat well. Now that the Stags’ pitching has really settled in, the bats have to step things up and give them some run support.
-Frank Romano
The offense, which showed signs of life last weekend against Le Moyne, came to a screeching halt.
The Stags struck out nine times and left 11 men on base. They notched only five hits.
In each game of the three-game series, Fairfield had more strikeouts than hits. To be in contention, Fairfield must consistently put the ball in play and get on base.
As of right now, there are only three or four guys swinging the bat well. Now that the Stags’ pitching has really settled in, the bats have to step things up and give them some run support.
-Frank Romano
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Baseball Diamond Notes: Sloppy Defense Compounds Offensive Woes
A handful of errors, coupled with the Stags’ on-again, off-again hitting, has really hurt the squad of late.
In yesterday’s doubleheader against St. Peter’s, Fairfield committed three errors in total. In game one, the lone error did not prove too costly, as the Peacocks went from being up 7-1 to 8-1. The same cannot be said for game two, however.
After jumping ahead 2-0 and then letting the Peacocks tie it up, Fairfield booted a ball to give St. Peter’s the go-ahead run. The error came with one out in the top of the third. The Stags would not recover.
In its last five games, Fairfield has made 11 errors. Four of those five games have been multi-error games. Many of those errors, like the error in yesterday’s game two, proved costly in close situations.
With only three or four guys swinging the bat well lately, the Stags cannot afford to give opponents extra outs. After scoring a whopping 20 runs in the three games prior to yesterday’s twin bill, the Stags notched a meager three runs combined on Saturday.
-Frank Romano
In yesterday’s doubleheader against St. Peter’s, Fairfield committed three errors in total. In game one, the lone error did not prove too costly, as the Peacocks went from being up 7-1 to 8-1. The same cannot be said for game two, however.
After jumping ahead 2-0 and then letting the Peacocks tie it up, Fairfield booted a ball to give St. Peter’s the go-ahead run. The error came with one out in the top of the third. The Stags would not recover.
In its last five games, Fairfield has made 11 errors. Four of those five games have been multi-error games. Many of those errors, like the error in yesterday’s game two, proved costly in close situations.
With only three or four guys swinging the bat well lately, the Stags cannot afford to give opponents extra outs. After scoring a whopping 20 runs in the three games prior to yesterday’s twin bill, the Stags notched a meager three runs combined on Saturday.
-Frank Romano
Friday, April 6, 2007
Baseball Diamond Notes: Offense Improving, But Still Not Consistent
Despite several hot-hitting performances over the past several games, the Stags have yet to be consistent from top to bottom in the lineup.
Brizzolara, Allen and DeSimone have scorched the ball as of late, but they cannot shoulder the entire offensive load.
In yesterday's loss to Fordham, the Stags left 10 runners on base. On Tuesday versus Stony Brook, Fairfield also stranded 10. In the first two games against Le Moyne this past weekend, the Stags combined for 20 strikeouts.
Now that the pitching is really starting to gel, the offense must come together if Fairfield wants to be a true conference threat.
-Frank Romano
Brizzolara, Allen and DeSimone have scorched the ball as of late, but they cannot shoulder the entire offensive load.
In yesterday's loss to Fordham, the Stags left 10 runners on base. On Tuesday versus Stony Brook, Fairfield also stranded 10. In the first two games against Le Moyne this past weekend, the Stags combined for 20 strikeouts.
Now that the pitching is really starting to gel, the offense must come together if Fairfield wants to be a true conference threat.
-Frank Romano
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Softball Taking A Leaf Out Of Charlie Brown's Book
This weekend's games against Niagara just go to show the wishy-washy overtone that has plagued Fairfield softball for the entire season.
Every time we see some spark of life from the team, its drive falls by the wayside. Take yesterday's second game for example: after being beaten down completely in the first three innings, the girls stood up for just long enough to tie the game before sitting back down and watching Niagara score three more runs.
If the Stags plan on doing as well as the pre-season coaches poll predicted, they need to work on their stamina as a team.
-Michelle Morrison
Every time we see some spark of life from the team, its drive falls by the wayside. Take yesterday's second game for example: after being beaten down completely in the first three innings, the girls stood up for just long enough to tie the game before sitting back down and watching Niagara score three more runs.
If the Stags plan on doing as well as the pre-season coaches poll predicted, they need to work on their stamina as a team.
-Michelle Morrison
On Baseball: Defense Coming Together, Despite Offensive Woes
Even though the Stags lost both games to Le Moyne on Saturday, they played very good ball against a team that was picked to finish first in the MAAC this year.
Fairfield showed no signs of intimidation against Le Moyne ace Bobby Blevins. The Stags jumped out in front early with two runs, but struggled at the plate thereafter.
Calabrese put together another quality start. Start after start, he’s proven that you don’t need to mow batters down to be effective. On Saturday, he had only two strikeouts, getting most of his outs on groundballs and flyouts. He makes hitters put the ball in play and it’s effective.
In game two, Gariano let it all hang out, pitching a beauty. The Stags’ bats must rally behind him next time though, as they gave him no support.
20 strikeouts in two games combined is much too high. Fairfield has shown that it can put the ball in play, but it must do so consistently.
-Frank Romano
Fairfield showed no signs of intimidation against Le Moyne ace Bobby Blevins. The Stags jumped out in front early with two runs, but struggled at the plate thereafter.
Calabrese put together another quality start. Start after start, he’s proven that you don’t need to mow batters down to be effective. On Saturday, he had only two strikeouts, getting most of his outs on groundballs and flyouts. He makes hitters put the ball in play and it’s effective.
In game two, Gariano let it all hang out, pitching a beauty. The Stags’ bats must rally behind him next time though, as they gave him no support.
20 strikeouts in two games combined is much too high. Fairfield has shown that it can put the ball in play, but it must do so consistently.
-Frank Romano
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