The Fairfield men’s baseball squad looks to continue their success this year, coming off an impressive 2016 season where they won their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship with a record of 32-26. One key player who is looking forward to taking full advantage of his senior season is Mac Crispino. He is certainly ready to embrace the season and ready to endure one last journey with his teammates.
“It’s pretty crazy. It feels like yesterday when I was a freshman and not knowing anything about the program. My class was able to see Stags baseball take off and grow. We saw the struggles our sophomore year, losing thirteen one-run games plus the success we had last year. It’s tough to think about for sure,” said Crispino.
The Avon, Conn. native surely takes pride in his offensive skills as they were on display last season when he hit a team-high .361 with runners in scoring position. One big fundamental in baseball is clutch hitting and the Second All-Team MAAC recipient unquestionably displayed it.
“I don’t know how to explain it but there’s a certain point of dialing in and maybe not thinking about it as much. Also I just kind of relax in that big moment and realize that ‘I’m here, I’m the guy for the job’,” said Crispino, an outfielder and first baseman for the Stags.
Another key component of Crispino’s game is his versatility. He played the outfield position while at Fairfield until he was moved to first base last year, where he set a program record of 495 putouts. Now this year he is moving to a new position at second base.
“I’ve played infield my whole life and I played outfield my sophomore year. Moving to first base wasn’t exactly easier but it was more engaging in the game and the fact that I would touch the ball every time — it would lock me in offensively and defensively. Since this year I’m playing second base, I never put my mindset on one position,” said Crispino.
Since the Stags won the MAAC title last year, it is pretty apparent that the squad now has the eyes of the conference squarely set upon them and they know it. The players are just focused on doing their own job and playing well.
“We all know that we have a target on our back. We know the games we won last year, especially against Quinnipiac and other rivals, they’ll be gunnin’ for us. That’s definitely a thing for us that we know and we don’t even have to talk about,” said the Crispino.
Throughout his time as a Stag, Crispino’s leadership has developed each year. He is always willing to lead underclassmen and he is always ready to take them under his wing.
“One of the biggest things for the underclassmen going into these upcoming games is to take it all in and having someone like myself or other guys who have been there, seen it before. We don’t want to leave them in the dark and we want to tell them what to expect. Everyone is learning every single game,” said the senior.
Returning many of the players who were vital to last year’s championship run, Stag fans have much to be excited about for the upcoming season.
The senior leader stated that “this is one of the most exciting seasons in Fairfield Stags history.” The Stags will get their season started on Friday, Feb. 24 where they head to Beaumont, Texas to face Lamar University for a weekend series.
Leave a Reply