Baseball starting to hit stride

The phrase “hope springs eternal” had not been applicable in any way to the Fairfield baseball team through the first 10 games of the season.

The Stags headed north from their annual southern trip during spring break with a goose egg in the win column and didn’t notch a victory until Saturday when they beat St. Joseph’s 7-2. In the nightcap of a double header that day they came out with a tough-luck 3-2 loss.

But as the Stags traded in the Virginia sunshine for the cold dampness of March in the Northeast, they also traded in their seemingly defunct bats.

After compiling a measly .218 team average through the season’s first 11 games, the Stags bashed St. John’s for 16 hits en route to an 18-13 slugfest victory Tuesday afternoon on the road – their first win in Queens since 1979.

In a game in which neither starting pitcher made it past the second inning, freshman Brian Rudolph gave Coach John Slosar’s team some thunder from the bottom of the order. Hitting seventh in the lineup, the right fielder banged out four hits, including a three-run homer over the left field wall that capped a nine-run fourth inning

After pitchers Steve Tyburski ’06 (two innings, four earned runs) and Ric Gruber ’08 (one inning, four earned runs) got worn out, sophomore reliever Michael Colucci pitched six innings of three-hit baseball, striking out six and joining Tim Dugan ’05 as the only Stag to win a game this year.

Slosar pointed to the team’s lack of experience – 15 freshmen and two sophomore transfers – as one reason for the lack of early success, but he said after the St. Joseph’s win that things were coming around.

“I see signs of improvement, and we’re playing hard each game,” he said. “But it will take some time for us to gain confidence and challenge the top teams on our schedule.”

The Stags looked to carry their first dose of momentum into their home opener on Wednesday against Central Connecticut, which was played after The Mirror’s deadline. They open the MAAC schedule with a three-game series at Marist this weekend, hoping to stay hot in the cold weather.