Fairfield baseball will look to continue its dominance in MAAC play as they prepare to face off against Quinnipiac University over the weekend. The Stags are coming off a series win versus Iona where they found their stride at the plate.
They are slated to play a single matchup against Stony Brook on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. In the Iona series, the Stags will enter the matchup at 21-16 (15-6 MAAC), sitting at second place in the division. The Bobcats are sixth in the division at 20-22 (11-10 MAAC). The Stags lie just two games behind first place Rider and will be able to gain serious ground with a series win or sweep of Quinnipiac.
Fairfield treated Iona to a blistering 21-6 victory on Friday, marked by home runs from TJ Schmalzle, Matt Bucciero and Jake Haarde. A more calm 5-1 win followed, and then a 5-4 loss in 10 innings on Sunday.
Coach Currier made sure to emphasize after the blowout win that “you’re as good as the next guy on the hill the next day,” a reminder to stay complacent in a game so heavily reliant on mental states and momentum.
Bucciero, who has been swinging a hot bat for the team lately, said that as a team they need to “use the confidence that we have and the momentum we have and just keep rolling.”
Quinnipiac will not be an easy team to roll through. They are coming off a MAAC series win of their own versus Mount St. Mary’s. The Bobcats found production across their entire lineup, seeing five different players record a hit in their series finale win against the Mountaineers.
Chase Camac was the team’s hot hand, delivering a two-run single in the sixth inning to give him 20 RBIs on the season
Jack Balcer is also a major bat to watch out for, as he drove in his 22nd RBI of the season in the final game.
Nick Balcom has continued to provide solid innings on the mound for his club, going five innings, allowing just one run on six hits and striking out two, in his most recent appearance.
For the Stags, the bats of Bucciero, Schmalzle and JP Kuczik will look to stay hot. The upper half of the Stags’ lineup continues to pour in production and they hope that will remain true this weekend.
On the pitching side, Ben Alekson provided his staff with another quality start over the weekend, going 6 innings with 2 earned runs and 3 strikeouts
Getting out of jams was the Stags’ specialty and they have proven capable of holding onto leads. The problem stems from not jumping out early in games, and falling behind.
The Stags have done a stellar job of working counts and taking walks, which has been a key factor in their wins. Getting pitchers uncomfortable and tired has led to the mistake pitches that Bucciero credits as a way to keep “the bats hot”.
Even with the recent success, the Stags acknowledge they still have their best baseball left to play. They will look to bring it out against Quinnipiac this weekend.
The Stags will play their next game on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. against Stony Brook at home before traveling to Hamden, Conn. to play the Bobcats in a three game series starting at 3:00 p.m. on Friday.
