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Post by FU73 on May 31, 2021 12:04:33 GMT -5
Stags Selected to Austin RegionalThe storybook season is not over yet. The Fairfield University Baseball team became the first MAAC baseball team ever to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA Championships as they were selected to the Austin Regional hosted by Texas. The Stags were picked as a three seed in the regional and will take on Arizona State on Friday at 7pm on ESPN3. The Stags will compete in the second NCAA Regional in program history and the first since they played in the Lubbock Regional in 2016. Fairfield earned the at-large bid with an outstanding 37-3 record, with a .925 winning percentage the highest in NCAA Division I history. The Stags set a program record with 37 victories during the campaign and also set a MAAC conference record with a 28-game winning streak to begin the season. Their success helped the Stags earn the program's first-ever national ranking as they reached No. 23 in Baseball America and in the top-25 in Collegiate Baseball News. The Stags have been ranked in the top-10 in national RPI in all but five polls this season and currently sit third in the rankings. The Stags will be heading to the Austin Regional hosted by the number two team in the country, the Texas Longhorns. Fairfield is joined by Southern University and Arizona State, the Stags' first opponent in the regional. The Sun Devils, the number two seed in the region, bring a 32-20 overall mark and a 16-14 mark in the Pac-12. The Stags will bring statistically one of the best pitching staffs in the country to the Regionals as the lead the country in ERA (2.75) and WHIP (1.03).
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Post by FU73 on May 31, 2021 12:17:00 GMT -5
UFCU Disch-Falk Field University of Texas Austin, Texas UFCU Disch-Falk Field, which originally opened in 1975 and underwent a major renovation in 2009, remains one of college baseball’s premier facilities. Left field: 340 ft Center field: 400 ft Right field: 325 ft Power Alleys: 370-365 ft Field: Turf (2008–present) Executive suites: 17 Capacity: 7,373 Alumni Baseball DiamondLeft field: 330 ft Center field: 400 ft Right field: 330 ft Power alleys: 370 ft Field: Turf Executive suites: 0 Capacity: 350
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Post by stag79 on May 31, 2021 12:38:59 GMT -5
Tremendous!
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Post by stagmaster on May 31, 2021 12:53:12 GMT -5
In as a 3 seed!
Well deserved!
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Post by FU73 on May 31, 2021 13:41:31 GMT -5
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Post by paulie74 on May 31, 2021 17:40:48 GMT -5
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Post by dannynoonan on May 31, 2021 18:38:21 GMT -5
Awesome! Looking forward to watching the games.
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Post by FU73 on Jun 1, 2021 11:34:28 GMT -5
Sun Devil Baseball to Make 41st Postseason Appearance in Austin RegionalThe Sun Devil Baseball program will make its 41st NCAA postseason appearance beginning this weekend as Arizona State was selected as the No. 2 seed in the Austin Regional. The four-team, double-elimination regional at UFCU Disch–Falk Field in Austin, Texas, will begin on Friday. The Austin Regional, hosted by the University of Texas, also includes No. 3 seed Fairfield and No. 4 seed Southern. The second-seeded Sun Devils will take on Fairfield on Friday at 4 p.m. AZT/6 p.m. CST. The game will be available on ESPN3, and broadcast by NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 in the Phoenix area. Friday will mark the first-ever meeting between the Sun Devils and the Stags. ASU is 19-29 in a storied history against Texas while also never having played Southern in program history. The Sun Devils will be the youngest team in the tournament field with 66.3 percent of its at-bats on offense this weekend coming by way of freshmen. Despite the youth and a streak of bad luck on the injury front that saw the team lose its three weekend starters in the opening weeks of the year, ASU went 11-4 in weekend series this season and won five of its last six weekend matchups. Featuring an infield with three freshmen and Drew Swift shifting from a career second-baseman to shortstop, ASU led the country with 57 double plays in the regular season – four more than any other team. ASU was a Top-50 team in the nation this season in batting average (.287), total hits (514), doubles (107), slugging percentage (.458) and fielding percentage (.976). Ethan Long finished the regular season 22nd nationally and second in the Pac-12 with 16 home runs while finishing 13th nationally and leading the league with a 725 slugging percentage. ASU will be playing in its 35th NCAA Regional while its 41 NCAA postseason appearances are the sixth-most in NCAA history. NCAA Austin Regional Brackettexassports.com/documents/2021/5/31/NCAA_Austin_Regional_Bracket.pdf
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Post by nashvillestag on Jun 1, 2021 12:00:36 GMT -5
Certainly a program with a great history as the above write-up will testify to, the Sun Devils will surely be tough to contain with their high scoring offense being among the best in the nation when you take into consideration both average and power. BTW you Red Sox fans may remember that Dustin Pedroia played his college ball there. Anyway it looks like this guy Ethan Long could potentially be big trouble based on the number of home runs he has hit. So he has to be pitched to carefully I think. The key for the Stags is getting good pitching, something they are capable of doing, especially with a few of their hurlers who seem to be pretty good at changing speeds and hitting different spots throughout any one at bat. ASU also plays great defense (by the numbers), but a possible weakness might be their pitching as their team ERA is not very good. But of course it only takes one or two guys on their game to make things difficult. The key to me then seems to be to hold them down to a reasonable amount of runs while being able to scratch out 4 or 5 (something like that) in a tight ballgame. A 5-4, maybe 4-3 victory would be nice and certainly appears possible.
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Post by houstonstagfan on Jun 1, 2021 12:30:43 GMT -5
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Post by dannynoonan on Jun 1, 2021 14:04:04 GMT -5
Friday will mark the first-ever meeting between the Sun Devils and the Stags. Of course, many will remember that we beat ASU in basketball, 55-44, in the Old Spice Classic in 2011. Hopefully, baseball will follow suit.
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Post by jenningsbeach on Jun 1, 2021 15:32:25 GMT -5
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Post by stags74 on Jun 1, 2021 15:47:52 GMT -5
So exciting for the stags baseball team to go dancing!! I dream one day of similar excitement if the men’s hoop team could some day earn a bid to the NCAA men’s hoop tourney!
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Post by dannynoonan on Jun 2, 2021 8:51:34 GMT -5
The athletic department gets a lot of criticism for its marketing/PR efforts. This is something creative/positive to acknowledge:
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Post by ctghostman on Jun 2, 2021 15:34:34 GMT -5
RE: the AD’s current performance-looks likes it’s been stepped up-I guess the lax tournament is no longer a distraction? Once these guys to 15-0, they deserved a lot more attention then they got. Most of the Alumni and the surrounding area has no idea about the accomplishments of this team. We should have a huge buzz about this and also alumni hall-a buzz around things helps everyone-unfortunately, we have a group in charge that has created apathy.
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