Baseball: Chosen #2 in MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll

[FU73]

The Fairfield University Baseball team, winners of two-straight MAAC Regular Season Championships, was chosen to finish second in the 2023 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll while four student-athletes: Matt Bergevin, Matt Venuto, Jake Noviello, and Charlie Pagliarini were named to the 2023 Preseason All-MAAC Team.

"I was expecting us to be anywhere in the top-three or four teams," Head Coach Bill Currier said. "We did lose some key players but we have a number of guys back. We have to fill some holes and get some consistent pitching. I think we have some decent depth we just need to get some guys to step up into vacated weekend roles. We're pretty optimistic that guys can do that and step up and do the job. We have a lot of the same hitters and the defense will be similar. We're looking for a solid offensive and defensive year."

The Stags are coming off another 30 win campaign, their sixth in the last eight full seasons. Fairfield went (18-5) in the MAAC last season, clinching their second-straight MAAC Regular Season Championship.

Many of the pieces to that team's success are returning for the 2023 campaign as Fairfield will return six offensive starters from last year's (31-21) squad.

The Stags will begin their 72nd season of competition when they travel to Conway, S.C., to take part in the Baseball at the Beach, starting with a 4:00 pm contest against Coastal Carolina on Friday afternoon.

fairfieldstags.com/news/2023/2/15/baseball-four-stags-named-preseason-all-maac-stags-picked-second-in-maac-preseason-poll.aspx

Stag Baseball
MAAC Regular Season Champions (5): 1983, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022
MAAC South Division Champions (4): 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997
MAAC Tournament Champions (2): 2016, 2021
NCAA Tournament Appearances (2): 2016, 2021
* 2020 covid season cancelled

2023 MAAC Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1 Canisius 116 (7)
2 Fairfield 108 (2)
3 Rider 93 (1)
4 Marist 88 (1)
5 Niagara 73
6 Manhattan 71
7 Quinnipiac 57
T8 Mount St. Mary’s 35
T8 Siena 35
10 Iona 33
11 Saint Peter’s 17

Preseason All-MAAC Team
Player-Position-Year-Institution
Matt Ward Catcher RJr. Niagara
Brian Skettini Catcher Jr. Rider
Matt Bergevin First Base Jr. Fairfield
Luke Lesch First Base Sr. Rider
Max Grant* Second Base Jr. Canisius
Charlie Pagliarini Third Base Sr. Fairfield
Dylan Hoy Short Stop Sr. Marist
Pete Durocher Outfield Sr. Manhattan
Anthony Donofrio Outfield Sr. Quinnipiac
Brendan O'Donnell Outfield Sr. Rider
Matt Duffy Pitcher Jr. Canisius
Chris Pouliot Pitcher Sr. Canisius
Jake Noviello Pitcher Gr. Fairfield
Marcus Cashman Pitcher Sr. Niagara
Frank Doelling Pitcher Gr. Rider
Matt Venuto Designated Hitter Sr. Fairfield
Mike DeStefano Utility Sr. Canisius
*Denotes unanimous selection

The 2023 MAAC Baseball Championship returns to Clover Stadium in Pomona, NY for the second straight year. The six-team double elimination tournament, will take place from May 24 through 27.

maacsports.com/news/2023/2/14/canisius-selected-to-repeat-as-maac-baseball-champions-in-preseason-coaches-poll-max-grant-named-preseason-player-of-the-year.aspx

[FU73]

fairfieldstags.com/sports/baseball/roster?path=baseball

[dannynoonan]

Salvaged a W today with 9 runs combined in the 8th/9th innings for a 14-9 comeback. MTSU was #68 in NET rankings last season.

[typhaon]

33 allowed runs in 3 games isn't a great start for the pitching staff.

I don't feel like the offense is going to be a problem.

[nashvillestag]

Feb 20, 2023 8:43:43 GMT -5 typhaon said:

33 allowed runs in 3 games isn't a great start for the pitching staff.

I don't feel like the offense is going to be a problem.

Well certainly if the hitting v. the pitching continues on this course the rest of the season, a lot of high scoring games are on the horizon (for better or worse). Interesting for the fans who like offense. But in these early season contests against teams no one really knows much about, previous history suggests results like this are more normal than not in college baseball, especially for those squads from the North who have to prepare in less than ideal weather conditions. Ironically this winter has been an exception in some ways, but still, training in Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, etc. sure beats north of the Mason-Dixon line. Anyway, talking about the pitching, I think the Stags will be fine once they get down to competition within the MAAC, the only thing that will really matter in the end.

[brokenboat]

Nice comeback by the Stags today against A-10 George Washington. After being down 9-3 in the 7th they rally to win 11-9!
gwsports.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary;team=away;category=pitching

[nashvillestag]

Baseball team takes 2 of 3 from GW to move their record to 3-3. Considering the struggles of many northern teams who are slow to get going early because of less than ideal practice situations, this is a pretty good start for the Stags and probably offers hope for a banner year, at least within the MAAC. Quite a few more games coming up down south in the next couple of weeks to see if the current trend continues.

[typhaon]

Feb 27, 2023 9:56:16 GMT -5 nashvillestag said:

Baseball team takes 2 of 3 from GW to move their record to 3-3. Considering the struggles of many northern teams who are slow to get going early because of less than ideal practice situations, this is a pretty good start for the Stags and probably offers hope for a banner year, at least within the MAAC. Quite a few more games coming up down south in the next couple of weeks to see if the current trend continues.

I would agree. McVeigh has had 2 promising starts and bullpen had a few good games.

Unfortunately, the early signs on Noviello aren't great. He was soooo good in 2021 and then had (if I remember correctly) a medical issue/surgery that summer. Despite a handful of decent starts in 2022, he just hasn't seemed right. Tons of hits. Tons of walks. 2023 has started out the same.

I haven't done so, but I'd be curious to compare 2021 footage vs. 2022 and 2023.

[jenningsbeach]

If we could go 7-7 heading into the Fordham weekend (March 17-19), that would be great. The southern swing is usually a house of horrors for the Stags (6-11 in 2022, 2-9 in 2020, 5-11 in 2019), so a .500 record heading north should be the goal. The pitching was better this weekend -- Colin McVeigh had a nice start -- and the bullpen pitched well. It appears that Jack Erbeck is being groomed as closer, and a lot of pitchers contributed to the pen's success. Interestingly, Evan Berta threw a scoreless inning yesterday in Game 2. He replaced Mike Handal in centerfield last year for a while and was a two-way player in high school. Love to see him contribute as a pitcher this season; he's not likely to see much time in the outfield.

Fairfield is going to hit like there's no tomorrow. It's only six games, but Pags, Venuto, Becchetti, Watson, Handal and Bergevin haven't missed a beat. Even the new shortstop, Noah Lucier, is lighting it up. If Currier can figure out the starting pitching and get Noviello back on track, this team will be dynamic and make a run at 40 wins.

fairfieldstags.com/sports/baseball/stats/2023

[paulie74]

I believe Matt Zaffino was a junior last year and don't see him on the roster in 2023.

Did he transfer. graduate early?

[jenningsbeach]

Zaffino took his Master's degree and joined the world of the gainfully employed.

www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-zaffino-814a04166/

[nashvillestag]

Feb 27, 2023 18:01:37 GMT -5 jenningsbeach said:

If we could go 7-7 heading into the Fordham weekend (March 17-19), that would be great. The southern swing is usually a house of horrors for the Stags (6-11 in 2022, 2-9 in 2020, 5-11 in 2019), so a .500 record heading north should be the goal. The pitching was better this weekend -- Colin McVeigh had a nice start -- and the bullpen pitched well. It appears that Jack Erbeck is being groomed as closer, and a lot of pitchers contributed to the pen's success. Interestingly, Evan Berta threw a scoreless inning yesterday in Game 2. He replaced Mike Handal in centerfield last year for a while and was a two-way player in high school. Love to see him contribute as a pitcher this season; he's not likely to see much time in the outfield.

Fairfield is going to hit like there's no tomorrow. It's only six games, but Pags, Venuto, Becchetti, Watson, Handal and Bergevin haven't missed a beat. Even the new shortstop, Noah Lucier, is lighting it up. If Currier can figure out the starting pitching and get Noviello back on track, this team will be dynamic and make a run at 40 wins.

fairfieldstags.com/sports/baseball/stats/2023

40 wins might be stretching it a bit considering as of now it appears as though the Stags are only slated to play a total of 53 games. In college baseball though, sometimes contests are added (I think there is room for 3 more), but OTOH a couple here and there could be lost to weather problems. Anyway, I like your optimism! To me, 35 would signify a great season, especially if backed up by winning the MAAC championship.