WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia – Marist baseball is set to open the 2019 season with a four-game series at William & Mary this weekend. The Red Foxes will play the Colonials in a doulbeheader on Friday at 4 p.m., a single on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m., and a single on Sunday at 1 p.m.

LAST SEASON

The Red Foxes are coming off of a season in which they went 27-23 and placed fifth in the MAAC Championships. Returning senior Anthony Lazar and redshirt-junior Tyler Kapuscinski were named First Team All-MAAC, and graduate Charlie Jerla was named Second Team All-MAAC.
 

PRESEASON ACCOLADES

Marist was picked to finish third in the 2019 MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving three first-place votes and trailing by only two points to the first place team, Canisius. Three Red Foxes were named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team: Anthony Lazar (2B), Frankie Gregoire (OF) and Tyler Kapuscinski (DH). Three selections was the second most out of any team in the conference.
 

WHO'S BACK?

• Lazar is coming off of a stellar junior season in which he was selected to the All-MAAC First Team. The Mastic Beach-native had 47 hits and 27 walks for a .305 batting average and a .415 on-base percentage. He went 4-of-7 in stolen base attempts, and scored 30 runs with 28 RBI. Lazar ranked eighth in the MAAC with a slugging percentage of .506.
• In his junior season, Frankie Gregoire finished with a .282 batting average and a .383 on-base-percentage. He was tied for the most RBI on the team with 35. The Connecticut-native sits at second in program history with 24 career home runs, and 10th with 117 RBI.
• Kapuscinski led the team in batting average (.366), slugging percentage (.511) and on-base percentage (.450). He had three home runs, 27 runs scored, and 30 RBI. The New Jersey-native led the MAAC in batting average for players with 20 or more games played.
• Shortstop Randy Taveras is tied for tenth in Marist history in stolen bases with 31 after going 14-for-17 on attempts last season.

RETURNING STARTING PITCHERS

• Tony Romanelli – 16 appearances, 3.94 ERA, 82.1 IP, 77 H, 45 R, 36 ER, 70 K and 42 BB in 2018. Ranked sixth in program history in ERA (3.68) as well as saves (9).
• Conor McNamara – 15 appearances, 5.56 ERA, 69.2 IP, 86 H, 46 R, 43 ER, 43 K and 22 BB.
• Skyler Pichardo - 19 Appearances, 4.10 ERA, 37.1 IP, 32 H, 23 R, 17 ER, 36 SO and 27 BB.
• Alex Pansini - Seven appearances, 8.74 ERA, 11.1 IP, 19 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 5 SO and 5 BB.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS

• William & Mary went 15-39 overall and 3-21 in conference play in 2018. Returning on the offensive end for the Colonials is senior catcher Hunter Smith who led the team with a .254 average with 54 hits, nine doubles, nine home runs, and 34 RBI.
• On the mound, William & Mary will be headlined by senior LHP Bodie Sheehan who finished last season with a 2-9 record and a 4.50 ERA with 86.0 IP, 101 H, 46 runs, 43 earned runs, 62 strikeouts and 15 walks.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Each game of the four-game series will be streamed on Stretch Internet, and live stats will be available through the statbroadcast website. Fans can follow @Marist_BSB on Twitter for in game updates.
 

UP NEXT

The Red Foxes travel to Clinton, South Carolina for a three-game series with Presbyterian College on Feb. 22-24. The Friday and Saturday games begin at 2 p.m., and the Sunday matchup starts at 1 p.m.