FAIRFIELD, Connecticut- Marist Baseball (9-13) travels to face Fairfield (9-12, 2-1 MAAC) to begin Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play with a three game series on March 30-31. The teams will play in a doubleheader on Saturday at noon, and a single on Sunday at noon once again.
 

How to Follow

• Twitter - @Marist_BSB
• Video - Provided by Fairfieldstags.com
• Live Stats - Provided Courtesy of Fairfieldstags.com

Last Time Out

• The Red Foxes swept Richmond in three straight games, hitting a total of eight home runs.
• Marist fell to UMass Lowell 10-4 on Wednesday evening.
• Anthony Lazar has been impressive at the plate all season, earning hits in 18-of-22 games. He has gone 11-for-12 on stolen base attempts. In the MAAC, Lazar is tied for first in runs scored (21) and is second in hits (31).
• Randy Taveras has been consistent this season with hits in 14-of-17 games played. He ranks fourth in the MAAC in batting average (.339) and first in on base percentage (.468).
• Marist leads the conference in total batting average (.279), runs (123), hits (216), home runs (13) and RBIs (110).

ROBBIE'S HOT HITTING

Robbie Armitage made his mark on the season at Richmond, hitting four home runs in three games with nine RBIs. He has been the top batter for the Red Foxes through 22 games and leads the team in various statistical categories after appearing in only six games with no hits as a freshman. He was named MAAC Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon for his breakthrough weekend.

"The biggest thing that has helped me make the jump this season is just taking in as much information in game-like situations as possible," remarked Armitage. "We work really hard in the offseason and our coaches do a great job challenging us in different aspects of the game. It's definitely benefited all of us."

In the MAAC, Armitage is tied for first in RBIs (18), ranks third in batting average (.349), second in slugging percentage (.578), third in hits (29), second in home runs (4) and second in total bases (48).

"As for MAAC play, we feel ready to go. Our non-conference schedule was a solid test and forced us to focus on the small things. If we can take care of the small things, everything will fall into place."
 

About the Stags

• Fairfield is on a four-game winning streak after midweek wins against Central Connecticut (5-2) and St. Johns (4-3).
• Fairfield began MAAC play against Iona last weekend, winning the series 2-1.
• Tim Zeng leads the Stags in home runs (three), steals (five), and runs scored (21).
• The Stags' top starter is Austin Pope, who in 24.1 innings has an ERA of 1.48 with 25 strikeouts.

COACH's OUTLOOK

"We are excited to start conference play. Fairfield is consistently a program that pitches very well and is well-coached," stated head coach Chris Tracz. "I'm looking forward to seeing our guys compete for three games and aggressively attack the game."
 

Up Next

Marist takes a break from MAAC play to face Albany (8-11) in the home-opener at McCann Baseball field on Tuesday, April 2 at 3 p.m.