Game One Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- The Fairfield University softball dropped two games to Iona College in the championship round of the 2012 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament, eliminating the second-seeded Stags. The top-seeded Gaels won the first game by a 3-1 score and came back with a 2-0 win in the final game.

Fairfield's Alli Wigand, Kristen Filicia, and Kimi Kurata earned All-MAAC tournament honors for their play in the event.


The two teams played scoreless softball through the first two innings before Iona broke through in the top of the third inning. Allison Hand started the inning with a base hit off pitcher Rebecca Trott. Trott picked up an out before yielding to Rae Ball, who also retired the next batter to keep a runner at first base with two outs. Deanne Algeo broke the tie with a double off the left-center field fence to score Hand from first base to make it a 1-0 lead.

The Stags tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning off starter Alyssa Maiese, starting the rally when Kristen Filicia was hit by a pitch. Sammy Ruffolo placed a sacrifice fly to the first-base side which allowed Filica to advance a base. After a pop out, Alli Wigand came to the plate and delivered a two-out RBI single to tie the game at 1-1.

Iona responded with two runs in the top of the seventh inning when Eileen McCann was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Maiese followed with a walk to put runners on first and second with no outs. A sacrifice fly advanced the runners to second and third with one out. A wild pitch allowed McCann to score the first run of the inning, while Chelsea Sheehan looped a base hit over short stop that chased home the third run.

The Stags could not manage to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh off Maiese, giving the Gaels a win and the opporunity to play a winner take-all game for the MAAC championship.

Iona would score all it would need in the bottom of the first inning of game two, scoring all of its runs in the frame.  The Gaels started the inning with a single by Jodi Peterson. She took second when Hand's sacrifice fly was mishandled to put runners on first and second with no outs.  A ground out by McCann moved the two runners up and put both in scoring position. A wild pitch brough home the first run and a ground out by Maiese scored the second run.

Pitcher Sarah Jackson would allow just four hits in the game, as Filcia, Ruffolo, and Nikki Osofsky would pick up singles against the righthander, while Lauren Liseth stroked a double in the contest.

The Stags finished the season with a 31-27 record under Head Coach Julie Brzezinski.