TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – It was all about getting there. And now that they have been there, the Fairfield University student-athletes are anxious to get back. Even though the Stags were eliminated with a 9-0 setback against the University of South Carolina-Upstate in six innings, the coaching staff and team know this was the first of more trips to the NCAA Softball Tournament.

                “Now that I have been here, I want to come back next year,” junior Nicole Capra said after the game. “I'm a senior next year so I want to build on this year and hopefully we will be able to come back to Tuscaloosa.”        

                Senior Sam Frungillo also enjoyed her time in Alabama, so much so that she may make a return trip if the Stags are fortunate enough to earn another postseason bid.

                “I'm a Northeast girl through and through but I'll come back next year,” Frungillo said through a slight smile.

                Fairfield gave another good effort against one of the top teams in the nation. USC-Upstate, which has won at least one game in each of its three straight trips to Tuscaloosa and posted a 43-9 record coming into today's game. With four players batting .397 or higher, finding a way to stop this offense would be a challenge for the pitching staff.

                USC-Upstate scored three times in the bottom of the first inning against starter Destinee Pallotto. The right hander hit the first two batters, and surrendered a single to load the bases with no outs. A single, a sacrifice fly, and a double followed to chase home three runners and give the Spartans a 3-0 edge.

                The home team tacked on another run in the second inning off a pair of doubles that pushed the deficit to 4-0. But Pallotto settled into her routine and kept Upstate off the board for the next three innings, allowing only a few to reach base.

                Frungillo picked up the team's first hit of the game but was left stranded in the fourth inning. The Stags put together their best opportunity in the sixth inning when Lauren Filicia singled up the middle and Sammy Frungillo beat out an infield grounder to put runners on first and second with no outs. The Stags could not mount any more offense after that as a fly out, a ground out, and a strike out would end the inning and keep the score at 4-0.

                USC-Upstate would end the game by scoring five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to invoke the eight-run rule.

                The Stags finished their season with a 25-24 overall record after earning a share of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular-season title and capturing the MAAC Tournament title in Buffalo.