BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Fairfield University softball team earned one more day in Buffalo by splitting  a pair of games in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Softball Tournament. The second-seeded Stags lost their opening game to fifth-seeded Monmouth University 12-8 before rebounding with a 7-3 win over Siena College in the elimination round.

                The victory sends Fairfield to the Championship Round of the Tournament on Saturday. The Stags will play Monmouth once again, needing to be the Hawks twice to gain the MAAC championship. Monmouth, which has won all three of its tournament games thus far, needs one more victory to claim the title.

                Against Siena, the Stags grabbed the lead in their first at-bat when  Lauren Filicia went to second on a mishandled grounder. Ruffolo sacrificed her to third base, setting up a sacrifice fly from Tori Reed. Fairfield tacked on two more runs in the third inning, again taking advantage of a Siena error. After Filicia reached on an infield single, she scored when Ruffolo's sacrifice was misplayed into a three-base error, making the score 2-0. Ruffolo scored  following Sam Frungillo's sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 3-0.

                Siena tallied two runs on three hits in the top of the fourth to pull within a run, but the Stags answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Capra hit a solo home run to start the rally, her second homer in two games on the day. Filicia brought the second run home with a ground out to regain the three-run advantage at 5-2.

                The Stags closed out their scoring with two more runs in the fifth inning, the first coming home on a base hit down the left field line off Frungillo's bat. She would score later in the inning off the Saints' third error of the game.

                The Saints brought home one more run when Paige Hess delivered a solo homer in the sixth, bringing the teams to the final score of 7-3.

                Lauren Falkanger earned her 11^th win of the season by fanning eight hitters and scattering seven hits.

                In the first game, the pitchers found themselves in trouble in the first few innings. Monmouth took advantage of its break which came in the top of the first inning. The Hawks put together three hits and reached base on a walk and hit batter to plate a pair of runs to grab a 2-0 lead.

                The Stags threatened  in each of the first two innings but could get the base hit that would score a run and cut into the Hawks lead.  Fairfield finally broke up the shutout with a pair of runs in the fourth inning when Nicole Capra hit a pitch over the left field fence to score Kristen Ball and tie the game at 2-2.  Monmouth responded with three runs, all coming off a home run from Rachel Shotzbarger to push the fifth-seeded Hawks back in front 5-2.

                Fairfield took its first lead of the game with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, collecting five hits which included a three-run homer from Molly Roche. Tori Reed and Sam Frungillo also had an RBI single in the rally. Monmouth came back once again and scored seven runs in the sixth inning, stroking seven which included two doubles a key two-run single from Ashalynn Umiamaka.

                The Stags managed one more run to close the gap to 12-8 but could not come any closer. All three Fairfield pitchers saw time in the game, including starter Destinee Palotto who returned in the seventh inning after being relieved by Nicole Gardon and Lauren Falkanger, who ended up being the pitcher of record.