FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A little cold weather was not able to cool down the hot bats wielded by the Fairfield University softball as the Stags combined for 16 hits en route to its 8-1 win over Fairleigh Dickinson University at Pioneer Park. Sophomore Amanda Ulzheimer was the catalyst for the Fairfield attack, stroking three hits, scoring three runs, and stealing three bases during the team's offensive showcase.

                The team opened the game with three runs in the top of the first inning, a rally that started with Ulzheimer and Mikayla Rubin reaching base. Courtney Hankins followed with a two-run double that brought home the game's first runs. She would eventually come home when Lauryn Reinhardt laced a single which brought the score to 3-0.

                After Fairleigh Dickinson scratched home a run in the bottom of the first, Fairfield sent home two more runs in the its second at-bat. Ulzheimer started things off with a single and reached scoring position with a stolen base. She would score the team's fourth run as the front end of a double steal which made the score 4-1. The team's second run of the inning came home when Lacey Olaff picked up an RBI single which chased home Hankins.

                In the fourth inning, the Stags bumped their advantage to 7-1 with two more runs. Rubin led off with a double and came home immediately when Ulzheimer picked up her third hit of the afternoon. Olaff recorded her second RBI when her grounder to shortstop allowed Ulzheimer to score once again.

                Destinee Pallotto pitched the first four innings and allowed one unearned run off three hits. Reinhardt tossed the next two innings before Danielle Tringali finished up the seventh inning.

                Fairfield continues play this week with a pair of road games that starts Tuesday at Seton Hall and continues with a Wednesday matinee at Columbia. The Stags will play their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games of 2018 when they host a doubleheader with Monmouth University on March 31.