WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- The scoreboard may not have flashed the result that the Fairfield University softball team had hoped for when it took the field for today's MAAC Tournament Championship as top-seeded Monmouth University eliminated the Stags with a 5-1 decision this afternoon. But one could not help but breath in the air of appreciation and optimism that surrounded Head Coach Julie Brzezinski and her 2018 edition.

There was an appreciation for the senior class who brought the program to new levels with three MAAC Tournament Championship appearances and two NCAA Tournament trips, something to which no other Fairfield class could claim. And, there was an optimism for a group that seems poised to challenge this year's senior class accomplishments and place its own stamp on Fairfield softball.

"I think that the fact that our senior class has been here (MAAC Tournament) all four years and won it twice says a lot about their work ethic and their leadership," Brzezinski said. "And the freshmen have done a terrific job and kept getting better throughout the season. They started peaking at the end of the MAAC season and in this tournament. That's all we can ask for and there is a lot of promise with all of these kids."

The Stags made a valiant run in trying to defend their MAAC Tournament title won in New Rochelle a year ago. Fairfield won its first game of the tournament against Marist College, a team which swept the Stags earlier in the year, but lost a heart-breaking 3-2 14-inning decision the next day against Monmouth. The team had to rally against Marist in order to gain entry into the championship round by overcoming a 5-1 deficit to win 6-5 in its last at-bat yesterday. That victory set up today's rematch with Monmouth which by early indications seemed like Fairfield might make a bid to upend the top-seeded Hawks.

After three scoreless innings, Fairfield was first to put a run on the scoreboard when senior Kate Robinson turned on a pitch which she sent over the left-center field fence, almost the same place that Courtney Hankins hit her deciding home run against Marist in the team's opening game on Thursday. Pitcher Lauryn Rhinehart, who pitched 13 innings in that marathon game with Monmouth yesterday, seemed ready to make that run stand. 

It wasn't until the bottom of the fifth inning that Monmouth seemed to figure out the freshman right-hander after she kept the home team in check for a good portion of the tournament. Sam Tomasetti put up Monmouth's first two runs when she sent a pitch over the left field fence that pushed the Hawks in front by a  2-1 count. An outfield error allowed the third run to score before Amber Wozniak put the exclamation point on the inning with another two-run homer that gave the Hawks a 5-1 lead.

Monmouth pitcher Amanda Riley made that score stand by keeping Fairfield off the scoreboard in both the sixth and seventh innings to earn her 21st win of the season. 

Three Stags were placed on the MAAC All-Championship team, namely seniors Rachel Sieber and Kate Robinson as well as Rhinehart. Sieber, who enjoyed her best offensive season this year, was the team's top hitter in the tournament with a .455 batting average and a .567 on-base percentage not to mention providing her usual dependable and at times remarkable defense at shortstop. Robinson challenged Sieber's on-base percentage by using three hits and three walks to post a .467 mark, and also hit one of the team's two home runs. And Rhinehart showed as much heart as a student-athlete could display by tossing 26 of the pitching staff's 33 innings and allowing a paltry 1.36 earned runs per game over her four appearances.

"I think the girls, especially the second half of the season, figured things out and showed a lot of fight and desire," Coach Brzezinski said. "Throughout the season, we had a lot of different kids step up and make plays and didn't need to rely on any one person which you can see by our RBI numbers. I know Courtney received a lot of attention from other teams, but everyone helped get us here by getting key hits all season. We will lose a lot with our seniors but we have a lot coming back."

And that's why that air of optimism will hang over Alumni Softball Field for a very long time.