FAIRFIELD, Conn. --- Another day, another walk off win for the Fairfield University softball team. Today, the Stags surrendered the tying run to Marist College in the top of the seventh but put together a two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning to post a 2-1 win in the second game of a doubleheader. The Red Foxes won the first game of the day by turning a four-run deficit after five innings into a 6-4 win.

              The second game featured crafty pitchers who were not willing to give in for most of the game as the two hurlers traded zeros for the first three and a half innings. Katie Kudlacik faced the minimum through the first three innings despite yielding a pair of hits as one runner was caught stealing and the other was erased on a 6-4-3 double play. She extended the scoreless streak with another zero in the top of the fourth inning.

              In the bottom half, sophomore Megan Forbes broke the tie with a long home run that cleared the fence and landed on top of the batting cage in left field to put the Stags in front at 1-0.

              Kudlacik seemed primed to make that run stand until some trouble produced a walk and double to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. The junior calmly retired the next two hitters on short fly ball to left field and a pop up to first base, putting herself in good position to exit without any damage. Unfortunately, the shutout was lost when a wild pitch skipped to the backstop and allowed the tying run to score.

              Extra innings seemed inevitable when the first two Stags were retired by Marist starter Calista Phippen. First baseman Lacey Olaff stepped into the batter's box and kept the game alive when she sent the softball up the middle and into centerfield for a base hit. After a wild pitch advanced Olaff, Head Coach Julie Brzezinski moved Alexa Ortman to second base as a pinch runner in case Kasey Sekula was able to deliver a base hit. The freshman did just that when she drove the ball into the right-center field gap for a game-ending double to send the Stags to victory.

              "Katie really put us in a great position to come out with a win today," Head Coach Julie Brzezinski said. "We received just enough offense in the right spots to win the game. Marist is a scrappy team that puts pressure on you but responded. We were able to come back from a tough sixth and seventh inning in the first game and earn a split. I think that shows our kids have the right mind set to bounce back against adversity."

              The sixth and seventh innings in game one certainly provided the Stags with some reason to pause, building a 4-0 lead through five innings with veteran Lauryn Rhinehart in the pitching circle. But the scrappiness of the Red Foxes showed through in the sixth when they were able to score three times off an RBI double, an RBI single, and an RBI triple.

              Fairfield had a chance to add some padding to its one-run lead by putting runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out but failed to produce another run. Buoyed by escaping that inning, Marist tacked on three runs in the seventh inning to complete the comeback, using a sacrifice fly, a double, and a single to cash in those opportunities.

              The Stags scored their four runs with a pair of runs in the third and fifth innings. Forbes laced an RBI single and Rhinehart added an RBI fielder's choice to put the team in front 2-0. Rhinehart helped her cause again with an RBI single followed by a run-scoring single from Madison Robicheau to double the lead to 4-0.

            Fairfield will complete an eight-game home stand this week by hosting Saint Peter's University for four games this weekend. The Friday doubleheader will begin at 2 pm followed by another twin bill on Saturday which begins at noon.