FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University softball team will begin a six-game road trip that wraps up the 2021 regular-season this weekend with a four-game set against first-place Monmouth University. The two team will meet for a noon doubleheader on both Saturday and Sunday. The Stags are currently tied for second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with 18 victories, a win total that has benefited from the team's current seven-game winning streak that included a four-game sweep of Saint Peter's and a doubleheader win against Quinnipiac in the Stags' last outing.

Megan Forbes has been a big part of the Stags recent success, leading the team with a .409 batting average and nine RBI. The sophomore also has a hit all seven of the victories and bring an eight-game hitting streak into the weekend. Freshman Evie Wright is also posting impressive numbers during the win streak, posting a .400 hitting percentage with four runs scored. The duo also is also sitting atop of the statistics sheet overall this season with Forbes pacing the offense with a .346 batting average in her 25 starts. She is one point better than Wright, who has a .345 batting average in her 17 appearances.

Fairfield has three pitchers who have post multiple wins over the last couple of weeks, led by Katie Kudlacik's three victories. The junior has a 1.20 ERA during the stretch, allowing four earned runs in 23.1 innings pitched. She averaged nearly a strikeout per inning pitched with 19 against only six walks. Lauryn Rhinehart won both of her starts including a complete game. She earned a 2.92 ERA over 12 innings with six strikeouts and three walks. Allie Bridgman also has two wins during the win streak, pitching in three games with only one of those appearances coming as a starter. She registered a team-best 0.60 ERA over the last seven games with nine strikeouts in 11.2 inning pitched.

Monmouth saw its nine-game winning streak come to an end with a 3-1 loss to Rider University which resulted in a split with the Broncs. Prior to the Rider doubleheader, the Hawks had posted four-game sweeps of Saint Peter's University and Niagara University. The team averaged nine runs per game during that nine-game winning streak, reaching double figures in four of those decisions.

Katie Harrington has been the most consistent hitter for the Hawks, collecting 37 hits in 28 starts which translates into a .435 batting average. She also has four doubles, a triple, and 10 RBI, one of six Hawks with a double-digit RBI total. Julia Thuer sets the pace for Monmouth with 27 RBI, just ahead of Erika Coreth's 24 RBI and Tommi Stowers 22 RBI. All four of those student-athletes are batting better than .350 with Coreth (.376), Stowers (.368) and Thuer (.352) rounding out the  quartet.

Alyssa Irons has been one of the dominant pitchers in the MAAC throughout her career and this year hasn't been any different. The pitcher owns a 13-4 record in the pitching circle with a team-best 1.62 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 112 innings pitched. Kylie Gletow also has an impressive win-loss total with her 8-3 record, sporting a 2.97 ERA over 70.2 innings pitched.