FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University softball team will continue its road trip this weekend with a run to the Marshall University Thundering Herd March Madness Invitational. The three-day event will include Norfolk State University, Western Carolina University, and the host school.
The Stags have played all of their games on the road so far, sporting a 3-7 overall record which includes a win over nationally-ranked South Florida. Fairfield had a rare weekend after the South Florida tournament, last playing on February 27. The break was welcomed after the team played five games at the Wolfpack Classic hosted by North Carolina State (February 18-20) and another five contests at the South Florida Invitational.
Sophomore
Allie Bridgman earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Pitcher of the Week after tossing the complete-game shutout of South Florida, which lowered her ERA to 2.67 over 18-plus innings.
Bailey Taylor has been Fairfield's most worked hurler, appearing in eight of the team's 10 games. She has one win in three decisions this year with a team-high 21.2 innings pitched and team-low 2.58 ERA.
Bridgman has also excelled in the batter's box with a .333 batting average, posting a home run with a co-leading five RBI.
Madison Robicheau and
Mikayla Rubin also have five RBI on the season with Robicheau registering a team-high two home runs.
Kaitlin Hoffman also is enjoying a solid start to the campaign, leading the team with eight hits and four doubles.
Norfolk State owns a 10-9 overall record with half of the team's wins coming against teams from the Nutmeg State. The Spartans picked up three wins against the University of Hartford at the Norfolk State-Hampton Invitational. The team collected a pair of victories against Central Connecticut State University while playing in the Hampton Classic.
Tuli Iosefa (.360 batting average), Imani Moore (.340 batting average), and Lily Potter (.327 batting average) are the team's top three hitters with Iosefa posting 10 RBI and Potter posting a team-best seven extra base hits (five doubles, two homers). Moore is tied with Iosefa for the team lead in hits with 18. Pitcher Alexis Robinson has an unblemished 7-0 record in the pitching circle, owning a 1.51 ERA in her 41 innings of work.
Marshall has 13 wins through its first 18 games which includes a 5-0 mark at home. The team swept all five games it played in the Thundering Herd Round Robin last weekend including two wins over Purdue-Fort Wayne, two victories over Maryland-Eastern Shore, and one decision over Winthrop.
The Thundering Herd boasts two hitters with hitting percentages over .400, namely Aly Harwell and Lauren Love. Harwell has a .458 average in her 18 starts which came off her team-best 22 hits. Six of those hits went for extra bases with four doubles and two home runs. Love checks in with a .417 average which includes 20 hits, registering five doubles and two homers. Sydney Nester has recorded the most appearances in the circle, with 13 entries. She tossed six shutouts in her eight victories which translates into a 0.83 ERA.
Like Fairfield, Western Carolina last played on February 27 on which the team posted a 4-2 win over the College of Charleston at the Cougar Classic. The team dropped two games against the University of Connecticut in that tournament which placed the overall record at 9-8 following the five-game event.
Freshman Natalie Henry brings a .310 batting average into the weekend, accounting for two of the team's 14 home runs. Savannah Rice and Myra Twitty each have five home runs this season, hitting .350 and .245 respectively. Twitty represents the team's top run producer with nine RBI. Jayme Eilers and Rice each have four wins in the circle and both also have seven starts in eight appearances.
