FAIRFIELD,, Conn. – The Fairfield University softball team is looking forward to this weekend's trip to Florida. Besides getting a chance to enjoy the warmth of the southern sunshine, the Stags are also excited about the 2023 season.

Head Coach Julie Brzezinski returns 12 student-athletes who offer experience in the infield, the outfield, the pitching circle, and behind the plate. And, the 26-year veteran also blends in a group of newcomers who will add support around the diamond as well.

The Stags have things well in hand around the outfield this season with the return of Kaitlin Hoffman, Haley Updegraff, and Charli Warren. Each outfielder started all but two of their appearances during the 2022 season with Hoffman getting the nod in all 47 games played a year ago.

Warren, a preseason All-MAAC selection in 2023, led the team in hitting with a .336 batting average and 18 stolen bases. Updegraff posted a team-best 43 hits in 47 games along with her 34 runs scored. Hoffman continued to churn out extra base hits, co-leading the Stags with 15 extra base hits which raises her career total to 40 (26 doubles, six triples, eight home runs).

Ava Cohen, Gia Scannapieco, and Ella Watson look to build upon their freshman seasons during they bolstered the position as reserves. The trio looks to expand on their roles from a year ago both offensively and defensively. Freshmen Quinn McGonigle and Gillian Deans will also join the Stags outfield platoon. McGonigle earned All-Suburban One League first team honors as an outfield following the 2022 season. Deans will also give an offensive option to the team as she moves to the outfield position after catching at Middletown South High School.

The infield also brings back several veterans who will bring stability to the diamond. Megan Forbes, Madison Robicheau, and Kasey Sekula were regulars in the starting lineups with each gaining at least 29 starts during 2022. Forbes put together another solid offensive season with a .275 batting average along with seven doubles, a triple, a home run, and 18 RBI.

Robicheau owned another outstanding season at shortstop, representing the lone Stag to have more than 100 assists last season (105 in 46 starts). Sekula held down the third base position with 29 starts in 38 appearances, contributing a pair of doubles and 10 RBI from the batter's box. Morgan Sylvestre also assisted her teammates in 2022, starting 22 of her 38 games played which she used to secure three doubles, four RBI, and three stolen bases among her offensive stats.

The Class of 2026 is well represented in the infield with the addition of Martina Gutierrez, Anna Paravati, and Cara Kochakian. Gutierrez is a California native who looks to gain innings in the middle of the diamond. Pavarati, who helped Monroe-Woodbury to a state title a year ago, will also challenge for time at one of the bases this year. Kochakian, a career .397 hitter in high school, helped lead Immaculate Heart Academy to a state championship from the shortstop position and but will look to transition to a corner position for the Stags.

Three pitchers are ready to resume their time in the circle this spring, namely Allie Bridgman, Sam Lindsay, and Bailey Taylor. Bridgman missed a good portion of the 2023 campaign but still managed to pitch in eight games and secure a .314 batting average with two home runs in her limited time in the batter's box. Lindsay posted a winning record with her 3-2 ledger that included a combined shutout, three starts, and 12 strikeouts in 25-plus innings. Taylor switched between starter and reliever last year, picking up five wins and earning two saves through her 57 innings pitched last season.

Freshman Alyssa Weinberg looks to carry her successful high school career to Fairfield after winning the 2021 Nassau County Pitcher of the Year award, fanning 200 hitters in 100 innings of work that season.

Behind the plate, Forbes and Bridgman collected time last season as part of the Stags battery. Both student-athletes have the capability to perform from the catcher position this season in addition to their roles elsewhere on the diamond.

Newcomer Delaney Whieldon also has experience behind the plate and should be in the mix to call pitches this season. Whieldon contributes with a powerful bat that could produce runs with the long ball or hits to the gaps.

Fairfield opens the 2023 season at the Hatter Classic in DeLand Fla., playing a pair of games against Monmouth University as well as host Stetson University, and a single game against Mercer University. The five-game set are the first dates in a 24-game road trip as the Stags open play on their campus beginning on April 1. Fairfield will host two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) doubleheaders that weekend beginning with a pair against Rider University on April 1 and another twin bill against Mount St. Mary's on April 2.