DELAND, Fla – The Fairfield University softball split a pair of games this afternoon at the Hatters Classic, starting the day with a 9-1 five-inning victory against Monmouth University before falling to host Stetson University by a 3-0 count in the second game.
Although the results showed a split, the Stags put together two solid offensive efforts, outhitting their opponent in both contests. Fairfield posted a dozen hits in the win the Hawks before coming back for an additional nine hits against the Hatters. Head Coach
Julie Brzezinski has witnessed her team post 36 hits through the first four games of the 2023 campaign which led to 17 runs.
Against Monmouth, Fairfield scored in four of its five at-bats today, missing only the third inning.
Charli Warren started the game with a base hit and went station-to-station following an infield out, and an infield hit by
Kaitlin Hoffman. The run went on the scoreboard when Hoffman was caught stealing but kept the play alive long enough for Warren to cross the plate.
The home team tacked on three more runs in the second inning when
Morgan Sylvestre beat out an infield hit which allowed
Madison Robicheau to come home.
Haley Updegraff registered an RBI single to bring the score to 3-0 while the final run came home following a single during that same play.
Fairfield doubled up its run total with a four-spot in the fourth inning, the first two runs registering following a passed ball and an error. The other two runs were a result of
Megan Forbes' RBI double down the right field line. Sylvestre picked up another RBI in the fifth inning as her ground out sent home the team's ninth run of the game.
Allie Bridgman earned her first win of the season in the pitching circle, scattering three hits and allowing one earned run.
Bailey Taylor tossed the final inning of the game, allowing only a walk in her outing.
The Stags made several efforts during the course of game two, posting nine hits to the host team's seven hits over the seven-inning game. Stetson scored the game's first run in the first inning after Kami Eppley led off with a triple and came home when Brianna Clary followed with a single. The Hatters added a pair of runs in the fifth inning courtesy of Briana Robinson's two-run home run to center field.
Fairfield will close out the five-game set in Florida when it takes on Mercer University on Sunday morning. First pitch is slated for 10 am. The Stags will have a week off before returning to action at the University of Virginia's tournament from March 3-5, another five-game slate that includes St. Francis University, the host school, DePaul University and a pair of games against George Mason University.
