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Game 1 - Fairfield vs. Bucknell
Game 2 - Fairfield vs. Maine
Game 3 - Fairfield at Delaware
Game 4 - Fairfield vs. Bucknell
Game 5 - Fairfield at Delaware
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – With a week off to regroup following its season opening tournament in North Carolina, the Fairfield University softball team will return to the diamond for a five-game set at the University of Delaware's Blue Hen Invitational beginning on Friday evening.
The Stags will join the University of Maine, Bucknell University, and the host school for a three-day event that runs through Sunday afternoon. Fairfield opens the Invitational with a single game against Bucknell beginning on Friday at 5:30 pm. The next day, the Stags will play Maine at 12:30 pm before finishing Saturday with a 5:30 start against Delaware. On Sunday, the team faces Bucknell at 12:30 pm and Delaware at 3:00 pm.
Fairfield opened the season with a five-game set at the Pirate Clash hosted by East Carolina University but had the last week off to get ready for this weekend's slate. The Stags put together a few solid performances in that opening weekend including a brilliant outing from
Alyssa Weinberg in her season debut against East Carolina. The sophomore took the loss in a 2-1 eight-inning affair despite holding the team to well below its' 11-run per game average prior to matching up with the left-hander.
Anna Paravati emerged as the team's top hitter that weekend, posting four hits in 10 at-bats over her five starts finishing with a .500 on-base percentage.
Allie Bridgman and
Quinn McGonigle showed off some early-season power as each stroked a home run. Bridgman paced her teammates with two RBI over the weekend in addition to pitching twice and catching a few games as well.
Delaware makes its home debut this weekend, sporting an 8-1 record in neutral site games and an 0-4 mark in road contests which translates into its 8-5 overall record. The Blue Hens boast two hitters over the .400 mark in 13 starts, namely Julz Garber (.432 batting average) and Sydney Shaffer (.410 batting average). The duo represents a bulk of the team's run production with Garber scoring a team-best 14 times and Shaffer driving in a team-leading 12 runs. Emily Winburn has enjoyed a quick start in the pitching circle with a 5-2 record off a team-leading 2.29 ERA.
Bucknell brings a 4-8 overall record into the weekend after posting a 2-3 mark at the Adventure Crossing USA Classic in Jackson, N.J. Zoie Smith began the year with a hit in eight of the team's first 12 contests which gave the senior her team-best .333 batting average. She also paces the offense with two home runs and two stolen bases. Haley Speicher is next in line on the Bisons' stat sheet with her .279 batting average with a triple and a stolen base. Madison Roukey leads the pitching staff with a pair of wins over her team-best eight appearances which also includes one save.
Maine returns to the road after opening the season at the Kajikawa Classic in Arizona and the Joan Joyce Classic in Florida. Krista Francia sits on top of the team's offensive statistics with her .300 batting average, based on her six hits in 20 at-bats. Katie Jo Moery places second among her teammates with a .278 hitting percentage which includes a double and two RBI in her eight appearances. The pitching staff has four hurlers who have each seen at least four appearances through the team's eight contests this season with Kaly Thomas leading the way with six appearances.
Following this weekend's action, the Fairfield University softball team will head West for a six-game trip that will be spread across the Cal Baptist, Cal State-Fullerton, and Long Beach State campuses between March 6-9.
