FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University softball team will play its final in-season tournament of the season when it heads to the University of Maryland for a four-game slate. The Stags will play Purdue Fort Wayne and Lafayette College on Saturday as well as Bryant University and the host school on Sunday.

Fairfield played in three in-season tournaments earlier this season with the last sending the Stags to the West Coast. The team played its first game in the Northeast earlier this week when it fell to Yale University last Wednesday. This weekend, the Stags will play another four games against regional opponents including tournament opening appearance against Purdue Fort Wayne, the first time the two teams since 2009. The Mastodons bring a 4-14 overall record into the tournament which includes five games at the Eastern Kentucky tournament last weekend. Bailey Manos represents the team's top hitter with a .377 batting average, registering 23 hits over her 18 starts this season. Grace Hollopeter is responsible for three of the team's four home runs this season, helping her account for 10 RBI.

Lafayette is next up on the Stags' schedule as the Leopards are sporting a 2-14 overall record at this point of the season. The team is playing its third tournament of the 2024 campaign, also spending time at the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina tournaments. Lafayette has two hitters above the .300 mark, namely Regan Dillon and Mary Grace O'Neill. Dillon paces the offense with her .333 hitting percentage, averaging a hit per game. O'Neill recorded a team-best 18 hits over her 14 appearances as well as with a team-leading 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts. Jacqueline Cal has a 1.93 ERA through her nine appearances with one shutout to highlight the pitching staff.

Bryant opened the season with four straight wins and more recently comes off a sweep of Yale University earlier this week, handing the Bulldogs a 14-7 and an 8-6 defeat in New Haven. The team has scored seven or more runs in six of their 14 games this season. Aleix Hudson leads the offense in most offensive categories, sporting team bests in batting average (.367), RBI (15), hits (18), and runs (19). She is also the co-leader with four home runs, joining Alexis Clancy for that honor. Clancy is also enjoying a solid season with 12 RBI and a .319 batting average. Grace McKillop is working through her rookie season with a 3-2 record and a team-leading 2.83 ERA.

Maryland starts the tournament with a 9-13 overall record which includes three wins in its last four dates which includes a 13-0 win over MAAC foe Saint Peter's University. Mazie MacFarlane had a hit in that win over the Peacocks, positioning her at the top of the stat sheet with her .321 batting average. With 11 walks, MacFarlane is also the team leader with a .441 on-base percentage. Megan Mikami is also above the .300 mark this year, owning a .311 mark along with four stolen bases in as many attempts. Courtney Wyche has seen the most action in the pitching circle, winning four games over 52.2 innings pitched.

The Stags start the tournament with a 2-12 overall record, all coming against non-conference opponents. Fairfield will open Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play next weekend when it hosts Iona University for three games. Morgan Sylvestre comes off her best week of the season when she batted .625 which helped her garner the MAAC Player of the Week. She is one of three .300 hitters on the team, sporting a .325 batting average. Charli Warren (.304) and Anna Paravati (.303) are also above the mark this season. Aylssa Weinberg is credited with two wins this season which she achieved over her team-best 37.1 innings pitched.