LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Fairfield University picked up a split this afternoon on the second day of the Cal State-Fullerton/Long Beach State Tournament, earning a 7-3 win over the University of North Dakota in the opener before falling by an 8-1 count to Utah State in game two.
North Dakota secured the lead early in the game by scoring a couple of runs off JoJo Rodriguez's two-run homer in the top of the first inning. Fairfield responded with its best offensive inning of the season when it secured the lead for good in the bottom half of the inning, scoring six times to take command of the game.
Charli Warren manufactured the first Stags run by working out a walk, stealing second, taking third on a passed ball, and scoring on
Morgan Sylvestre's infield single to the right side. After a bunt sent Sylvestre over one base,
Anna Paravati picked up a walk to put runners on the corners.
Megan Forbes followed with a single that brought home the second run.
Delaney Whieldon earned a base on balls to load the bases, setting up
Cara Kochakian's two-run single up the middle to make the score 4-1.
Martina Gutierrez laced a base hit to send home the team's fifth run before Kochakian ended the scoring when she scampered home on a wild pitch. Gutierrez played a role in Fairfield's final run of the day when her grounder chased home
Quinn McGonigle in the third inning.
Alyssa Weinberg made those runs count as she would yield just one more run over the next six innings. The left hander scattered five hits and fanned seven batters to earn her second win of the season.
In game two, Fairfield trailed from the onset as Utah State scored three times in the bottom of the first inning. The Aggies used two RBI singles and a sacrifice fly to gain the early advantage.
Gutierrez made things happen once again when she started a rally in the third inning. She opened the inning by reaching on an error before going all the way to third base off Sylvestre's single to right field. Gutierrez came home for the team's lone run when Bridgman collected a sacrifice fly to right for a 3-1 score.
Utah State gained further ground when the team posted four runs in the fourth inning before ending the scoring with a single run in the fifth.
Bailey Taylor finished off the game in the pitching circle by tossing the final two-plus innings and allowing just one run.
Fairfield finishes up its California trip with a single game on Saturday afternoon, playing Yale University at 1 pm. The Stags will play Yale once again on March 13 in New Haven, the team's first game in Connecticut this season.
