FAIRFIELD, Conn. – With weekend trips to Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania behind it, the Fairfield University softball team adds one more state to its travel itinerary when it heads to South Carolina for the CSU Round Robin, a three-team event hosted by Charleston Southern University. The University of North Carolina-Greensboro completes the trio of teams.
Last weekend, the Stags took two of five games at the Penn State Invitational, gaining a split with Canisius University, beating Lafayette College, and dropping a pair to the host school. Two days later, Fairfield played its first game in Connecticut but came up a run short against Central Connecticut State University despite scoring three times the top of the seventh inning.
Ava Armuth emerged as the team's offensive star at Penn State, batting over .450 with two grand slams and eight hits over the five-game set. For her efforts, the outfielder collected the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Week award. Armuth pushed her season average to .303 while her 10 RBI and four stolen bases in as many attempts place second among her teammates.
Anna Paravati remains the team's top hitter with her .375 batting average, a number buoyed by the fact she has at least one hit in 14 of here 16 starts this season. She opened the season with a 13-game hitting streak and picked up another hit in the Central Connecticut game. Paravati also paces the team with four doubles and 13 RBI.
Alyssa Weinberg is responsible all four wins from the pitching circle, owning a 4-2 record with a 3.00 ERA. She averages 8.5 strikeouts per seven innings pitched, fanning 57 over her 46.2 innings tossed.
Charleston Southern brings a 9-10 overall record and has played a good share of its games against MAAC teams. The squad swept a three-game series against Manhattan University but dropped a pair versus Siena College. The Buccaneers also swept a pair of games against Central Connecticut earlier in the year.
Carsten Sandvig and Weslin Jones have paced the Charleston Southern offense, hitting .362 and .327 respectively. Sandvig has been the team's top run producer with 16 RBI in addition to nine extra base hits which includes a team-best two home runs. Jones has stroked a team-best 18 hits in her 19 starts and has contributed 12 RBI. Riley Lauffer has seen the most action in the pitching circle, owning a 4-3 record with a 3.71 ERA.
UNC-Greensboro has won 17 of its 24 decisions to date which includes three victories over Nutmeg State schools. The Spartans swept a twin bill from Sacred Heart University and a single match up with UConn.
Three student-athletes are batting above .400, namely Kaylyn Belfield (.492 over 24 games), Jorde Chartrand (.420 over 20 games), and Grace Loftin (.403 over 24 games). Chartrand has collected a team-best 26 RBI while Belfield has stolen a team-best 11 bases in 12 tries. Salem Ward has gathered a 7-3 record with a 2.44 ERA along with a team-high 58 strikeouts in 63 innings.
When they return home, Fairfield will begin MAAC play with a weekend series at Mount St. Mary's, playing a doubleheader on March 22 and a single game on March 23. The Stags will also play a non-conference game at Yale University on March 19.
