FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University softball team returns to non-conference play for a single game against Yale University on Wednesday, completing a home-and-home series with the Bulldogs. First pitch for Wednesdays matchup is slated for 3:30 pm.

The Stags split a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) doubleheaders last week, sweeping a twin bill against Merrimack College before dropping both games against Marist University. The latter results ended Fairfield's nine-game winning streak and also presented the team with its first two MAAC setbacks of the 2025 campaign. Fairfield, 8-2 in conference play, currently places third in the MAAC standings, behind only unbeaten Marist (7-0) and Iona University (10-1). 

But the team will put aside its placement in MAAC play aside for one day this week when Yale University visits Alumni Softball Diamond. The two teams met earlier in the season with the Bulldogs coming away with a 9-1 on March 19, just the second game that the Stags played in the Northeast. Fairfield jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the game after Charli Warren started the game with a double and came home one batter later when Delaney Whieldon stroked a single. Yale tied the game in the bottom of the first inning with a single run before going on to plate at least one run in each inning it came to the plate.

Warren continues to pace the Stags offense with here .352 batting average, registering a team-best 37 hits in here 32 appearances this season. The senior, who moved into second all-time at Fairfield with 76 career stolen bases last week, now has 21 stolen bases on the season which leads the MAAC. Freshman Ava Armuth has made her mark on the program with 12 stolen bases, placing fifth among the MAAC leaders, and three triples, which ranks sixth in the conference statistics. Pitcher Alyssa Weinberg has 10 wins on the season, coming off a 16-strikeout effort in her last win against Merrimack, and is tied for the conference lead with 120 strikeouts.

Yale enters the week with an 18-18 overall record and a 6-6 Ivy League slate which includes the teams walk-off win against Columbia University in the team's last outing. The team will play its fifth game against a MAAC foe on Wednesday, owning a 5-0 mark against the conference. The Bulldogs defeated Sacred Heart University three times along with the one win against Fairfield.

Six Yale student-athletes are hitting better than .300 on the season with three of those individuals bringing a batting average of at least .350 into the week. Lauren Perren represents the team's top hitter with a .358 batting average and 32 RBI over her 36 starts. She is tied with Sophie Woodridge for the top home run spot as both has launched seven homers on the season. Woodridge and Isabella Fortini both own a .350 hitting percentage this season with Woodridge adding 31 RBI and Fortini registering a team-best 12 doubles. Emma Taylor has seen a bulk of the work in the pitching circle, owning a 10-8 record with a  1.64 ERA over her 22 appearances to date. 

Following the midweek game with Yale,, Fairfield will host Niagara University for a three-game set this weekend. The Stags and the Purple Eagles are scheduled for a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.