NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – A seventh-inning rally nearly saved the Fairfield University softball team against Siena College, but the comeback bid fell one run short as the Stags fell to the Saints by a 6-5 score. With the loss, Fairfield was eliminated from the 2025 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship.

Both teams held a lead in this game with the Stags posting the first runs of the afternoon off Delaney Whiedon's two-run single. The base hit scored both Charli Warren and Morgan Sylvestre who each collected a single earlier in the inning.

The lead was short lived though because Emma Peterson drove a pitch over the right-center field fence in the top of the fourth, tying the game at 2-2. The Saints secured the lead in the next innings with a pair of runs, the first of which scored following a Chloe Cummings double that made the score 3-2. A few batters later, Siena pitcher Gracie Goewey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force home the team's fourth run.

Fairfield cut that deficit in half in the bottom of the fifth after Morgan Sylvestre and Anna Paravati put together back-to-back hits. Sylvestre eventually scored off the Paravati single as the ball was misplayed in the outfield which allowed her to cross home plate.

The Saints tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh inning, beginning the frame with the first three batters reaching base. Pitcher Peyton Shields worked some magic to get the first two outs without any runs scoring, inducing a fielder's choice which resulted in an out at home followed by a pop up to shortstop. However, Carlie Venables brought home two key runs when her grounder to the right side enabled two runners to score to bring the score to 6-3.

Fairfield rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning, all starting with two outs. Quinn McGonigle led off the inning by drawing a walk before the next two hitters popped up for the first two outs. Paravati kept the inning going with a base hit which Whieldon followed with another single to bring home a run. Faith Camilleri came up next and delivered a double to the base of the left field wall, scoring Paravati and placing runners on the second and third. However, reliever Alissa Eimont picked up a strikeout to end the game and save the victory for Siena.

The Stags finished the game with 11 hits, three more than Siena, with Paravati providing three of the hits for Fairfield. Sylvestre, Whieldon, and Camilleri added two hits each in the game as Whieldon serving as the most productive Stags with three RBI.

Fairfield finishes the season with a 26-26 overall record after securing the second-seed in the MAAC Championship based on its 18-7 record in conference play. The Stags posted a .636 winning percentage in games played in the Northeast, going 21-12 after its four tournament appearances at Stetson, Georgia Southern, Penn State, and Charleston Southern.