WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Fairfield University softball team came up short against Army West Point this afternoon, falling by a 2-1 score in eight innings. The Black Knights won the game in walk-off fashion with a solo home run in their half of the eighth.
The pitchers dominated through the first two innings as neither team managed a hit through the stretch. The Stags put together a two-out rally in the top of the third inning which started when
Martina Gutierrez reached first base following a defensive miscue.
Cara Kochakian switched places with her teammates after a fielder's choice, and continued on to second base with a stolen base.
Ava Armuth stepped into the batter's box and dropped a base hit into right field that chased home the game's first run. The single turned out to be the only hit for the Stags on the afternoon.
Army West Point also broke through in the third inning when Samantha Sims slipped a grounder through the left side of the infield but the Knights could not advance anyone to second base through the remainder of the inning.
The home team eventually tied the game in the fourth inning, courtesy of hits from the first two batters. Ashton White opened the inning with a single which Caitlyn Newburn followed with a double off the center field fence. Starting pitcher
Delaney Moquin yielded to
Grace Conrad at that point. While the sophomore retired the next three hitters, one of those outs produced the tying run with a grounder to the left side.
The game remained deadlocked until the top of the eighth inning. Army West Point finally broke through in the eighth when Taylor Brown launched a fly ball that cleared the right field fence to produce the deciding run with one out. The home run was the only hit surrendered by left hander
Alyssa Weinberg during her two-plus innings, the Stags' third pitcher in the game.
Fairfield will return to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play this weekend with a three-game series against Mount St. Mary's. The schedule lists a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon and a single game on Sunday afternoon.
