FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University softball team added two more victories to its winning streak this afternoon, defeating Quinnipiac University by a 5-2 score and a 6-4 margin in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play. The Stags have posted six straight wins for their longest string of the season.
Sammie Dougherty provided clutch hitting in the doubleheader, picking up four RBI with three of those coming with two outs in an inning. Laura Osland also collected a trio of two-out RBI during the afternoon.
Pitcher
Alyssa Weinberg earned the complete-game victory in the first game before getting the final five outs of the second contest to earn her first save of the season.
Peyton Shields earned the win in the nightcap, throwing five-plus innings to garner her fifth win of the campaign.
In the opener, Fairfield scored first when the team plated four runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Quinn McGonigle brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly to center field. Dougherty doubled home two runs with two outs to break the game open and later scored when Osland ripped a single to provide Weinberg with a 4-0 lead after three innings.
Quinnipiac broke through in the sixth inning with a single run off a pair of hits, but the Stags regained their four-run advantage when Dougherty dropped a two-out double that brought home the team's fifth run. The Bobcats scored one more run in the seventh before Weinberg closed out the game for her ninth win of the season.
In the second game, Quinnipiac put together its best offensive inning of the afternoon by scoring four runs off five hits in addition to taking advantage of two Fairfield miscues. The Stags picked up two runs for themselves in the bottom of the frame, a rally started by
Sarah Bielski's double and
SJ Mull's base hit.
Anna Paravati stroked a run scoring single to put the score at 4-1.
Ava Armuth's sacrifice fly was responsible for the second run, to cut the lead in half at 4-2.
The home team enjoyed its own four-run inning in the fifth inning with Dougherty bringing in the first run off a base hit.
Quinn McGonigle followed with her own run-scoring single, which set up Osland's two-run single that brought the score to 6-4.
After the first two Bobcats reached base in the top of the sixth, Head Coach
Julie Brzezinski opted to bring back Weinberg to close out the second game. The left hander retired the first four batters she faced until Quinnipiac put two runners on base in the seventh with two out courtesy of a hit batter and a single. Weinberg retired the final batter with a strikeout to complete the Stags' sweep.
Fairfield is back in action on Wednesday when the team hosts Yale University for a 4 pm single game at Alumni Softball Field.
