Softball goes 3-1 on crucial weekend

Facing a critical weekend, Stags softball faced doubleheaders against Providence College and Iona College.

In their first showdown with Providence, the Stags fell short by an 8-3 count. They tied in the second game at 2-2, before the game was called after 10 innings due to darkness.

The Friars continued their success following the 8-3 victory in the first game by scoring first in the second game. Fairfield tied the score when Harris’ single sent pitcher Cagney Ringnalda ’07 to score in the bottom of the fourth. Erin Frank ’08 slammed a solo home run in the sixth that gave the Stags their first lead of the day. After Providence scored the tying run in the top of the seventh, Fairfield pitchers Ringnalda and Jennifer Maccio ’09 didn’t allow the Friars to score for the remainder of the game.

The Stags then swept MAAC contender Iona with a 7-6 win in the opener and finished game two with a 5-4 victory.

“We knew that both teams would be out to get us,” said pitcher Tara Hansen ’06. “We knew that we needed a sweep because we weren’t in the best position in MAACs with three losses already.”

On April 15, the Stags gained a three-run lead after two innings on Frank’s two-run homerun and Hansen’s RBI single. By the bottom of the seventh inning, Iona had pushed ahead, after a grand slam to make the score 6-4. The Stags were able to add two runs in the seventh, however, to tie the score with an RBI single from Logan and Harris.

“I think that in the last game against Providence and in both games against Iona, the entire team played to our potential,” said Frank. “When we were in tiebreakers, we didn’t just roll; we fought to the end and played tough.”

Against Iona, the Stags started off with four runs by the third inning with an RBI from Logan, a two-run homer from Frank and an RBI single from Ringnalda that led Logan to score. The Stags avoided a comeback as Frank hit a double that drove in Hansen to tally the game-winning run.

“I think we just need to relax and play like we know how,” said Frank. “At this point, you can’t do much more.”