The women’s softball team shone just as brightly as the sun under which they played as they swept St. Peter’s College complete with two homeruns to continue their five-game winning streak on Sunday afternoon.
The Stags now stand 9-6 overall. However, this pair of wins at Alumni Field mark the team’s first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match-up, placing them 2-0 in the conference.
Sophomore Cagney Ringnalda spurred things into motion with a two-run homer to the left corner, posting the first runs of the afternoon. The Stags raked in another run in the bottom of the fifth with a double from Tara Hanson ’06.
The Stag’s tough defense kept the St. Peter’s bats at bay and scoreless. Pitcher Tracy Sylvestre ’07 struck out three batters and only gave up four hits and five walks. This 3-0 victory marks her sixth win of the season.
While defense may have marked the first game of the doubleheader, the Stags tough offense truly shone through in the following nightcap.
The team put the first run on the board in the bottom of the second inning only to be answered with two runs from St. Peter’s. Fairfield took back the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a homer to the left corner from Erin Frank ’08, followed by a two-out double from shortstop Molly Harris ’06.
With strong bats the team proceeded to put six more points on the board and entered the seventh inning leading 9-2. The Stags were just three outs from victory when St. Peter’s rallied, scoring four runs off of six hits. Fairfield finally put an end to the game and added a win to their record,catching a fly ball in left field.
The Stags also won both games of their doubleheader against Rhode Island three days earlier. A strong offense highlighted by Julia Jacobly’s three hits, including a two-run double, along with sound pitching from Sylvestre and Ringnalda, earned Fairfield a doubleheader sweep; 3-2, 7-6.
With Sunday’s pair of wins the team is off to a strong start in the conference. The season’s 16-game MAAC schedule shows promise for the women’s team as they are a top contender for the title.
For now, they are looking at a long week: doubleheaders on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
“I’m really happy about our strong performances in the past couple of games, but we can’t let ourselves get too overly confident yet,” said Erin Frank ’08.
“We still have a tough schedule ahead of us, especially Canisius [last season’s conference champs],” she said.
The Stags take to the field today at 3 p..m. to face St. Francis (N.Y.) in a double header at Alumni softball field.
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