Softball Holds off Fairfield in Crosstown Battle

Wednesday, March 20

Fairfield, Conn.

3:00 PM

Sacred Heart

8-14

Fairfield

3-16

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Fairfield	0	0	0	2	0	2	1	5	5	1
Sacred Heart	0	3	0	1	0	2	X	6	10	1

Photo by: Josh Gee

Softball Holds off Fairfield in Crosstown Battle

3/20/2024 6:15:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Cierra Bender goes 3-for-3 with 4 RBI and 1 run scored

By: Samantha Carey

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University softball team improved to 8-14 on the season as the Pioneers topped the Fairfield Stags by a final score of 6-5 on Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Park.

Records:
SHU (8-14)
Fairfield (3-16)

Pitching:
SHU: Emily Heath (W, 3-6) – 3.2 Innings pitched | 1 hit | 1 strikeout
SHU: Sam Kowalski (Sv, 1) – 1.0 innings pitched | 1 hit | 1 run | 1 strikeout
Fairfield: Bailey Taylor (L, 0-1) – 2.2 innings pitched | 3 hits | 2 runs | 1 strikeout

Top Performers:
Cierra Bender – 3-for-3, 4 RBI, 1 run scored
Emily Carroll – 2-for-4

Of Note:
Sacred Heart kicked off the scoring in the bottom of the third, tallying three runs on three hits to take the early lead. With one out and the bases loaded, a forced walk from Victoria LoPinto allowed Jenna Mowad to score for the game's first run. From there, Cierra Bender kept things going, hitting a deep ball to left field, allowing two runners to cross home for the three-run advantage before the final out of the inning.

In the top of the fourth, Fairfield capitalized on a new pitcher for the Pioneers by scoring a pair of runs to trim the deficit to within one, 3-2.

Sacred Heart countered the Stags' two runs with one run in the bottom half of the fourth to push its lead to two, 4-2. A one-out sacrifice fly from Sam Kowalski drove in Bender, who tagged up from third, but Emily Carroll was thrown out at second for the final out of the inning.

Another two-run rally in the top of the sixth by the Stags evened the game up at 4-4, forcing the Pioneers to re-enter Emily Heath, who pitched the first three innings for the hosts and allowed no hits or runs.

The bottom half of the sixth saw the Pioneers battle at the plate for runs as an RBI single from Bender drove in a pair of runs for the 6-4 advantage.

Fairfield's final at-bat saw a home run from Allie Bridgman that trimmed the lead to within one, 6-5, but solid pitching from Kowaski and tight defensive work from the Pios held off the Stags from putting the tying run on base.

Up Next:
The Pioneers return to Pioneer Park on Thursday, March 20th with a non-conference match-up against Siena. Game time is set for 2pm.