UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A five-run first inning proved to be all the offense Fairfield needed in a 9-1 final over Lafayette softball on Saturday evening.
In the decisive frame, Fairfield batted around its lineup, recording five hits off Leopard starter Parker Rowden. Ava Armuth drove in two runs in the early rally which was aided by a pair of errors.
 
The Stags plated two more runs in the third inning, forcing Lafayette interim head coach Kelliner Croushore to go to the bullpen for Makayla Lecky. Lecky got the final two outs of the inning, but Fairfield led 7-0.
 
Armuth was at it again in the bottom of the fourth, lifting Lecky's first pitch over the wall in right field with one runner aboard for a 9-0 lead.
 
In the visitor fifth, the Leopards parlayed a lead-off double by Dani Rosner into their first run of the contest. Olivia Catalina followed with a single and Mary Grace O'Neill did the rest of the work, plating Rosner with a deep sac fly to left field. A walk followed but then Alyssa Weinberg struck out Caroline Hall and Kaya Ciccone-Cozart to end the game with a 9-1 final.
 
Weinberg notched her fourth win of the season, limiting Lafayette to one run on three hits over five innings. She walked three and fanned six. Rowden gave up seven earned on 10 hits with a strikeout in the loss. Lecky threw the final 1.2 innings, scattering three hits and allowing a pair of runs.
 
Lafayette will be back in action on Sunday, facing Canisius at 10 a.m. and Penn State at 3 p.m. in the final day of the Penn State Invitational.