FAIRFIELD, CT –  Siena Softball (19-15) saw its 2021 season ended at the hands of MAAC Rival Fairfield in the 2021 MAAC Quarterfinals, Friday afternoon. The #5 Saints suffered a doubleheader sweep with 3-0 and 5-2 losses to the #4 Stags at Alumni Softball Field in Fairfield, Connecticut.
 
Game 1: Fairfield 3, Siena 0
 
Traveling south after clinching a top-5 seed for the eighth straight postseason appearance, The Saints suffered a shutout at the hands of the Stags in game one, who held a 7-3 advantage in hits. Fairfield got on the board with an RBI single in the middle in the home half of the first and took a no-hitter into the top of the sixth, adding an insurance run off an RBI double in the fourth. The Saints loaded up the bases with one out in the frame, with back-to-back outs shut the door from a run coming home.
 
Fairfield's final run of the game came off an RBI single to right in the home half of the sixth, with the Saints stranding a pair on-base in the top of the seventh. Siena's Nicole Patille (2-4) suffered the loss in two innings, while senior Taylor Rhinehart struck out six in four innings of relief. Fairfield's Allie Bridgeman (7-3) earned the complete game win in the circle, while Siena's Antonia Alba, Angelina Stile and Isabella Pardo each garnered a hit offensively.
 
Game 2: Fairfield 5, Siena 2
 
Following two scoreless innings to begin the nightcap on a mostly sunny afternoon in the mid-60's in Southern Connecticut, the home team once-again took charge of the game offensively, with a pair of RBI doubles giving them a 3-0 lead after three. Siena's offense sparked in the latter contest, with senior Isabelle DeChiaro and sophomore Emma McLaughlin each recording multi-hit outings, but the Saints struggled to advance runners during the middle innings, going down in order in the fourth and grounding into a double play in the fifth.
 
Following another RBI double to make it a 4-0 Fairfield lead, DeChiaro notched an RBI double that sent home Pardo and senior Neysa Ouellette to make it a two-run ballgame in the top of the sixth. The Stags quickly responded with a solo home run to left center in the bottom of the frame, and ended the game to clinch the series with the game-tying run at-bat for the Saints in the seventh. Graduate student Maddie McMahon (7-5) ended her storied career in the Green and Gold with three strikeouts in two-and-two-thirds innings, while Patille and sophomore Allison Speshyock each retired a batter via a strikeout in relief. Fairfield's Lauryn Rhinehart (8-6) earned the win with five strikeouts in six innings, while Taylor Bailey picked up the save in two-thirds of an inning.
 
Fairfield advances to next week's double-elimination MAAC Championship round, while Siena campaign concludes with a winning record for the first time since 2016 and only the third time ever.