TOWSON, Md. – Senior Brianna Jones blasted a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the seventh inning as the Tigers (4-6) edged Fairfield University (3-3) in the first game of the Tigers' Round-Robin at the Tigers' Softball Complex on Saturday. In the Tigers' second game, they beat Providence, 8-3.

Fairfield bounced back from its loss to Towson with a 5-3 win over Providence.

In the opening game, the Tigers rallied from a 2-0 deficit and took a 5-2 lead into the sixth inning. However, Fairfield rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth.

With one out in the seventh inning, junior leftfielder Kelli Lyons singled. Senior first baseman Andrea Stevenson grounded into a force play for the second out. Then, Jones belted her first home run of the season over the leftfield fence, giving the Tigers a 7-5 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, junior righthander Katie Lingmai retired the first two hitters before running into trouble. With two outs, sophomore Mikayla Shumate singled and sophomore Lauren Liseth was hit by a pitch.

However, Lingmai retired senior Alli Wigand on a fly ball to right field, ending the game.

Fairfield jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore Kristen Filicia led off with a walk and stole second base. When Shumate followed with a single, Fairfield had two runners on base with no outs. Liseth doubled to centerfield to drive in a pair of runs, putting Fairfield ahead.

However, Lingmai worked her way out of trouble by striking out the next two hitters before walking sophomore Kimi Kurata. With runners on first and third, Kurata tried to steal second base but was thrown out.

The Stags maintained their 2-0 lead until the fourth inning when junior catcher Jillian Donnelly blasted her first home run of the season over the centerfield fence.

In the fifth inning, the Tigers rallied for four runs to take a 5-2 lead. Senior Haley Stueckler  led off the inning with a walk. With two outs, Stevenson also drew a walk. Jones singled to left, driving in Stueckler with the tying run. Then, senior centerfielder Erika Stasch (below right) blasted a three-run homer to right field, putting the Tigers ahead.

Fairfield came back to tie the score in the sixth innin g. With one out, Wigand doubled to right. Sophomore Rae Ball brought the tying run to the plate when she singled to left. Then, Kurata promptly tied the game with a three-run homer to left field.

Lingmai earned the win over Fairfield by pitching a complete game six-hitter. She allowed five runs while walking four and striking out eight.

Jones led the Tigers' offense with two hits, two runs scored and three runs batted in.

In the Tigers' second game of the day, senior Lindsey Kent banged out three hits and drove in a run to lead the Tigers to an 8-3 win over Providence.

The Tigers broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning by scoring three runs. Stevenson led off the inning with a single. After Jones reached on a fielder's choice, Donnelly doubled to centerfield, driving in Jones with the first run of the game. Stasch followed with an RBI double to score Donnelly for a 2-0 Tiger lead. Stasch, who took third base on the throw, scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Courtney Wittner.

After Providence scored a run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by senior Michelle Huber, the Tigers broke the game open with a five-run rally.

Freshman Macie McGeehan started the rally with a pinch hit single. Wittner followed with a walk before Lyons doubled to right center, driving in a run. When freshman Hailey Balk grounded out, pinch runner Stevie Patnode scored to give the Tigers a 5-1 lead. An RBI single by Kent drove in Lyons to make it 6-1 before the Tigers scored two unearned runs to close out the rally.

After Dominique Ortega scattered four hits over the first six innings, she gave up back-to-back homers by junior Stephanie Kiesel and freshman Kelsi Luttrell.  When freshman Sarah Kitterman added a single, Ortega was relieved by freshman righthander Missy McCormick. McCormick retired the next three hitters to nail down the win.

The Towson Round Robin concludes on Sunday when Fairfield plays Providence at 12 noon before the Tigers face Fairfield again at 2:00 p.m.