Junior Peyton Shields and freshman Sarah Bielski of the Fairfield University softball team were recognized on Apr. 21 by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for their performances last week, which contributed to four wins in six games for the Stags. Shields was named Jersey Mike’s MAAC Softball Pitcher of the Week, while Bielski received MAAC Co-Rookie of the Week.
These awards highlight strong individual contributions that supported Fairfield’s recent success in conference play. Shields played a key role during a sweep against Siena University, pitching all 18 innings across two complete game victories. In her first outing, she threw a one-hit shutout and retired the first 15 batters faced. She followed up with an 11-inning complete game, allowing just one run on six hits.
For the week, Shields recorded a 0.98 earned run average over four appearances that included games against Hofstra University and Central Connecticut State University. She pitched a total of 21.1 innings, striking out seven batters while issuing only four walks. These efforts improved her season record to eight wins and seven losses with an ERA of 3.39.
Bielski also played an important part in the Siena series by driving in three of Fairfield’s four runs during the doubleheader. She contributed an RBI single in game one and added both RBIs—including a game-winning hit—in extra innings during game two. Over the week, Bielski batted .400 with four runs batted in and reached base twelve times out of nineteen plate appearances for a .663 on-base percentage.
On the season so far, Bielski leads her team with a .319 batting average along with seventeen RBIs, three doubles, one triple, and one home run.
The Stags are coached by Julie Brzezinski and will continue Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play this week with games at Manhattan University on Tuesday before hosting Rider University for a three-game series this weekend.
