FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Amidst a string of six non-conference games, the University of Hartford softball team took on Fairfield in a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon, earning a split with the Stags. The Hawks shut out their opponents, 4-0, to take game one but went on to fall in the nightcap, 6-1, snapping a three-game win-streak.

Junior transfer Zuzana Kudernatschova threw a complete game for Hartford (15-23) in the opening game, scattering two hits to earn her third shutout of the year while snapping Fairfield's (21-16) five-game win streak. Senior Kate Wacyk backed the Hawk's ace, scoring twice and knocking in two runs on a 2-for-4 effort at the plate.

Kudernatschova and the Hartford defense coasted through the first four innings, retiring 12 of the first 13 Stags they faced. The lone blemish on the scorecard came on a one-out single off the bat of Lauren Filicia in the bottom half of the second.

Senior Melani Maxwell broke open a scoreless duel in the top of the fourth frame, plating Kate Wacyk, who snagged a one-out single to left field, on a base hit to centerfield to give the Hawks the 1-0 edge.

That lead would improve to 4-0 in the top part of the fifth stanza as Hartford utilized three hits and one error to manufacture a pair of runs. With one down in the inning, sophomore Peyton Fisher singled to centerfield and took second after junior Amber Andrews was struck by a Nikki Osofsky pitch. That set the scene for Wacyk, who cleared the bases by lining a single to right field.

Wacyk would then make it a 4-0 ball game, moving down the base paths on Mooney's second hit of the outing, followed by a hit batter and an error by the Stags' catcher behind the dish.

Fairfield's only other hit also came off the barrel of Lauren Filicia, who led off the fifth with a single down the right field line. She managed to snag second base with one outs, but wouldn't get any further as Kudernatschova fanned Kimi Kurata, earning one of her six strikeouts, and Rae Ball grounded out to end the inning.

Lauren Filicia carried her hot bat into the second game, going 2-for-2 while collecting three RBI. Fairfield pitcher Ball earned the win, holding the Hawks to just four hits: two from Jenice Aloyo and one apiece from Fisher and Margaret Betz.

Fairfield got on the scoreboard in its first at-bats, thanks to a two-out RBI single that scored Sammy Ruffolo from second base. Hartford grabbed that run back in the top of the third using a double from Fisher followed by a single by Aloyo to knot up the game, but Filicia had the answer for her squad, smacking a two-run triple deep into right field to put the Stags back in front, 3-1.

Following a pitching change that saw sophomore Brittany Beebe replace junior Kaitlyn Meade inside of the circle, the Stags grabbed two more runs before the end of the inning as a two-out, Osofsky single through the middle of the infield by plated Filicia and Ball, who previously earned a walk. One more run in the bottom part of the fourth inning provided Fairfield with a 6-1 advantage, and that score would hold through the final three frames.

Hartford returns to the diamond tomorrow when it travels to Amherst, Mass. for a single game with the Minutemen at 4 p.m.