Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven softball team opened Northeast-10 Conference play with a pair of victories over the College of Saint Rose on Saturday afternoon at the UNH Softball Field. Sophomore Alana Wesche tossed a complete-game to lead the Chargers to a 5-1 triumph in game one, followed by a comeback 5-3 win in the nightcap.

With the results, New Haven improved to 12-3 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. The Golden Knights also kicked off the NE-10 season, falling to 4-9 overall, 0-2 in the league.

Game One
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Chargers boasted a quick 5-0 start through the first two innings and never looked back. The bottom of the first inning featured two runs; an RBI single from Brandy Dianno and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Allison Vaughan for a 2-0 advantage.

In their ensuing at-bats, UNH collected three more runs on two key hits. Dianno pushed Lucy Francisco across the dish on another RBI single and senior Chelsea Harold followed with a two-run single for a commanding 5-0 lead.

The five run cushion was more than enough for Wesche. She scattered five hits over seven innings, allowed one run, two walks and struck out eight of the 30 batters she faced. Wesche improved to 6-1 on the campaign and lowered her ERA to 1.69.

The top three spots in the Chargers line-up combined to go 8-for-11 with four runs and four RBI. Chelsea Harold and Gelardi finished 3-for-4 from the dish and Dianno added a 2-for-4 day.

Game Two
Game two of the doubleheader featured another quick start for the home team, as the Chargers scored runs in the first and second innings. However, Saint Rose battled back in the fourth inning, as the Golden Knights pushed three runs across the plate to take a 3-2 lead.

Nonetheless, in the bottom of the fifth inning, New Haven regained the lead on heads-up base running. With runners on second and third, Kerry Tricinelli reached on an error that brought two runs around to score. Always alert on the base-path, Dianno never stopped running and recorded the go-ahead run all the way from second base for a 4-3 lead.

The Chargers added one more run in the sixth inning on another mishap in the field from the Golden Knights. Tricinelli and Micah Stonesifer combined for seven innings pitched, allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out eight. Stonesifer was credited with sixth win of the season.

The Chargers return to action, tomorrow March 27 with another doubleheader against Le Moyne College. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. at the UNH Softball Field.