BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - The University of New Haven softball team put 21 runs on the board in two games at nationally ranked No. 23 Adelphi University to sweep a pair of five-inning games Wednesday afternoon. The Chargers earned an 11-3 win in five-innings in game one and then capped the afternoon with a 10-2 five-inning victory.

New Haven improved to 32-11 overall, while the Panthers dropped to 35-15 overall. With only the first game of the doubleheader played as a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division game, UNH improved to 13-5 in divisional play and Adelphi dropped to 15-3 in the southwest division.

In the two wins, senior Christina Gelardi (Derby, Conn./Derby) scored five runs and tied both the single season and career runs scored record at UNH. Through 43 games this season, the Derby, Conn. native has scored 51 times and improved her career number to 141. She tied the same mark that Chelsea Harold (Oxford, Conn./Seymour ) tallied in 2011 and tied Nicole Downs (Seymour, Conn./Seymour) career numbers from 2007-10. Gelardi also earned three walks in the two games and stands two walks away from tying Meghan Walters' record from 2007-10.

Game One
New Haven scored one run in the top of the opening inning, but the Chargers fell behind in the bottom of the first. Adelphi scored three runs off four hits to take an early lead. New Haven chipped away at the lead in the top of the second, scoring one more off a Gelardi sacrifice fly that nearly left the field of play. Adelphi managed two hits in the bottom of the second, but three straight outs to end the inning put UNH at the plate trailing 3-2 in the top of the third.

The Chargers then took control with three runs off four hits in the third. Lucy Francisco (Lawrence, Mass./Lawrence ) drove in two runs with a double to right field. Brittany Scott (Buena, N.J./Buena Regional) put down a bunt and the Chargers squeezed in the go ahead run with one out. The pitching of Nicole King (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) helped retire the side in the bottom of the third and the game headed into the fourth inning.

Gelardi drew an openign walk and the Chargers had runners on base once again. Two batters later, Lindsey Couturier (Dighton, Mass./Dighton Rehoboth Regional) put UNH ahead 7-3 with a two-run homerun over the right field fence. Later in the inning, Francisco, Scott and Brooke Fisher (Erial, N.J./Camden Catholic) each drove in runs to put the Chargers ahead 10-3. Adelphi managed three base runners in the bottom of the fourth, but no runs and the Chargers held on to a seven run lead.

Couturier put the Chargers ahead by eight with a one-out single up the middle, scoring Gelardi from third in the top of the fifth inning. New Haven sealed the win in the bottom of the fifth and recorded three straight outs after allowing a lead off single.

King pitched the complete game for her 10th win of the season. She allowed eight hits, struck out two batters and gave up three runs.

Couturier paced the UNH offense with three hits, three RBI and one run in three at-bats. Scott added two hits, two RBI and one run in two at-bats, while Francisco drove in three, tallied two runs and two hits in three at-bats. 

Game Two
New Haven took another early lead with a single run in the top of the first inning of game two as well. Gelardi scored her fourth run of the afternoon off a Keri Tricinelli (Brick, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) single to right field. UNH held Adelphi scoreless in the bottom of the first inning and held a one run advantage into the second.

Francisco led off the second inning by reaching second base after a Panthers' error. Fisher drove in the Chargers second run with a double to left center. Brandy Dianno (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) then gave the Chargers a 3-0 lead with a RBI triple to right center. Tricinelli then drove in another two runs with a single to center field to score both Dianno and Couturier. In the bottom of the second, pitcher Micah Stonesifer (Archer City, Texas/Archer City / Vernon College) fanned two batters and retired the third on a pop up to the pitcher to hold on to a 5-0 lead. 

The third inning went scoreless for both teams, but New Haven exploded with four more runs in the top of the fourth inning. UNH used four hits and one Adelphi error to plate four. Jess Spivey (Holland, Pa./Council Rock) tapped a one-out sacrifice fly to right field to drive Gelardi's record-tying run. With Palase on base, Tricinelli drove in her fourth run of the game with a double to left center. Scott then gave the Chargers an 8-0 lead with a RBI-double to center, while Fisher singled to left field for the Chargers' ninth run of the game. A strikeout ended the inning with UNH ahead 9-0.

Adelphi put two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Stonesifer forced a grounder for the final out of the inning. The Chargers added on run off another Tricinelli RBI to take a 10-0 lead. The Panthers then scored two runs off two hits and two UNH errors in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut New Haven's lead to eight runs. Stonesifer struck out a batter for the second out and the final batter grounded out to first base for New Haven's eight-run victory.

The New Haven offense was led by Tricinelli who went 4-for-4 at the plate with five RBI and one run. Fisher went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.

Stonesifer finished her 14th win of the season with no earned runs, four hits and six strikeouts. 

New Haven will conclude its regular season with a three-game NE-10 Southwest Division series at Assumption College this weekend. The Chargers and Greyhounds play a single game at 4 p.m. Friday and then a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Saturday afternoon.