BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The University of New Haven softball team erased a two-run deficit in game one and climbed out of a four-run hole in the nightcap en route to a doubleheader sweep at LIU Post on Wednesday. The Chargers took the twin bill by scores of 6-2 and 10-5. The second game was called due to darkness in the top of the seventh inning.
 
New Haven improves to 15-6 following the sweep, while the Pioneers drop to 16-9.
 
Christina Gelardi (Derby, Conn./Derby) led the offense, batting 3-for-4 and reaching base in eight of her nine plate appearances. The Chargers’ shortstop scored five runs, drove in one and stole a base. Keri Tricinelli (Brick, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) drove in four runs with a grand slam to put New Haven on top for good in game two, while Jess Spivey (Holland, Pa./Council Rock) also picked up for RBI. Lucy Francisco (Lawrence, Mass./Lawrence ) knocked in three runs.
 
Lindsey Couturier (Dighton, Mass./Dighton Rehoboth Regional) went 4-for-7 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Meghan Chamoff (Roslyn Heights, N.Y./Herricks) was 3-for-6 and scored four runs.
 
On the mound, Micah Stonesifer (Archer City, Texas/Archer City / Vernon College) fired a complete game without ceding an earned run in the opening game. Stonesifer racked up eight strikeouts while scattering three hits and four walks.
 
In the second game, Nicole King (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) also went the distance, hurling all six innings prior to the umpires halting the action. King allowed three earned runs on four hits and six walks while striking out seven batters.
 
Game 1
The Pioneers scratched out their only runs of the first game with a pair of unearned tallies in the bottom of the second inning. Paige Swantek and Maria Palmeri picked up the RBI in the frame.
 
In the top of the fifth inning, Chamoff led off with a single and moved to second base on a groundout. After Gelardi walked, Couturier ripped a two-out double down the right field line to plate Chamoff and move Gelardi to third. The shortstop came home on an LIU Post error to knot the game at 2-2.
 
Chamoff sparked the offense again in the top of the seventh inning with a leadoff single. After Dianno dropped down a successful sacrifice bunt, Gelardi knocked in the go-ahead run with an RBI base-hit to right center. The rally continued with two outs as Couturier singled and Spivey doubled into the gap in left centerfield to extend New Haven’s lead. Francisco capped the run with a two-RBI single, and Stonesifer struck out the side in the bottom of the frame to complete the 6-2 victory.
 
Liz Weber (8-5) took the loss for the Pioneers in a complete-game effort. She allowed five earned runs on nine hits and three walks while accumulating five strikeouts.
 
Game 2
The Chargers struck first in game two, as Gelardi led off the night cap with a single. After a Chamoff groundout, Couturier singled and took second on unsuccessful attempt to nab Gelardi taking third. With two runners in scoring position, Spivey dropped down a squeeze bunt and reached safely as Gelardi came home with the game’s first run.
 
Once again, a fielding miscue accounted for the LIU Post offense as a two-out UNH error allowed two runs to cross the plate in the bottom of the frame, giving the home team a 2-1 advantage. The Pioneers extended the margin to 5-1 in the bottom of the third on a three-run home run by Aly Dzierzynski.
 
New Haven responded with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Gelardi was hit by a pitch and Chamoff legged out a bunt single to start the offense, and both moved over on a Couturier groundout. Spivey then brought both runners around to score on a single and took second on the throw. Pinch runner Sadie Redman (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) followed with a steal of third and crossed the plate on a Francisco double to cut the deficit to one run at 5-4.
 
The Chargers pulled ahead and then pulled away with six runs in the top of the sixth inning. After Gelardi walked and Chamoff reached on an error, Couturier singled to score the tying run. Spivey was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and, after a pitching change, Tricinelli belted a grand slam to put New Haven on top, 9-5. The Blue and Gold kept rolling in the frame, as a Francisco walk and back-to-back singles from Brooke Fisher (Erial, N.J./Camden Catholic) and Brittany Scott (Buena, N.J./Buena Regional) extended the lead further to 10-5.
 
After King posted a zero in the bottom of the sixth inning, the game was called in the interest of player safety due to darkness.
 
The Chargers return to action this weekend with a pair of Northeast-10 cross-division doubleheaders at Merrimack and Massachusetts Lowell. First pitch on Saturday in North Andover and Sunday in Lowell in scheduled for noon.