WEST HAVEN, Conn. - The University of New Haven softball team advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship game with a 5-1 victory over Saint Anselm College in the semifinal game Saturday afternoon at the UNH Softball Field. The Chargers advance to their second-straight title game and will face Southern New Hampshire University for the conference crown on Sunday, May 3 at 11 a.m.

With the win, the Chargers improve to 29-15 on the season, while the Hawks drop to 27-14.
 
UNH provided enough offensive for Victoria Cabral (New Britain, Conn./Miss Porter's School / Hofstra University) (14-8) who went the distance, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Lindsey Couturier (Dighton, Mass./Dighton Rehoboth Regional) went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Jess Spivey (Holland, Pa./Council Rock) collected two hits, one RBI and one run. Brooke Fisher (Erial, N.J./Camden Catholic) was 1-for-1 at the plate with a RBI, a run scored and two walks, while Gabby DeLeo (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Hubert Catholic) chipped in with two hits, a RBI and a run scored.
 
Both New Haven and Saint Anselm went scoreless through the first, before the Chargers got on the board in the second. Fisher drew a leadoff walk and Cabral reached on a fielding error. Jen Palase (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) put down a sacrifice to advance the runners, while DeLeo followed with a 1-0 pitch which she sent into left, scoring Fisher.
 
The Blue and Gold went ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning as Spivey hit a one-out double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Fisher knocked Spivey in on a single through the left side.
 
The turning point in the game came in the top of the forth. The Hawks hit a trio of one-out singles to load the bases. Cabral induced a comeback groundball and recorded the force-out at home. Couturier then fielded a slow roller and dove on third base as UNH escaped in inning still in control.
 
The Chargers situational hitting took over in the fourth inning. DeLeo led off with a single up the middle and Julie Devlin (Baldwin, N.Y./Northwood School) was hit by a pitch. Couturier then blasted a two-out, two RBI double to left center and Spivey followed up a double, scoring Couturier and increasing the Chargers lead to 5-0.
 
The Hawks were able to scrape out a run in the top of the fifth inning off one hit and back-to-back stolen bases, but Cabral kept the Hawks in check for the remainder of the game.
 
First pitch of the championship game is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the UNH Softball Field in West Haven, Conn. All the action can be seen live on Northeast10.tv.