WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven softball team scored five times in its final three offensive innings as the Chargers defeated the Saint Rose Golden Knights 5-1 in a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division contest on Friday afternoon at the UNH Softball Field.

With the win, New Haven is now 15-15-2 overall, is 10-8 in the NE-10 and 8-8 in the Southwest Division. Saint Rose falls to 13-20 overall with a 6-11 conference record and is 5-11 in divisional play. 

The Chargers broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning as Jen Palase (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) doubled into left-centerfield before moving to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kristine Liptack (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull). Gilly Childs (Los Angeles, Calif./Notre Dame Academy) came up next and rifled a ball up the middle to plate Palase for a 1-0 lead.

In the fifth, Tori Schiebe (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) singled with one out. Victoria Cabral (New Britain, Conn./Miss Porter's School / Hofstra) followed with a double into right-centerfield, scoring Schiebe, to extend the advantage to 2-0. Erika Williams (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida) then singled into center where the ball was bobbled by the fielder, allowing Cabral to score, making it 3-0 New Haven.

The Golden Knights scored a run in the top of the sixth inning, but the Chargers put the game away in the bottom of the frame. Childs led off the inning being hit by a pitch. Erin Stever (Parish, N.Y./Altmar Parish Williamstown) came in to pinch-run and moved to second on a flyout by Julie Devlin (Baldwin, N.Y./Northwood School). Courtney Reed (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) stepped in to pinch-hit and laced a triple down the rightfield line, plating Stever for a 4-1 lead. Gabby DeLeo (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Hubert Catholic) drove home Reed with a groundout to cap the scoring.

Nicole King (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) (8-7) was magnificent in the circle, going the distance, striking out 12.

The two teams complete the series with a doubleheader Saturday, April 25 at noon at the UNH Softball Field. Prior to the game, New Haven will honor their four seniors as Childs, Reed, Williams and Jess Spivey (Holland, Pa./Council Rock) will be recognized in a pregame ceremony.