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WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven softball team opened up its home slate with a pair of victories, sweeping the Post Eagles 8-0 and 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon at the UNH Softball Field.
In the opening game, the Chargers were led by senior shortstop Julie Devlin (Baldwin, N.Y./Northwood School) who went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI. In the nightcap, senior outfielder Jen Palase (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) led the bats, also finishing with three hits, with hers coming in four at bats. Overall for the day, Palase finished with five hits on the day.
A pair of seniors earned the victories in the circle with Nicole King (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) going the distance for her first shutout of the season in game one and Victoria Cabral (New Britain, Conn./Miss Porter's School / Hofstra) earning the complete game victory in game two. Both pitchers closed out their respective games in fashion with King retiring the last 10 batters she faced in order and Cabral sitting down the last nine she faced in order. King led the pair with six strikeouts, while Cabral struck out four
The Chargers got on the board early in game one, pushing a pair of runs across the dish. New Haven came out of the gate swinging as Palase, the leadoff batter, beat out an infield single to third only to be followed by a triple from rookie left fielder Sierra Whitlock (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge). The RBI for Whitlock was her fourth of the season. The very next batter Kristine Liptack (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) kept the rally going when she sacrificed herself on a fly ball to left field rewarding Whitlock's earlier work.
After trading scoreless innings over the next three, New Haven added three runs each in the fifth and sixth innings to close out the run shortened victory. In the fifth, the Chargers opened up the frame with three straight singles with Gabby DeLeo (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Hubert Catholic) and Devlin each dropping hits into left field and Palase beating out her second infield ground ball for a single. After the Eagles registered the first out of the inning, Liptack drove in the first run on a single to third, leaving runners on second and third for Tori Schiebe (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) who reached on an error at third. That miscue allowed Palase to score with an RBI credited to Schiebe and Whitlock to score on the over throw.
In the next frame, the Chargers again had the first three batters reach safely with Sierra Cardenales (Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) leading off the inning with a single to right. With Madison Derosia (Brattleboro, Vt./Brattleboro Union) pinch running, DeLeo walked to put a pair of runners on for Devlin who drilled a ball over the right fielder's head for a two RBI double, her third hit in as many at bats. Palase and Whitlock followed with groundouts that allowed Devlin to advance and score with Whitlock grabbing the RBI.
Devlin's perfect 3-of-3 performance at the plate led New Haven as she also drove in two runs and scored twice, with one of her three hits a double. Whitlock and Liptack each joined her with a pair of RBI as each finished with one hit. Palase joined Devlin as the only other batter to record multiple hits as she finished 2-4 at the plate while scoring twice. Overall, New Haven outhit the Eagles 10-2.
In the circle, King earned the victory with a complete game outing, giving up two hits and walking two batters as she registered her first shutout of the season. King would close out her day retiring 10 straight batters to earn the victory. She also struck out six.
New Haven again got on the board early in game two, this time pushing three runs across the plate in the opening frame. The Chargers opened up the game with the first four batters reaching safely. Palase led off the game with a single to third, the third time on the day she beat out an infield grounder. Whitlock followed that with a single and error with the miscue allowing Palase to score from first and Whitlock to advance to third.
Liptack stepped in with the runner at third and no outs, sending the first extra base hit of the game to right center allowing Whitlock to score and leaving another runner in scoring position. That led to a single to left from Taylor Luzzi (Fishkill, N.Y./John Jay) that left runners on the corners. A pair of fielder's choice plays followed with the latter from Marissa Colby (Carlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill) driving in Liptack for the third run.
After allowing the first runs of the day to the Eagles, the Blue and Gold responded with a single run in the bottom of the third inning to regain the lead at 4-3. Whitlock led off the frame working a walk, however a fielder's choice left Liptack on base for Whitlock. After entering Erin Stever (Parish, N.Y./Altmar Parish Williamstown) as a pinch runner, Luzzi drove a single to right field with the runners closing out the play at second and third on the throw to third. Colby would then register her second RBI of the game when her single to third base on a diving attempt allowed Stever to score.
That run would hold up as the game winning tally with Cabral retiring the last nine batters she faced in order to earn her sixth victory of the season. Cabral finished the complete game outing with three runs allowed, all earned on five hits and three walks, while striking out four.
At the plate, Palase led the bats going 3-for-4 with a run scored, part of 10 total hits for the Chargers. Luzzi added a pair of hits in three at bats to join Palase as the only other player with a multi-hit outing, while Colby drove in a game-high two runs, with Liptack also pushing one across.
New Haven returns to its home field on Saturday when they open up Northeast-10 action hosting the Southern New Hampshire Penmen for a double header. The first pitch in the opening game is slated for 12:00 p.m.
