WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Freshman Katrina Aponte (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) went yard for the first time in her career at New Haven, breaking a 1-1 stalemate as the University of New Haven softball team went on to take game two over the Adelphi Panthers, splitting its midweek doubleheader against the NE10 Southwest Division rival.

Overall, Aponte was one of two Chargers to finish with a pair of RBI on the day as senior third baseman Erin Stever (Parish, N.Y./Altmar Parish Williamstown) knocked in a pair on a double that hit off the base of the wall in center field, providing a pair of insurance runs as New Haven took a 5-2 victory in the second game.

Four different players combined to finish with two hits over the doubleheader with senior Marisa Colby and freshman Jovanna Hillman (Seymour, Conn./Saint Joseph's) each closing out one of the two games with a team-best two base knocks. Colby did so in the opening game to lead New Haven as they dropped a 6-2 decision. Rounding out the leaders at the plate was senior first baseman Kristine Liptack (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) and junior short stop Taylor Luzzi (Fishkill, N.Y./John Jay). The pair also drove in one run a piece, while junior second baseman Madison Derosia (Brattleboro, Vt./Brattleboro Union) added an RBI with her single hit on the day coming as her third homerun of the season.

In the circle, sophomores Kylie Stonebraker (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis High School) and Megan Butts (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) each pitched a complete game for the Blue and Gold with Stonebraker earning the victory in game two, her team-leading ninth of the season. Over seven innings in the second game, Stonebraker gave up two runs, one earned, on a pair of hits and struck out five batters. Butts surrendered six runs, four of which were earned, on eight hits and struck out three.

GAME 1: Adelphi 6, New Haven 2

Adelphi opened up the scoring with single runs in their first two innings at the plate. The single run in the first inning came with two outs and courtesy of just one swing of the bat as Brenna Martini sent her first of two home runs over the fence in left center. An error in the top of the second contributed to Adelphi's second run of the game, while New Haven cut that Panthers advantage in half with its first run in the bottom of the fifth.

The opening run for the Chargers came with two outs in the fifth and came with some assistance on the base paths from Luzzi as she stole second after reaching on a fielder's choice to get herself in scoring position. That allowed Liptack to drive her in with a single through the left side.

After Martini added three insurance runs on her second home run of the day as part of a four run seventh inning for the Panthers, the Chargers looked to begin a rally in their final at bats. The spark for that late rally came courtesy of a leadoff home run from Derosia, her third of the season, two of which have come at the New Haven softball field. Colby followed that up with a one out single up the middle, but the Panthers would close out the game with a groundout and a strikeout to secure the victory.

GAME 2: New Haven 5, Adelphi 2

In the second game, New Haven would be the first to push a run across, breaking a scoreless draw in the bottom of the third. Luzzi would provide the RBI infield single that score the game first tally, with that hit allowing Sierra Whitlock (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) to score from third after originally reaching courtesy of an Adelphi error.

The Panthers would get that run back in the top of the fourth inning before a single swing of the bat in the Chargers half of the fourth took the lead back for New Haven as Aponte drilled her first collegiate home run down the left field line driving in Hillman who opened up the inning with a single up the middle.

The Chargers added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth with Stever's double to center driving in both runs. Overall, the first five batters all reached safely, with a leadoff single followed by three-straight fielder's choice plays before Stever's double drove in Vanessa Strohm (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) and Marissa Colby (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill).

In the circle, Stonebraker opened up the game recording four of the first five outs by way of a strikeout as she stranded four Adelphi runners on base in the first three innings. Overall, Stonebraker and the Chargers stranded 11 Adelphi runners on base in the game including leaving the bases loaded in the seventh inning after forcing the final two outs on fly ball foul outs to first base.

UP NEXT
New Haven will play its next six games on the road, beginning with a make-up date against Southern Connecticut after a rainout earlier in the month. The next appearance on the diamond for the Blue and Gold comes on Friday afternoon when they play a single game against the Owls at Pelz field, the first of four games over a three-day stretch. Opening pitch against SCSU is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.