GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The University of New Haven softball team (25-21) saw its season come to a close on Thursday afternoon falling by a 6-2 score to the Southwest division's second seed Southern New Hampshire University in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. Leading the Chargers in their season finale was freshman Jovanna Hillman (Seymour, Conn./Saint Joseph's) who was one of two players with a pair of hits, with both of hers going for two bases, while she drove in a run.
Hillman was joined by junior Sierra Whitlock (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) in leading the team with a pair of hits, while the Chargers combined for seven total in the game. The remaining three hits came from seniors Marisa Colby, Kristine Liptack (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) and Tori Schiebe (Monroe, Conn./Masuk), the latter of which driving in one of the Chargers two runs.
In the circle, the Chargers two sophomore hurlers split time with Megan Butts (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) suffering the loss, giving up two runs, one of which was earned, on six hits in 2.2 innings of work. Kylie Stonebraker (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis High School) pitched the final 3.1 innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits. Combined the pair also struck out three batters.
The Chargers struck early for the second straight game platting a single run in the top of the first inning. Colby started out the offense with a one-out single back up the middle just out of the reach of the pitchers outstretched glove. Following a deep fly to right for the second out, the clean-up batter, Hillman, came up clutch with a double off the base of the wall in right centerfield that allowed Colby to wheel home, scoring from first base.
The Penmen managed a single run in the second inning to tie the game at one. Sarah Lavallee opened up the inning with a triple that hit off the top of the wall in straight-away centerfield. Butts settled in after that early base knock and struck out the next batter and forced the third in the inning into a groundout at short. With two outs recorded, Jordan Wade came through with a hard hit ball that deflected off the pitcher and second baseman for an infield RBI single.
Southern New Hampshire pushed one more across in the bottom of the third to take a 2-1 lead, however a great defensive effort from Whitlock in centerfield that limited the Penmen to just one run. Whitlock erased a potential scoring run when she fired home a single to center using a relay through the short stop, Taylor Luzzi (Fishkill, N.Y./John Jay), to cut down the runner trying to score from second. Lavalle picked up the RBI for the Penmen with her second hit of the day, a single to deep right centerfield.
The Penmen added two more runs in the fifth inning to extend their advantage to 4-1. The first of those came on a deep shot to right center field with the ball getting away from the converging fielders allowing the batter to score. With two outs in the books, Maddy Barone singled to right center with runners on second and third earning the RBI.
New Haven responded by manufacturing a single run in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit down to two runs. Liptack began the rally for New Haven with a one-out single. Hillman followed that up with a double to right center which left runners on second and third where Schiebe beat out an infield single diving head first into first base for the hit which allowed the pinch runner Samantha Errera (Sweetwater, N.J./Cedar Creek) to score from third. Southern New Hampshire responded with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth putting the game out of reach for New Haven.
