SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Four hits and two RBI from senior shortstop Taylor Luzzi (Fishkill, N.Y./John Jay) led the University of New Haven softball team (26-12) to a Friday afternoon split with the Le Moyne Dolphins opening a three-game NE10 Southwest Division series. The Chargers dropped the opening game 8-0 before rebounding to take game two by an 8-3 margin to manage the split with the deciding game in the series slated for a 10:00 a.m. start tomorrow at the Le Moyne Softball Complex.
The four hits from Luzzi in game two led New Haven at the plate for the day as she was joined by classmate Sierra Whitlock (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) who also finished with four hits, drilling three in game two and adding one in the opening game. Whitlock, freshman Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y/West Genessee) and sophomore Melissa Bike (Stratford, Conn./Saint Joseph) also drove in runs for New Haven in game two.
Sophomore Jovanna Hillman (Seymour, Conn./Saint Joseph) finished the day with a pair of hits, both of which came in the opening game where she finished 2-of-2 with singles through the right side and up the middle. Overall, New Haven scattered four extra base hits, all doubles, from four different players including Whitlock, Luzzi, Bike and senior Madison Derosia (Brattleboro, Vt./Brattleboro Union).
In the circle it would be the Chargers freshman that earned the decisions with Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) suffering the defeat in the opening game and Mia Iodice (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth Regional) earning the victory in game two. Iodice closed out her eighth victory of the season surrendering just one earned run among her three total allowed, which came on six hits and a pair of walks. She also struck out three batters in a complete-game outing.
GAME ONE: Le Moyne 8, New Haven 0
New Haven scattered just three hits across the five-inning game in the opener with Hillman's two singles leading the way. The only other hit came from the leadoff batter Whitlock as she hoped to start a two-out rally in the third inning with a single to left field. Hillman's first hit was a single through the right side that led off the second inning, however the Chargers were then retired in order, all on strikeouts. She also singled up the middle in the fourth inning, however her pinch runner, Nahtali Simpson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange), was ruled out for leaving early during the next at bat.
In the circle, Fitzmaurice suffered her second straight loss, surrendering seven earned runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings of work. Junior Megan Butts (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) came in to relieve Fitzmaurice and she was tagged with allowing the game-winning run which came on a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the fifth.
GAME TWO: New Haven 8, Le Moyne 3
Le Moyne would strike early for the second straight game, plating its first run of the game in the second inning on a one-out home run to left field. That score would stick until the fifth inning when New Haven broke through for the first time on the day with four runs to take their only lead of the afternoon.
Overall, the Chargers would bat completely through the lineup in the fifth inning, starting things off with a double down the left field line which sparked a rally of three-straight hits. Case followed Whitlock with a single up the middle that scored the first run of the inning while Luzzi followed with her second hit of the game through the left side that left runners at first and second.
The next two batters would work walks to keep the bases loaded, however prior to the second one a passed ball with the second one issued to freshman Rachel Crafts (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional), resulting in the second run while a wild pitch and error plated the final runs in the inning.
New Haven would keep the pressure on scoring one more run in the sixth and three more in the seventh to put the game out of Le Moyne's grasp. In the sixth inning it would be Luzzi's third hit of the game that plated the run as she followed up a leadoff single from Whitlock two batters later with a double to left field for her first RBI.
In the seventh, Derosia and Bike would go back-to-back with one-out two-baggers with Bike's driving in Derosia for the first run of the inning. After a walk was issued to left fielder Catherine Vaughan (Commack, N.Y./Hauppauge), Whitlock drilled her third-straight hit to centerfield which allowed Bike to score, while Vaughan was driven in by Luzzi on a two-out single through the left side.
Following a lead-off error in the bottom of the seventh inning, Iodice would end up surrendering a pair of unearned runs, however kept the Dolphins come-back bid short with her defense ending the game catching Le Moyne trying to steal a run getting the play at the plate as the runner tried to advance an extra base.
