THE LEAD
The New Haven softball team will ride a six-game winning streak into its NE10 weekend series against Southwest Division rival Saint Rose this weekend. The series will consist of a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18. First pitch will be thrown at 12:00 pm both days. Game two each day will follow the conclusion of the opening game by approximately 30 minutes. All the action from the UNH Softball Field will be broadcast live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW.Â
The Chargers (12-8, 7-3 NE10) enter the midweek series on the heels of an impressive four-game sweep of Le Moyne. The Blue and Gold won four closely contested games in Syracuse. UNH, which has won five of its six home games in 2021, plays 12 of its final 16 games on campus. The Chargers are tied for first in the loss column in the NE10 Southwest Division with Adelphi (13-5, 11-3), although the Panthers did win three of four earlier this season when the two teams met on Long Island.
Saint Rose (3-9, 3-9) enters the series having lost eight of their last nine games, although they did salvage the last game they played beating the same Le Moyne squad the Chargers just beat, 2-1 in the finale of their four-game set last weekend.
SERIES HISTORY VS SAINT ROSE
The two schools have met 30 times with the Chargers holding a 21-9 all-time advantage. They did not play in 2020 due to Covid-19. The last six meetings have produced each team winning three times. UNH won two of three in 2019, while Saint Rose won the 2018 series by the same result. The last time they met in 2019, the two teams split a doubleheader on March 30 (UNH won 2-1 in 8 innings, while Sant Rose won the opener 2-0). Three current juniors impacted the deciding game, a 5-4 Charger win on April 10, 2019. Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y/West Genessee) (Syracuse, NY/West Genesse) had an RBI single and Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) (Greenville, NY/Greenville) and Mia Iodice (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth Regional) (Rehobeth, Mass./Dighton-Rehobeth Regional) combined on the win in the circle. Iodice fanned five in 2.1 innings of relief to pick up the win. The teams first met in 2009 with UNH earning a sweep.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
UNH enters the four-game set against Saint Rose having won four close games against Le Moyne. They won two games by a 5-3 count, with the other two being 3-1 and 3-2 decisions. Fitzmaurice won three of the four games in the circle, made more impressive by the fact that Le Moyne leads the NE10 with a .309 batting average as a team. She is now 9-1 on the year pitching to a 1.36 ERA. In 67 innings pitched, she has struck out 36 and only walked eight. She also leads the team with a .353 batting average along with 18 hits and 3 home runs. She is second on the team with seven RBIs. Other key hitters include Case, who is second in batting average (.320) and hits (16), while first in runs scored (13). Senior Jovanna Hillman (Seymour, Conn./Saint Joseph) (Seymour, CT/St. Joseph) is also batting over .310 with 13 hits and three doubles.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Saint Rose is led offensively by Savanna Liverio-Tyler. She leads the team with a .378 batting average, 14 hits, and seven doubles. Ciana Phillips is also a tough out batting .325 with 13hits and five doubles. As a team, the Golden Knights are batting .240, placing them 11th in the NE10. A trio of pitchers have one win each, Kylee Warner, Margaret Kelly, and Samantha Allen. The team is pitching to a team ERA of 5.09 through 12 games.
POST SEASON PLANS
As announced by the conference office on April 1st, the NE10 has adopted a postseason plan that includes all 14 teams qualifying for the conference championship. The Championship will be conducted in divisional play until the championship series. With seven teams in each division, the top seeded team will receive a first-round bye with the highest seeds, 2-4, hosting first-round games on Tuesday, May 4. Semifinal match-ups will take place on Thursday, May 6 with a best of three divisional championship series set for Sunday, May 9 and if necessary, Monday, May 10. The NE10 Championship Series, another best two of three series, is scheduled for Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15.
Playoff Dates
Tuesday, May 4 - Southwest Division First Round
Thursday, May 6 - Southwest Division Semifinal
Sunday, May 9/Monday, May 10 - Southwest Division Championship Series (Best 2 of 3)
Friday, May 14/Saturday, May 15 - Northeast-10 Conference Championship Series (Best 2 of 3)
NE10 Championship Softball Bracket (PDF)
THE 2021 SCHEDULE
As recently announced by the league, the NE10 adopted a divisional format for 2021 – Northeast and Southwest – with all schools slated to play a 24-game conference schedule. Series will consist of four games on weekends in doubleheader format, while schools maintain the ability to extend the weekend series to three days or alter the days in which they play in accordance with academic calendars. New Haven will play in the Southwest Division which is made up of seven teams including Adelphi, American International, Le Moyne, Pace, Saint Rose and Southern Connecticut. In addition to its 24-game conference schedule, New Haven will play seven non-divisional dates, including one out of conference opponent, Molloy, bringing their total scheduled games for 2021 to 38.
CHARGERS SECOND IN PRESEASON POLL
In a poll of the conference's 14 head coaches, the UNH softball team was selected to finish second, among the seven teams, in the Southwest Division. The Chargers received 81 points and four of the 14 possible first place votes to finish just behind Adelphi who garnered 87 points and the remaining 10 first place votes. Rounding out the top-five was Pace (68 points), Le Moyne (53) and Saint Rose (36). Southern Connecticut came in at sixth with 32 points, while American International rounds out the division in seventh place with 28 points.
UP NEXT
New Haven will get a few days off before traveling to play at AIC in a doubleheader on Thursday, April 22. First pitch is slated for 3:00 pm in Springfield, Mass. with game two taking place approximately 30 minutes after game one ends. The doubleheader will be broadcast live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW. Live stats will also be available via NewHavenChargers.com.Â
Â
