GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: April 24, 2021 LOCATION: Pelz Field New Haven, Conn. GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS Live Video: GAME ONE  |  GAME TWO

NEWS NEWS ROSTER ROSTER SCHEDULE SCHEDULE STATS STATS

THE LEAD
The New Haven softball team will play its final regular season road contests when they next take the diamond, closing out its four-game NE10 Southwest Division against crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State on Saturday with a doubleheader at Pelz Field. First pitch of the double dip is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.

The Chargers are riding a 12-game win streak into the weekend series against the Owls, having swept each of their last six doubleheaders, which included a pair of four-game sets against Le Moyne and Saint Rose. The streak began with New Haven defeating Southern Connecticut on both ends of a doubleheader on April 7 with the conclusion of that series this weekend.

SERIES HISTORY VS SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT
Following the doubleheader sweep earlier this season, New Haven holds an all-time 66-36-2 (.637) mark against the Owls in 104 previous meetings, the most among all opponents in the history of the program. The series, which dates back to the first season records are available, 1980, has fallen in favor of the Chargers of late as the Blue and Gold have won the last nine straight games. The most recent owls Victory came in the first of three meetings during the 2018 campaign with that SCSU win coming at the New Haven Softball Field.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
New Haven enters Saturday riding a 12-game win streak that dates back to an April 7 sweep of SCSU. Included in that streak are back-to-back four-game divisional sweeps of Le Moyne and Saint Rose as the Blue and Gold hold a 13-3 record in Southwest Division play which currently has them at the top of the standings heading into the final week of the regular season. Leading the Chargers on the season is junior Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) who has shined on both sides of the ball. At the plate, the Greenville, N.Y. native is batting .368 with 25 hits, nine of which have gone for extra bases, and 12 RBI. Following her is junior infielder Nahtali Simpson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) who leads the team with 16 RBI and has scattered 23 hits for a .329 average. In the circle, Fitzmaurice is the reigning NE10 Pitcher of the Week while for the season she has an impressive 0.99 earned run average with a 12-1 overall record and four saves. She has also struck out 49 batters while limiting opponents to a .202 batting average.

SCOUTING THE OWLS
Southern Connecticut took three out of four against American International in its last series as they enter Saturday with a 12-8 overall record and a 9-7 mark in the NE10 Southwest Division which has them standing third in the divisional standings. For the season, the Owls are led by sophomore catcher Jacqueline Dumont who sports a .413 batting average with 26 hits and 19 RBI. Following her at the plate is graduate student infielder Sara Buscetto who has 23 hits while graduate student outfielder Cailey Botteon rounds out the leaders with 20 hits. In the circle, sophomore Jessica Perucki and senior Jazmyn Martinez have split the work, each starting 10 games. Of the duo, Perucki leads the way with a 2.81 earned run average while Martinez is just barely behind her with a 2.89 ERA. Combined the pair also has 105 strikeouts to their credit.

FITZMAURICE EARNS FIRST HONORS OF THE SEASON
Junior pitcher Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) completed quite an impressive eight-game stretch last week with a 0.57 ERA in 36.2 innings of work and hit .423 with 11 hits, three home runs and three RBI, all leading to being named the Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Week on Monday, April 19. In the circle, Fitzmaurice appeared in seven of the Chargers eight wins last week, making four starts. She went 5-0 with a pair of saves in that stretch, while striking out 17 batters and stranding 39 runners on base. This marks the second time Fitzmaurice has been named NE10 Pitcher of the week, the first coming on March 25, 2019 during her rookie campaign.

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. NE10 Championship Softball Bracket (PDF)
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)

THE 2021 SCHEDULE
As 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 returns home to close out its regular season schedule when they host the Pace Setters for a two-day four-game Southwest Division series scheduled for Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. with all of the action carried live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW and live stats available through NewHavenChargers.com.