GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Junior pitcher Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) threw a complete game without allowing an earned run to earn her fourth victory of the season as the New Haven softball team split a pair to Adelphi on its first road trip of the season Saturday afternoon.
At the plate, the Chargers were led by junior shortstop Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y/West Genessee) who scattered three hits across the doubleheader with the Panthers while she also drove in a run. Overall, New Haven's seven hits on the day came from six different players, while junior second baseman Nahtali Simpson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) led the squad with a pair of RBI.
GAME 1: Adelphi 9, New Haven 0
Despite a lead-off single from Case to open up the day at Ficke Field it was all Panthers in the opening game. Overall, New Haven finished with three hits in the opener and stranded three runners on base as Adelphi starter Ally Muller struck out eight batters on her way to the victory.
The remaining two hits for the Blue and Gold came back-to-back by Fitzmaurice and senior catcher Jovanna Hillman (Seymour, Conn./Saint Joseph) to lead off the fourth inning, but both runners were stranded in scoring position.
Adelphi opened up its scoring in the bottom of the first inning, plating five runs on four hits and never looked back. They would go on to add at least one run in each of the next three innings for the run-shortened victory
GAME 2: New Haven 7, Adelphi 2
It would be all Chargers in game two right from the start as the visiting team scored a pair of unearned runs in the first inning and never looked back. Both runs would come with two outs in the frame with designated player Megan Anderson driving in the first on a fielding error and senior first baseman Mel Bike grabbing the RBI on a single through the left side.
New Haven added five more runs, four in the third and one in the fourth, before conceding any to the Panthers. In the third inning Anderson would get the first RBI of the inning when she drove in freshman third baseman Ashley Veisz (Robbinsville,N.J./Robbinsville) on a double to center. Two batters later Simpson scored her second RBI of the game on a sacrifice bunt, while Case and Fitzmaurice each earned RBI's when they walked with the bases loaded.
The final UNH run came in the fourth inning with Anderson opening up the inning with her second double of the afternoon, this one in the gap in left center. Two batters later, Simpson struck again, another two-bagger for the Blue and Gold, this one down the left field line that drove in the pinch runner Stephanie Smith (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Catholic).
Adelphi would muster single runs in the bottom of the fifth and again in the sixth before Fitzmaurice put the game away retiring the Panthers in order in the seventh on three fly ball outs.
NEXT UP
New Haven will return to Garden City on Monday afternoon to conclude the four-game NE10 Southwest division series against the Panthers with first pitch in the double dip set for 2:00 p.m.
