GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: May 1-2, 2021
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LOCATION: New Haven Softball Field
West Haven, Conn. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS
SATURDAY LIVE VIDEO: GAME 1Â |Â GAME 2
SUNDAY LIVE VIDEO: GAME 1Â |Â GAME 2
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THE LEAD
The New Haven softball team will close out its regular season slate with a pair of weekend doubleheaders against the Pace Setters at the New Haven Softball Field. The series will consist of a doubleheader on Saturday, May 1 and a doubleheader on Sunday, May 2 with first pitch on both days scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
New Haven enters the final weekend of play tied with the Adelphi Panthers in the loss column, however if both squads were to remain tied in the NE10 Southwest Division standings, the Panthers own the tiebreaker against New Haven slotting them first in the division in the upcoming NE10 Championship. The Chargers do enter the weekend series with Pace as winners in 15 of their last 16 games, looking to build on that momentum heading into the postseason.
UPDATED SPECTATOR POLICY
With the support of the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents, the University of New Haven updated its Spring 2021 Spectator Policy in attempts to allow parents of our athletes to attend contests this spring. The new policy (as of April 9) states that University of New Haven students, faculty and staff may attend by showing cleared status in CoVerified. In addition, each participating University of New Haven student-athlete is allowed two (2) off-campus guests per contest, provided that prior to arrival, off-campus guests must provide proof of full vaccination or submit a negative CoVID-19 test result from within 72 hours of the start of the contest. Full vaccination is defined as two week post receiving a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
SERIES HISTORY VS PACE
Following a New Haven sweep of the three-game series during the 2019 campaign, the New Haven softball team owns a 32-21 (.604) overall record against the Setters. The series, which dates back to the 1987 campaign, has been back and forth as of late with the Setters sweeping the three-game set during the 2018 campaign. In the most recent meetings in 2019, New Haven outscored Pace 13-4 to earn the sweep with the final two games of that series coming at the Pace Softball Field in Pleasantville, N.Y.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Winners in 15 of its last 16 games, the New Haven softball team stands among those teams under consideration for the 2021 NCAA East Region Championship as announced by the NCAA on Wednesday. Overall for the season, The Chargers hold a 21-5 record, including a 16-4 mark in the NE10, which is currently second in the divisional standings, however tied with Adelphi in the loss column. Leading the Blue and Gold into the weekend is junior Nahtali Simpson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) who helped led the Chargers to a sweep of AIC on Wednesday afternoon, going 6-of-7 at the plate with three RBI. For the season, Simpson stands second on the team with a .366 batting average with 30 hits and a team-best 19 RBI. Among her 30 hits are 13 for extra bases, a team-high 10 doubles, two triples and a single home run. Leading the Chargers at the plate is junior Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) who has a .370 average, tied with Simpson for a team-high 30 hits, while driving in 12 runs. Fitzmaurice also leads the team with four home runs. The junior from Greenville, N.Y. also leads New Haven in the circle where she sports a 0.92 earned run average, a 15-1 overall record with four saves, having thrown 114.1 innings and striking out 64 batters.
SCOUTING THE SETTERS
Pace enters the weekend following a mid-week sweep of Southern Connecticut State which pushed their overall record to 9-15 and the NE10 Southwest Division tally to 9-11. The sweep of SCSU evened their season series against the Owls after dropping the first two games to SCSU earlier this month. Heading into the final weekend, Pace stands among a group of three teams (SCSU and Le Moyne) who can finish anywhere from third to fifth in the divisional standings. For the season, the Setters are led by rookie shortstop Kaylani Miller who sports a .371 batting average, scattering team-high 23 hits across 62 at bats while driving in 18 runs. Among her 23 hits are 11 extra base knocks, four doubles, five triples and a pair of home runs. In the circle, look for senior Mackenzie Garrick to start over the weekend. Garrick has made 14 appearances with 11 starts on the year and holds a 5-5 overall record. In 70.2 innings of work, she sports a 3.47 earned run average while striking out 19 batters.
CHARGERS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR NCAA POSTSEASON BERTH
With their overall record at 21-5, the New Haven softball team was one of eight teams listed as under consideration for the six spots in the upcoming NCAA East Region Championship which will be hosted by Saint Anselm May 19-22. Overall, New Haven is one of four teams from the NE10 listed in the second week release which does not officially rank the eight teams. The week three release, which is slated for Wednesday, May 5 will rank the teams with that release the final before the NCAA Selection show which is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 10.
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.
A BAKERS DOZEN
Prior to a loss against SCSU in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, April 24, the Chargers had rattled off 13 straight victories dating back to the first week of April. Much of the success in that series can be accredited to junior Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) who during that stretch was a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball. At the plate, the Greenville, N.Y. native smacked 19 hits and drove in 10 runs as part of a .442 batting average. Among her 19 hits were five home runs while she was also a perfect 4-of-4 on the base paths. In the circle, Fitzmaurice threw 65.0 innings allowing just six runs, four earned, for an impressive 0.43 earned run average. Through 12 appearances, she racked up a 9-0 record with four shutouts and added three saves to her tally. She also struck out 30 batters in that stretch.
REACHING MILESTONES
Fifteenth year head coach Jen Starek has set a pair of milestones during the Chargers 2021 campaign. The first came in the midst of the Chargers 13-game win streak when she picked up her 400th career victory at the helm of the Blue and Gold. Heading into the season, Starek needed 10 wins to reach that number and she did just that in the midst of the Chargers first four-game season sweep on the road at Le Moyne. Her second milestone came on April 22 when the Chargers shutout American International, giving Starek her 450th career victory across all three of her head coaching positions.
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 will close out divisional play this weekend with a four-game set against the Pace Setters on the docket for Friday and Saturday afternoon. The opening game of the series is scheduled for Friday, April 30 with first pitch at the New Haven softball field scheduled for 3:00 p.m. All of the action from West Haven can be seen live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW.
