WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The top two batters in the order for the Blue and Gold, juniors Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y/West Genessee) and Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) both took the Setters yard on Saturday, helping lead the New Haven softball team to a 3-0 and 7-5 doubleheader sweep of the Pace Setters. With the victory, the Chargers improve to 23-5 overall and 18-4 in the Northeast-10.
Overall for the day, senior first baseman Melissa Bike (Stratford, Conn./Saint Joseph) led New Haven at the plate, one of two players to finished 3-of-6 while she also drove in a pair of runs. Matching her efforts at the plate was freshman left fielder Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H./Sunapee) who included a double as one of her trio of hits. Fitzmaurice also matched Bike and Frederick with three hits while she also matched bike with a pair of RBI, while her hits came on eight trips to the plate.
Overall, New Haven scattered 17 hits across the doubleheader with nine different players getting in on the action. Also combining for a multi-hit afternoon was junior Nahtali Simpson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) and freshman Morgan Fisher (Erial, N.J./Paul VI), with the rookie catcher also driving in two runs. Case and freshman Ashley Veisz (Robbinsville,N.J./Robbinsville) completed those who drove in runs with one apiece.
In the circle, Fitzmaurice picked up a pair of decisions, earning the victory in a complete game shutout in the opener and throwing two scoreless innings to earn the save in game two. Overall for the day, Fitzmaurice allowed six hits and struck out seven batters in nine innings of work. Earning the victory in game two was junior Mia Iodice (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth Regional) who struck out five batters in five innings of work while giving up four earned runs.
GAME 1: New Haven 3, Pace 0
Fitzmaurice stranded six Pace runners on base in the opening game, including a pair who went back-to-back with two-out singles in the top of the first inning. The Chargers responded in their half of the first by loading the bases with two outs before the Setters were able to get out of the jam.
The first run of the day for the Chargers came on Fitzmaurice solo blast that led off the third inning as she sailed her team-leading fifth home run over the fence in left. The remaining two runs for New Haven came in the fourth and sixth innings with both of those rallies starting out with the leadoff batter reaching base.
In the fourth inning, it was the rookie Frederick that starting things off when she reached on a double over the head of the centerfielder. Two batters later she was able to score on another ball to center field, this one a single off the bat of Bike. In the sixth inning it was the rookie corner infielder Veisz that earned the RBI when she was hit by a pitch, plating the pinch runner Stephanie Smith (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Catholic) who entered after senior Jovanna Hillman (Seymour, Conn./Saint Joseph) was hit by a pitch.
Fitzmaurice wasn't going to give the Setters any hope down the stretch as she retired the final six batters she faced in order, including opening up the top of the seventh inning with back-to-back strikeouts before a groundout ended the game.
GAME 2: New Haven 7, Pace 5
Both teams would go scoreless through the first two-and-a-half innings before the Chargers broke through with a single run in the third, all on a two-out rally. After the first two outs has been registered, Veisz starting out the scoring rally with a double to left field. After a walk was issued to the leadoff batter Case, Veisz was able to score on an infield single off the bat of Fitzmaurice.
The Setters managed to tie the score in the top of the fourth, but New Haven didn't led the stalemate last long this time around, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. With one out in the books, the Chargers rattled off four straight hits. The first was a double from Hillman followed by a single from Frederick with the third hit driving in the first run, a single from Bike that drove in the pinch runner Hailey Polisano (Howell, N.J./Howell). Freshman Hailey Laforte (Milford, Conn./Foran) followed that up with another two-base hit in the inning, this one driving in both Frederick and Bike who used a double steal to put both runners in scoring position.
Pace used a rally of their own in the fifth inning to take their first lead of the day at 5-4 courtesy of a single swing of the bat from Kaylani Miller that cleared the bases and provided the one-run cushion.
New Haven didn't let that lead last long, taking advantage of two errors in the bottom of the fifth that allowed two runs to score. The first of those was Simpson who originally reached on a one-out single to left. She was able to score on an error by the first baseman. A few batters later it was the designated player in Fisher that scored on an error at second base as she crossed the plate as the eventual game-winning run.
The Chargers would muster one more run in the top of the sixth as Case came to the plate with one out and drilled her second home run of the season to centerfield, adding an insurance run. Fitzmaurice, who entered at the top of the sixth inning gave up two hits in her first inning of work but managed a line drive and groundout, both to shortstop, to get out of that trouble. In the seventh, the Setters did manage to get one runner on courtesy of a Charger error, but the junior pitcher forced the final out on a groundout to second to close out her second decision of the day.
NEXT UP
New Haven and Pace will cap off the regular season on Sunday afternoon when the two meet for another doubleheader at the UNH Softball Field. First pitch in the opening game is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. with all of the action available on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW.
