PHOTO GALLERY

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman right fielder Hailey Laforte (Milford, Conn./Foran) had herself a day in the opening round of the NCAA East Region Championship, smacking her first collegiate home run off the right field foul pole while holding onto the final out in the seventh to guarantee her squad the victory. The Chargers advance and will now face the top seeded Georgian Court Lions, the CACC Champion who enters with an overall record of 35-4.

Laforte's home run was her only hit of the day as the Blue and Gold scattered nine hits across the seven inning victory, with a pair of Chargers ending the day with multiple hits; senior catcher Jovanna Hillman (Seymour, Conn./Saint Joseph) and junior second baseman Nahtali Simpson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange). Both Simpson and Hillman also drove in a single run on the day, joining Laforte in accounting for the three New Haven tallies.

In the circle, junior Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) earned the complete-game victory as she surrendered the single earned run on five hits and a walk. She also struck out a pair of batters, and stranded five Molloy runners on base. The victory is the 21 of the season for Fitzmaurice who is now tied for fourth most in a single season at New Haven.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Neither team would plate a run through the first 12 outs despite the Chargers stranding three runners aboard and the Molloy leaving one aboard, partly courtesy to a great live drive double play back to the pitcher Fitzmaurice.

New Haven would break through in the top of the third using a trip of singles, the latter of which scored Fitzmaurice from second on the blooper to shallow left field off the bat of Hillman. The left fielder looked to have a read on the ball but came up inches short on her attempt as Fitzmaurice was running full speed from second with two outs in the frame.

Molloy didn't let that early lead last long, knotting the score at one in the bottom of the third utilizing back-to-back singles with a stolen base in between putting the first runner in scoring position.

The Blue and Gold answered back quickly, regaining their advantage with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth despite a great defensive play by the lions ending a bases loaded, one out threat for the Chargers. The go-ahead and eventual game-winning run for the Chargers came on what looked to be a high fly ball drifting foul off the bat of Laforte. However, the rookie right fielder found a new friend in the form of the foul pole as the ball dropped in and bounced off the right side of the pole for her first collegiate home run and her 10th RBI of the season.

That home run began a rally for the Chargers as following a groundout to third, the next four batters all reached safely on back-to-back walks, an error at third and a single to left by Simpson which drove in the insurance run, plating Veisz who was the beneficiary of one of those walks.

New Haven's defense fed off of the offense in the top of the inning by retiring the Lions in order in the bottom of the fourth on a line drive, strikeout and a groundout to third. After stranding two more on base in the top of the fifth, the Chargers defense again held strong after a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth was erased on a sacrifice bunt before a base running mistake by the Lions cost them extending the frame.

Fitzmaurice would stand another Molloy runner in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth inning and would surrender a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh but no runner would reach more than first base in the final half inning. After an infield popup and a fielder's choice put the Lions on their heels with only their final out remaining, a pinch hit fly ball to right centerfield was converged on by Laforte and centerfielder Cayley Gottschall (Tampa, Fla./Sunlake) with Laforte corralling the catcher and squeezing the out as she was knocked to the ground but kept the glove in the air.

UP NEXT

New Haven advances in the winner's bracket of the East Regional Championship where they will now face the CACC Champion Georgian Court Lions on Thursday morning with first pitch again slated for 11:00 a.m. The winner of that game would remain in the winner's bracket and not play again until Friday, while the loser would fall to an afternoon elimination game at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.