GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: May 4, 2021 LOCATION: UNH Softball Field West Haven, Conn. GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS  |  LIVE VIDEO

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THE LEAD
The New Haven softball team begins its quest for a Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Tuesday afternoon when they welcome the College of Saint Rose Golden Knights for a single-elimination game in the Southwest Division Quarterfinals. First pitch from the New Haven softball field is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. with the winner advancing to the divisional semifinals which will also be a single-elimination game scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The Chargers enter the postseason winners of six straight and 19 of its last 20 games, earning a share of the NE10 Southwest Division Regular Season title with a record of 20-4 in conference play. New Haven and Saint Rose will meet for the fifth time on Tuesday afternoon with the Chargers sweeping the regular season series which was also held in West Haven. In those four games, the Blue and Gold outscored the Golden Knights 17-3.

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 SAINT ROSE
Following the four-game regular season sweep by New Haven, the two schools have now met 34 times with the Chargers holding a 25-9 all-time advantage. They did not play in 2020 due to Covid-19. Prior to this year's UNH sweep, the last six meetings produced each team winning three times. UNH won two of three in 2019, while Saint Rose won the 2018 series by the same result.  

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Winners in 19 of its last 20 games, the New Haven softball is one of the hottest teams coming down the stretch and is one of six teams among those teams under consideration for the 2021 NCAA East Region Championship as announced by the NCAA. The Chargers closed out the regular season with a 25-5 record, winners of their last six games, a doubleheader sweep of AIC and a four-game sweep of Pace. Leading the Blue and Gold into the postseason is junior Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) who not only sports an impressive 15-1 record and a 0.85 earned run average in the circle, she also leads the team with a .389 batting average. Her team-high average comes on a team-best 37 hits while she has driven in 14 runs, third most on the team. Among her 37 hits are 13 that went for extra bases; seven doubles, a triple and five home runs. The Greenville, N.Y. native was named the NE10 Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season on Monday after closing out the regular season with a 5-0 record and a save over the final six games. Her 0.85 ERA comes on 132.1 innings pitched where she has allowed just 16 earned runs while racking up 76 strikeouts.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Saint Rose closed out the regular season winners in three of their final four games, all against Southern Connecticut State. Overall for the year, the Golden Knights collected a 6-18 record with all of those games coming in Northeast-10 Southwest Division play. For the season, Saint Rose is led by sophomore outfielder Ciana Phillips who will enter Tuesday's game with a .372 batting average, scattering 29 hits across 78 at bats and driving in five runs. Senior infielder Savanna Liverio-Tyler enters the postseason with a team-high 12 RBI while hitting .343 overall. In the circle, the Golden Knights have used five different pitchers with sophomore Sophia Schaubb leading the team with a 2.71 earned run average.

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 SECOND NE10 PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR
For the second time this season, junior pitcher Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) secured NE10 Pitcher of the Week accolades on Monday, May 3 after closing out a six-game week with a decision in every game, earning a 5-0 record and a save in the circle. The Greenville, N.Y. native threw 27.2 innings and allowed a single earned run for a 0.25 earned run average while striking out 20 batters, an average of just over five per seven innings. Fitzmaurice's first Pitcher of the Week honor of the season came back on April 19, while it is the third time in her career earning the distinction. Her first NE10 weekly honor came after an impressive eight-game stretch that ended with a 0.57 ERA in 36.2 innings of work with 17 strikeouts.

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.

UP NEXT
The winner of today's NE10 Southwest Division first round game will advance to the Southwest Division semifinal round where they will take on the winner of a first round match-up between third seed Southern Connecticut and sixth seed American International. The semifinal round is scheduled to be a single-elimination game on Thursday afternoon with the winner of that outing advancing to the divisional championship series over the weekend.