WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Junior second baseman Nahtali Simpson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) drilled a two-run blast to left center as part of a four-run fourth inning as the New Haven softball team defeated Saint Rose Tuesday afternoon, advancing to the Northeast-10 Southwest Division Semifinal round. The 7-1 victory over Saint Rose keeps New Haven undefeated against their divisional rival in five match-ups this season.
With the victory, New Haven, the No. 2 seed in the Southwest Division, will host American International in the divisional semifinal round which is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. First pitch between the Chargers and Yellow Jackets is slated for 3:00 p.m. at the New Haven Softball Field.
Overall, New Haven finished with nine hits and had the advantage of four walks at the plate with junior shortstop Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y/West Genessee) leading the Blue and Gold going 3-of-4 with an RBI. Simpson led the team with a pair of RBI, while the six remaining hits all came from difference players. In addition to Case and Simpson, senior Jovanna Hillman (Seymour, Conn./Saint Joseph) and freshmen Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H./Sunapee) and Ashley Veisz (Robbinsville,N.J./Robbinsville) knocked in runs.
The Golden Knights opened up the scoring in the top of the first inning as they plated their lone run courtesy of a fielding miscue by the Chargers. That lead would hold for Saint Rose until the Chargers knotted the score with a single run in the second, starting a string of three-straight innings with at least one run.
The second inning run for New Haven came thanks to a two-out rally with the rookie third baseman Veisz providing the muscle as she drove in senior Mel Bike from first base after she reached on a fielder's choice which accounted for the second out in the inning.
New Haven would take the lead for good with two runs in the third inning, the first of which came on a bases loaded walk issued to Hillman. That free pass drove in junior pitcher Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) who led off the inning with a single to left field. A walk to Simpson and a single to right center from freshman catcher Morgan Fisher (Erial, N.J./Paul VI) loaded the bases for Hillman. Following that walk, the Chargers freshman left fielder Frederick knocked in the next run when she sacrificed herself on a ball at the warning track in left as Simpson was tagging up on the play.
After the Golden Knights got out of the inning, the visitors opened up the fourth with the first three batters reaching safely. Fitzmaurice would work out of the trouble with a strikeout registering the first out before forcing the next two batters into fielder's choice groundouts.
With the momentum on their side, New Haven broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the fourth sending seven batters to the plate. The first three batters for New Haven all reached safely with Bike leading off the game with a single through the left side. Veisz followed that up by attempting to sacrifice herself but the throw to first was mishandled allowing her to reach safely and Bike to advance to third.
With runners on the corners, Case dribbled a single down the third base line that allowed Bike to score easily and Veisz to advance to third. The pair would both advance on a routine groundout that accounted for the first out of the inning. It was then some heads-up base running by Veisz that scored the next run as a wild pitch looked to be harmless until the catcher threw the ball back to the plate where no one was covering which allowed Veisz to sprint home. Just two pitches later, Simpson drilled her second home run over the fence in left center for the two-run blast.
Fitzmaurice was locked in from that point on in the circle, retiring the next six batters she faced in order before an error allowed the leadoff batter in the seventh to reach safely. After forcing a groundout on the next batter, the junior pitcher got the eight-hole hitter for Saint Rose to line right back at her as she fired the ball to first for the game-ending double play.
