GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: May 9-10, 2021
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LOCATION: Ficke Field
Garden City, N.Y. |
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GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS
Sunday Live Video: GAME ONE | GAME TWO
Monday Live Video (if necessary): GAME THREE
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Spend Mother's Day With UNH Softball As They Face Adelphi in NE10 Southwest Division Championship Series
THE LEAD
The second-ranked New Haven softball team continues its quest for a Northeast-10 Conference Championship when they travel to Adelphi to play the Panthers in the Southwest Division Championship Series starting on Sunday May, 9. The best of three series will feature a Mother's Day doubleheader with first pitch scheduled for noon on Long Island. Game two will start approximately 25 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. If a deciding game three is necessary, that game will be played on Monday, May 10 with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch. You can follow all the action on the Chargers Sports Network with video and live stats both available.
It will be the two best and hottest teams from the Southwest Division facing off. UNH hasn't lost in over a month, having won eight in a row and 21 of its last 22 games dating back to a loss to Adelphi on April 5. The Panthers have won nine straight and 12 of their last 13 games. Their last loss came to Le Moyne on April 18, 2021.
Both teams advanced via 1-0 semi final wins Thursday afternoon. The Chargers held off AIC, scoring on a second-inning error where Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H./Sunapee) raced home from second base with the lone run of the game. Adelphi needed eight innings and a walkoff 1-0 win over Le Moyne to advance to this weekend's series.
New Haven and Adelphi will be meeting for the fifth time, but first since April 5. The Panthers took three of four from the Chargers in their Southwest Division series earlier this season. Adelphi shut out UNH in each of their three wins, while the Blue and Gold captured a 7-2 win in the nightcap of their doubleheader on April 3.
The winner will advance to the NE10 Conference best of three championship series on May 14-15 at the site of the higher seed. Saint Anselm and Franklin Pierce are battling for the Northeast Division championship this weekend as well. The two winners will meet with an NCAA berth on the line.
SERIES HISTORY VS ADELPHI
With their three wins this season, Adelphi owns a slight all-time edge with a 43-38 record between the two teams. They have split the last 20 outings in the last five years. The two schools split four game series in 2019, 2018, and 2016. UNH won three of four in 2017, while Adelphi took two of three in 2015. The Panthers 10th win in this span came in a 2016 NE10 playoff game. The two teams did not meet in the Covid-19 shortened 2020 season.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Winners of 21 of its last 22 games, the New Haven softball team is one of the hottest teams coming down the stretch and is one of eight teams, along with Adelphi, 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 eight games, a doubleheader sweep of AIC and a four-game sweep of Pace, before beating Saint Rose and AIC in the early playoff rounds.
Leading the Blue and Gold into the postseason is junior Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville), who not only sports an impressive 20-1 record and a 0.77 earned run average in the circle, she also leads the team with a .376 batting average. Her team-high average comes on a team-best 38 hits while she has driven in 14 runs, third most on the team. Among her 38 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 Southwest Division Player of the Year.
She is aided on the offensive attack by Nahtali Simpson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange). She leads the team with 21 RBIs and 11 doubles, while sporting a .343 average and 34 total hits, which are second to Fitzmaurice. Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y/West Genessee) (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) has collected 28 hits, 13 RBIs, and six doubles for her .286 batting average.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Adelphi finished the regular season with a 25-6 overall mark and 20-4 record in Southwest Division play. The Panthers top hurler is Ally Muller. She sports a 15-2 record and pitches o a 0.93 ERA. In her 106 innings in the circle, she has allowed only 11 earned runs with a 142-14 strikeout to walk ratio. Facing off against Fitzmaurice, runs will be at a premium this weekend. Offensively, a trio of Panther hitters lead the way. Emily Whitman ranks first on the Panthers in batting average (.375, hits (36), runs (30), and total bases (57). Daniella Roselli is second on the team in both average (.338) and RBIs (18). Lauren O'Neill leads Adelphi with 21 RBI and is hitting .337 on the season.
CHARGERS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR NCAA POSTSEASON BERTH
With their overall record now standing at 27-5, 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 from May 19-22. The Chargers were ranked fifth in the final release sent out on May 5. Adelphi was placed fourth in those rankings. The six team field for the East Regional will be announced on Sunday, May 16.
POSTSEASON ACCOLADES GALORE FOR THE CHARGERS INCLUDING AVA FITZMAURICE BEING NAMED SOUTHWEST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE YEAR
A conference best 19 wins and five saves partnered with a top-five batting average among the entire Northeast-10 Conference and it comes as no surprise that junior pitcher Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) was named the NE10's Southwest Division Player of the Year as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
In addition to the major award for Fitzmaurice, the Greenville, N.Y. native was a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree as a pitcher and utility. Joining her in earning All-Conference accolades was junior second baseman Nahtali Simpson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) who earned a spot on the Third Team and freshman outfielder Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H./Sunapee) who secured a spot on the All-Rookie Team.
The Player of the Year honor for Fitzmaurice represents the sixth player in program history to earn a major NE10 award as she joins Breanne Gleason (2010) and Christina Gelardi (2013) who also earned NE10 Player of the Year distinction.
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 BAKER'S 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 will advance to the NE10 Conference best of three championship series starting Friday, May 14. Saint Anselm and Franklin Pierce are battling for the Northeast Division championship this weekend as well. The two winners will meet with an NCAA berth on the line. The loser of this series will await their fate from the NCAA Selection Committee, who will announce the six teams for the East Regional on Sunday, May 16.
