LEESBURG, Florida. – The University of New Haven Softball team returned to the diamond for the second doubleheader of their spring break trip with their first game against the University of Mary followed by a meeting with Shepherd following the completion. The Charger's meeting with the Marauders marked the first time the two programs met while the Chargers and Rams were set to meet for the third time in history and the second year in a row with the blue and gold taking the matchup in 2022 winning 2-1.

In the opener head coach, Don Justus switched up his pitching rotation starting Selena Aponte (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) in game one against the Marauders. Aponte jumped out to a hot start striking out the first batter she faced. The Marauders strung together back-to-back hits pushing the game's first run across before Aponte shut the door, picking up her second strikeout and ending the inning. Both pitchers settled in and kept each opposing team's bats quiet until the fourth. In the home fourth the Chargers strung together three hits and used their speed on the bases. Kylie Thorpe (Taunton, Mass./Taunton) led the inning off with a single up the middle and advanced to second on Halle Frederick's (Green Lane, Pa./Quakertown) single into right. After Thorpe was picked off, Frederick advanced to second after Meg Anderson (Cranston, R.I./Cranston) walked and Sophia Piccirilli (Dover, N.H./Winnacunnet) pinch-ran for Anderson. With their fifth batter to the plate, Maeve Lougheed (Audobon, N.J./Audobon) broke through for the Chargers singling to left scoring Frederick from second and tying the game at one. With the game tied at one, both pitchers dug in and shut down each other's opposing offensives. In the bottom of the seventh, the Chargers got two on with two away as Aaliyah Amidon (Ledyard, Conn./Ledyard) came to the plate and just missed her pitch stranding the pair and sending the game to extras. With a runner on second to start the inning, the Marauders broke through first scoring their first run on an error before scoring two more on a single to right before Aponte ended the inning with a strikeout. Chasing three the Chargers weren't able to string their hits together as the University of Mary closed out the inning taking the game 4-1. Aponte in the loss threw eight innings giving up four runs, two earned, on eight hits striking out seven. The Chargers scored one on six hits drawing three walks.

The Chargers prepared for their second game against Shepherd, but Florida weather had other plans as a thunderstorm came through the area, delaying the start of the game by three hours. After the delay and the field dried the Chargers, took to the field looking to remain perfect against the Rams. Once the game started the blue and gold wasted no time getting to work. Bella Chenet (Plantation, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy) jumped out with a leadoff triple down the left field line putting the pressure on Shepherd early. Halle Frederick (Green Lane, Pa./Quakertown) drove Chenet home on a single into center field and gave New haven the early lead. With the lead, Mia Iodice (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth Regional) went to work in the circle using her defense behind her forcing two line-outs and a fly-out to keep the blue and gold in front. Both pitchers put up scoreless innings in the second. In the bottom of the third, the Rams strung together two hits and crossed two forcing two errors on the Chargers to take the lead. New Haven wasted no time responding tying the game in the fourth. Maeve Lougheed (Audobon, N.J./Audobon) walked with two outs. Aaliyah Amidon (Ledyard, Conn./Ledyard) continued the inning with a single advancing Lougheed to second before Hailey Polisano (Howell, N.J./Howell) singled scoring Lougheed and tying the game back up at two. In the fifth, both pitchers hung up zeros on the scoreboard before Shepherd took the lead again in the sixth stringing together back-to-back hits to start the sixth. Just as they did in the fourth, New Haven responded as Meg Anderson (Cranston, R.I./Cranston) leveled the game with one swing of the bat clearing the left-center fence and making it three to three again. In the seventh, the Rams were down to their final out but were able to sneak a liner down the right-field line scoring the winning run to take the game 4-3. In the loss, Mia Iodice (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth Regional) threw six and two-thirds giving up four runs, three earned, striking out one giving up 11 hits.  

The Chargers return to the diamond for a Tuesday morning doubleheader with meetings against Minnesota Crookston and Missouri - St. Louis as the team looks for their first win of the road trip. First pitch of the Minnesota Crookston game is scheduled for 9:00 a.m., with first pitch of the Missouri - St. Louis game scheduled for 11:15 a.m. All updates, schedules, and post-game recaps for the team will be available at Newhavenchargers.com.