WEST HAVEN, Conn. – In their middle series of the home stand, the University of New Haven Softball team welcomed the Golden Knights of the College of Saint Rose to Charger Softball Field for their second straight conference doubleheader looking to bounce back after their Friday loss to American International College.
Viana McKinley (North Chesterfield, Va./Monacan) got the nod in the circle for game one and after giving up a single to the lead off the first inning, settled into a groove getting a foul out before striking out a pair to close out the first inning strong. In the second, the Golden Knights pushed their first run across, but that would not last long, as the Chargers strung together three straight innings of pushing a run across starting in the second. Meg Anderson (Cranston, R.I./Cranston) led the inning off with a single before advancing to second on Lucia Ceccarelli's (Griswold, Conn./Griswold) single through the left side. Sophia Piccirilli (Dover, N.H./Winnacunnet) would go on and pinch run for Anderson before advancing to third on a fielder choice she would score on Ashley Veisz's (Robbinsville,N.J./Robbinsville) fielder choice hit to tie the game up at one. New Haven responded again in the third with two outs in the inning. Kylie Thorpe (Taunton, Mass./Taunton) wore a pitch to reach with two outs and would come around and score after back-to-back singles as the blue and gold would take the lead 2-1. In the fourth, the Chargers added their third run off Olivia Roberto's (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun) single that scored Veisz. McKinley would continue to deal from the circle, but in the fifth, the Golden Knights would score three before adding a pair in the sixth on their way to coming back as the Chargers would fall 6-3 in game one.
Looking to bounce back in game two the Chargers struck first after Bella Chenet (Plantation, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy) walked with one out and stole second base. Lauren Haversat (Seymour, Conn./Seymoour) walked on a wild pitch and Chenet advanced to third on the play. Anderson's bat stayed hot driving in Chenet from third to take the early lead. Breanna Kinney (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) from the circle looked strong controlling the tempo and keeping the lineup of the Golden Knights in check. Saint Rose would go on and score in three straight innings taking a 4-1 lead. In the fifth, the Chargers stormed back scoring three runs after Emily Ricci (Ringwood, N.J./Lakeland Regional) got the innings started drawing a walk apart of a three-run three-hit inning where New Haven tied the game at 4-4. Going into the seventh things were all tied at four but Saint Rose was able to push across four runs in the seventh going on to win 8-4 as the Chargers dropped both games to the Golden Knights. New Haven now turns to a new page and sets their eyes on a non-conference game as the Chargers continue their home stand when they welcome the Spartans of Saint Thomas Aquinas on Monday, April 1 with the first pitch scheduled for 2:30p.m from Charger Softball Field. All updates, schedules, and post-game recaps for the team will be available at Newhavenchargers.com.
