WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Coming off their day off after playing two days in a row the University of New Haven Softball returned to Charger Softball Field in their home stand finale of three straight as the blue and gold welcomed the Spartans of Saint Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) a team that the Chargers hadn't met since 2022 when they split their double-header. Head Coach Kelly Patterson returned to her regular outfield but made a switch in the circle as Breanna Kinney (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) got the start in game one looking for their first home win of the season. The Spartans pushed the first run of the game across in the first inning off Kinney to take the one-run lead in the game. In the third inning, the Spartans would add three more runs to take a 4-0 lead through three innings. The blue and gold would strike in the fourth. Bella Chenet (Plantation, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy) led the inning off with a walk after battling and bringing the count full drew the lead-off walk. After back-to-back fly-balls, Meg Anderson (Cranston, R.I./Cranston) who had the hot bat from the weekend stayed hot not waiting around driving the second pitch of the at-bat down the left field line and the speed of Chenet scored from first on the double from Anderson. The Chargers would hold the Spartans to their four runs while the bats would continue to work and would add to their run total again in the sixth. Bella Lagatolla came in to pinch hit and after battling the count to 3-2, she turned on a pitch that missed the wind of the weekend that would have taken in over the fence, and instead off the wall in left field cruising in with a lead-off double. After advancing on Bella Chenet's (Plantation, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy) fly to right, Lagatolla came on to score on  Sarah Smith's (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Catholic) pinch-hit single making it a 4-2 game. The offense would come up just short in the seventh inning as the Chargers fell in game one 4-2. Off the success of the pinch hitters in the late innings of game one, the lineup for New Haven got a new look for game two as Meg Anderson (Cranston, R.I./Cranston), Chenet, and Roberto were the only returners in the lineup and the freshmen got the start behind Viana McKinley (North Chesterfield, Va./Monacan). The freshmen offense went right to work in the first inning looking to make an impact. With two outs in the first Olivia Roberto (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun) walked and Emily Ricci (Ringwood, N.J./Lakeland Regional) who got the start at third drove the third pitch she faced of the afternoon into right field beating the right fielder, tripling and scoring Roberto taking their first lead of the afternoon. The bats did not stay quiet long as they got back on the Spartan's starting pitcher, as in the third Cori Wilton walked to lead off the inning before Bella Chenet (Plantation, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy) singled up the middle and the ball got under the glove of the centerfielder allowing Wilton to score from first on the play and putting New Haven up 2-0. STAC tied things up two in the fourth and took a 4-2 lead in the sixth. Down to their final three outs in the seventh, New Haven looked to walk things off for the win. Rachel Krogman (Old Bethpage, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage) led the inning off with a single down the line and Lucia Ceccarelli (Griswold, Conn./Griswold) doubled putting the tying run represented by Ceccarelli at second, and the winning run in the batters box, with the bat of Cori Wilton who was hit by a pitch as the winning run was on the bases now. With no outs and the bases loaded however, the Chargers could not push the winning run across after a fielder's choice got Krogman out at home, and Bella Chenet (Plantation, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy) flew out and Ceccarelli was caught at home trying to score as New Haven fell 4-2.

The home stand concludes for the Chargers who now take to the road in the heart of conference play as they will be on the road for three straight as they open up the road stand at Bentley on Saturday April 6 from Waltham, MA. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. from Bentley Softball Field. All updates, schedules, and post-game recaps for the team will be available at Newhavenchargers.com.