NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The University of New Haven softball team was upended twice by Merrimack College on Sunday afternoon, as the Chargers dropped a 2-1 decision in game one, followed by a 9-7 loss in the night cap. With the results, UNH descended to 18-11 overall and 8-6 in Northeast-10 Conference competition. The Warriors hopped back over the .500 mark at 12-11, 7-3 in the league.
Game One
The first game of the twinbill featured a fantastic pitchers dual between the Chargers’ Micah Stonesifer and the Warriors’ Kelli Jo Deardorff. Stonesifer allowed two runs (one earned), scattered four hits over six innings and struck out three of the 30 batters she faced. Unfortunately, Deardorff was just a tad bit better, allowing just one run over seven innings. She allowed five hits and struck out six in the outing.
The Chargers opened the scoring column in the very first inning when Chelsea Harold came around to score the game’s first run. Harold reached on a single, stole second and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Christina Gelardi stepped into the batters’ box and laced a single that allowed Harold to trot home from third for a 1-0 lead.
However, the Chargers’ bats went quiet, allowing the warriors to get back into the game. Merrimack took advantage of an error in the field in the third inning and then produced the go-ahead tally in the bottom of the fifth. Monique Gosselin came through with an RBI single to take a 2-1 advantage. New Haven couldn’t find the equalizer and suffered its third straight loss.
Game Two
In the second game of the afternoon, runs came early and often for both squads. New Haven mustered four runs on five hits and two errors for a promising start to the contest. Harold worked her way around the bases after a walk, a wild pitch and an error for the game’s first run. The second run came off the bat of Shannon Angehr, who launched her third homerun of the season. Allison Vaughan and Courtney Garland accounted for the next two runs, each blasting RBI doubles to extend the early lead.
The Warriors bounced back with two runs in their first at-bats, but the Chargers answered quickly in the second. UNH took advantage of poor execution in the field, scoring two more runs on two hits in the frame. Angehr crossed the dish on back-to-back errors and then Gelardi came around to score on an RBI single from Garland.
In the bottom half of the frame, Merrimack mustered another run to cut its deficit to three runs. The teams played a scoreless third and then each added one run in the fourth, leaving the Chargers ahead by three heading into the final three innings.
However, the Warriors’ bats came to life, as they tied the score in the fifth and then added two more in the sixth. Their final two runs proved to be the difference granting Merrimack a 9-7 victory and a two-game sweep of the reigning NE-10 champions.
New Haven will look to bounce back against C.W. Post on Wednesday, April 13 with a doubleheader at the UNH Softball Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. with all of the action live on www.NewHavenChargers.com.
