The UNH Softball team is off to a strong start to the season so far, and continued to play strong as they faced cross-town rival Southern Connecticut State University in a rare mid-week, three game series.
The Chargers began March 25 with a record of 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the conference. The Owls entered play a decent 7-6 overall, but lost five of their last six games played.
The Chargers were shut out in the first two innings by Southern’s Jessica Val Alphen, but scored three runs in the third inning, knocking her out of the game.
UNH scored three more in the fifth and another in the sixth, making it a 7-0 lead for them going into the final frame.
Nicole King allowed one run in the final inning by walking in a run. The nine walks and one earned run were the only blemishes on the box score for King, as she threw a no-hitter to lock up the 7-1 victory for UNH in game one.
Game two would begin with a much faster start from UNH, as they scored three runs in the first inning. In the fourth, freshman Gabby DeLeo hit a solo shot homerun to give UNH a 4-0 lead.
After adding another two runs in the fifth, the Chargers hung on and, behind the pitching of Victoria Cabral, shut out the Owls for a 6-0 victory.
The Chargers outscored the Owls 13-1 on the March 25 double-header and looked to be in good shape heading into their March 27 matchup with the Owls. However, in a rivalry like the one between the Owls and the Chargers, anything could happen.
The game began scoreless until the fourth, when the Chargers took a 2-0 lead. It began to look a lot like the first game played on March 25 with Nicole King on the mound again for the Chargers.
Southern had other ideas, however, and pulled off a huge four-run fifth inning. This put the Chargers in a two-run hole, and it was also be the first time they trailed Southern all series.
In the seventh inning, the Chargers tied things up off an RBI single by Lindsey Couturier, tying the game up at four each.
Neither team scored again until the tenth, when Southern took a two-run lead off an RBI double by Julie Muscarella, who would later score that inning. Down two again with their backs against the wall, the Chargers stepped up.
Couturier hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Julie Delvin to cut the Southern lead to just one. The next at bat, Jess Spivey, slapped a single up the middle and scored Brandy Dianno once again, tying the game at six.
Southern didn’t go away, however, as Nicole Buch doubled to left center, bringing home Kelly Mitchell. The top of the eleventh ended with Southern up 7-6, but the game ended half an inning later with a different score.
Jen Palase scored because of an error by Southern’s second baseman Giuliana D’Arcangelo, and tied the game at seven a piece.
Couturier came up later in the eleventh, and after being a major part in both the seventh and tenth inning runs, there was no surprise she would play a big role this time at bat. She singled to left field, bringing home Meghan Chamoff for the walk of victory at North Campus.
The Owls had multiple chances to put away the Chargers, but UNH showed great resilience by not going down no matter how many times they fell behind in the final game.
