Syracuse, N.Y. – Ava Fitzmaurice earned two wins in the circle and had five hits to lead the University of New Haven to a sweep of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader over the Le Moyne College softball team on Tuesday afternoon at the Niland Athletic Complex. The Chargers won the opener, 3-2, and took the nightcap, 5-3.

Fitzmaurice helped her own cause in the first inning of the opener by blasting a one-out home run to left center.

Le Moyne tied the score at one apiece with a run on two hits in the bottom of the third inning. Senior shortstop Kaily LaForce (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, took third on a groundout and scored on a single by junior catcher Cassidy Barrett (Apalachin, N.Y./Vestal).

New Haven regained the lead in the next inning with a pair of runs on two Le Moyne errors. Third baseman Ashley Veisz was hit by a pitch to start the inning, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third as left fielder Elle Frederick reached on an error by the shortstop. Veisz and Frederick then both scored as right fielder Hailey Laforte reached on an error by the first baseman.

The Dolphins scored once in the sixth to get within one, but left the tying run stranded at second. Sophomore third baseman Kaycee Hawk (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker/UAlbany) singled to center with one out and moved to second on a groundout. Freshman designated player Lindsey Dobbs (Schenectady, N.Y./Colonie) then singled to the second baseman, who then threw the ball errantly, which allowed Hawk to score.

Redshirt freshman Laura Bennett (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post), who was named the NE10 Rookie of the Week yesterday, suffered her first career loss after yielding three runs (one earned) and just four hits over seven innings, while striking out eight. Hawk and LaForce each had two hits in the setback. Fitzmaurice earned her seventh win after posting two strikeouts and allowing two runs (one earned).

In the nightcap, each team scored twice in the first inning. Shortstop Mya Case led off with a single to center, moved to second on a wild pitch and took third on a single by Fitzmaurice. Catcher Jovanna Hillman followed with a single to center to drive in Case. Two batters later, Fitzmaurice scored as Veisz reached on a fielder's choice.

Sophomore left fielder Jillian Dunn (Fiskdale, Mass. / Tantasqua Regional) drew a walk to open the frame, advanced to second on a single to left field by sophomore center fielder Dominique Russo (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) and took third on a wild pitch. After a walk by Hawk to load the bases, Dunn and Russo scored as Dobbs reached on an error by the first baseman.

New Haven scored twice in the fifth on two hits. Fitzmaurice led off with a single to center and moved to second with two outs as Veisz was hit by a pitch. Second baseman Nahtali Simpson then doubled to left center to drive in Fitzmaurice and Veisz.

The Chargers tacked on a run in the seventh on a one-out homer to left by designated player Megan Anderson.

The Dolphins scored once in the seventh, but left the tying run at first base. LaForce doubled to center with one out and moved to third on a groundout. Russo then singled to left to drive in LaForce. Hawk followed with a single to right to put runners at the corners, but the next batter grounded out to the shortstop to end the game.

Sophomore Mckenzie Bergdoll (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro) took the loss after allowing three runs over four and two-thirds innings of relief. Russo tallied three of the team's six hits in the game. Fitzmaurice improved to 8-1 with four strikeouts over six innings of relief action, while yielding just one run.

Le Moyne (7-7, 7-7 NE10) and the Chargers complete their four-game series on Wednesday with a doubleheader starting at 2:00 p.m.