Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The 11th-ranked Caldwell College softball team won a pair of games at the University of New Haven, 1-0 and 4-2 in a non-conference doubleheader Thursday afternoon at the UNH Softball Field. The Cougars improve to 23-3 with the wins, while the Chargers, who received votes in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll, fall to 20-9.

The first game remained scoreless through six innings, as sophomore pitcher Amber Padilla (Chino, CA/Pomona Catholic) and New Haven's Nicole King kept both teams off the scoreboard. In the top of the seventh, Caldwell loaded the bases with one out, getting singles from sophomore Brielle Reighn (Runnemeade, NJ/Triton Regional) and senior Nicole Velardi (Belleville, NJ/Belleville). A passed ball allowed freshman Rebecca Welch (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) to score from third base and give Caldwell a 1-0 lead. New Haven got out of the inning with no further damage, but the Chargers only managed a walk in the bottom of the seventh off Padilla, who improved to 8-2 on the season with the win.

Padilla pitched all seven innings, scattering four hits while striking out two and walking five for her third shutout of the season. King and Victoria Cabral combined to allow five hits and one unearned run. New Haven left nine runners on base compared to three for Caldwell.

In the second game, the Cougars surrendered a run in the bottom of the first but tied the score in the top of the second when junior Megan Fryday (San Marcos, CA/Mission Hills) stole home. Then in the third, junior Kristen Knorr (Monroeville, NJ/Delsea) and sophomore Caitlin McCready (Jupiter, FL/Dwyer) scored on an error in the outfield to give Caldwell a 3-1 advantage. A double by Knorr in the top of the fourth plated freshman Amy Hickman (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty) for a 4-1 lead. The Chargers got the run back in the bottom of the fourth on a leadoff home run by Brooke Fisher, but Padilla blanked New Haven over the final three innings to close out the win.

Junior Hanna Walkinshaw (Aptos, CA/Aptos) started and allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts in four innings to earn the victory. Padilla pitched three scoreless innings and gave up just one hit to record the save. Knorr and McCready tallied two hits apiece for Caldwell.

The Cougars play a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader at USciences on Saturday, Apr. 12, beginning at 1:00 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa.