BRIARCLIFF, NY- Jeane Drury (Flanders, NJ/Morris Catholic High School) (Flanders, NJ/Morris Catholic) hit a pair of homeruns in the opener to hand the New Haven Chargers their first division loss of the season as Pace took the opener 7-4. The Chargers earned the split with a 3-0 win in the nightcap.
The Setters stand at 6-15 overall and 3-4 in the Northeast-10 Southwest Division, while the Chargers move to 16-4 and 5-1 in division play.
In the opener, the Chargers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a run in each of the first two innings. Drury cut the deficit in half with a solo homerun in the third but New Haven added a run in the fourth to go up 3-1.
Pace rallied in the final two innings as they plated six runs. Lana Buchbinder (San Francisco, CA/George Washington) (San Francisco, CA/George Washington) got the Setters offense going as she led off with her second homerun of the season. Drury followed with a double and Haley Hernandez (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real) (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real) singled to tie the game at 3-3. Samantha Garcia (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Rancho Cucamonga) (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Rancho Cucamonga) put the Setters up 4-3 and Kimberly Duffy (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon) (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon) drew a bases loaded walk. Drury added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth as she hit her second homerun of the game, this time a two-run shot to left-center for a 7-3 lead. The Chargers added a run in the seventh but starter Caitlin McCann (San Mateo, CA/Notre Dame) (San Mateo, CA/Notre Dame) closed the door on a rally.
For the Setters, Drury went 3-for-3 with the two long balls and a double along with three RBI. McCann (3-7) allowed four runs (two earned) on nine hits and struck out seven in a complete game effort.
In the nightcap, the Chargers used the long ball to take the nightcap as Lindsey Couturier hit a solo shot and Brooke Fisher hit a two-run homerun in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. Nicole Fisher (9-2) allowed one hit and struck out 11 for the Chargers. For the Setters, Kaitlynn Nelson (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff) tossed a complete game, allowing three runs on six hits and struck out four as she falls to 3-7 on the season.
The Setters travel to Merrimack on Saturday, April 6 for an NE-10 doubleheader starting at noon.