WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven baseball team split two games with Saint Michael’s College Sunday afternoon at Frank Vieira Field. The Chargers fell 0-1 in the opener and rebounded with a 6-2 victory in the final game of the weekend. New Haven moved to 11-5 overall, while the Purple Knights now stand at 5-9 overall.
Game One
The opening game on Sunday was a low-scoring affair as the teams combined for just one run. The Purple Knights used two hits and one UNH error in the top of the third inning to score the game’s only run.
Saint Michael’s starting pitcher, Austin Ziskie shut down the UNH bats throughout the entire game as he threw the complete game shutout. He struck out nine batters, walked two batters and allowed just three hits in his second win of the season.
Ryan Brockett (Guilford, Conn./Guilford ), Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) and Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford) were the only three Chargers to register hits in the game. Brockett gave UNH its best chance to even the score after reaching base on an error to lead off the ninth inning, but three straight outs failed to generate the game-tying run.
Starting pitcher Henry Hirsch (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) pitched seven full innings and allowed just four hits and one run. He struck out four and walked one. Eric Peck (East Hampton, Conn./East Hampton) provided two innings of relief and allowed just two hits.
Game Two
New Haven wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the second game Sunday. The first two batters were hit by a pitch and then walked for Brockett in the third spot. He then laid down a perfect bunt toward the third base line and loaded the bases with no outs. One wild pitch later and the Chargers went ahead 1-0. Brendon Buckley (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) drove in the second run of the inning with a grounder to first base in the next at-bat.
New Haven added another two in the bottom of the third inning. Buckley earned another RBI with a bases-loaded walk. Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) drove in New Haven’s fourth run with a sacrifice fly to center field one batter later.
The Chargers’ defense and the pitching of John Melville (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston) shutdown the Purple Knights until the top of the seventh inning. Saint Michael’s used two hits to score one run and break the shutout.
The Chargers answered with a Stephen Clout (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh and an Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford) RBI single to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning. New Haven held a 6-1 lead headed into the ninth. The Purple Knights rallied and got runners on first and second with no outs. A two-out RBI single to left field followed and Saint Michael’s cut the lead to four runs. Relief pitcher Joey Royer (Westbrook, Maine/Cheverus) completed the game with a strikeout.
Melville threw six 1/3 innings for his second win of the season, while Royer threw the final two 2/3 innings. The starter struck out three, walked two and allowed six hits. The freshman Royer also struck out three, walked one and allowed three hits.
At the plate, Johnson led the Chargers with three hits in four at-bats. He also drove in one run and scored another. Clout also played well with two hits in three at-bats, one RBI and two runs. Buckley went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run, while Cory Carr (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) went 1-for-3 with two runs.
New Haven returns to action on Wednesday, March 28 when it hosts Pace University at Frank Vieira Field. Game time in the Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division match-up is set for 3:30 p.m. For complete coverage, stay posted to www.NewHavenChargers.com.
