SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The University of New Haven baseball team completed one comeback while a second rally fell short en route to a doubleheader split at American International on Saturday in Springfield. The Chargers took game one, 4-2, and lost by an 8-4 count in the nightcap against their Northeast-10 Southwest Division foes.
New Haven, which also claimed yesterday’s encounter to win the season series with the Yellow Jackets, extended their winning streak to seven games before dropping the second game today. The Chargers now stand at 13-5 overall, 7-1 against Northeast-10 competition overall and 3-1 in the NE-10 Southwest Division.
Designated hitter Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) went 4-for-8 in the doubleheader with two RBI and a run scored to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Left fielder Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) hit a pair of triples in game one as a part of his three hits. Cullen added an RBI and scored twice. Third baseman Brendon Buckley also had three hits, including a triple, with a pair of runs scored and a stolen base. New Haven also got two hits apiece from first baseman Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook), catcher Joe Romanelli (Baldwin, N.Y./Holy Trinity) and right fielder Stephen Clout (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern). Clout also drove in two runs. Romanelli stole a pair of bags, with Collett and centerfielder Brendan O’Reilly each recording a successful theft on the basepaths as well.
Second baseman Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford / Wheaton) went just 1-for-4 at the dish but worked three walks to bolster his on-base percentage to .571 in the twin bill. He also laid down a successful sacrifice bunt and drove in a run. O’Reilly was hitless but picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly.
Frank Vilacha (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) moved to 3-0 with the win in game one. Vilacha worked the first seven innings, ceding just three hits and two earned runs. The right-hander struck out four batters and did not issue a walk. Peter Jay (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) posted two zeroes to convert his eighth save of the spring in eight opportunities.
In the nightcap, southpaw Pat Simone (Branford, Conn./Branford) racked up 10 strikeouts in seven innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits and no walks in a no-decision.
As a staff, the Chargers saw their streak of consecutive innings without issuing a walk end at 45.1 frames. The string of 49.2 consecutive innings without allowing a non-intentional free pass remains intact.
Game 1
After Vilacha and AIC starter Matt Lee traded zeroes for three innings, both teams broke through in the fourth stanza. The Chargers started the scoring in the top of the inning as O’Reilly worked a leadoff walk, stole second and moved to third on an errant throw by the catcher. DeMorais followed with a solid single into centerfield to plate the game’s first run.
The Yellow Jackets answered in their half of the inning, take a 2-1 advantage after plating runs on a Dave Clark triple and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Lucas Vallas.
UNH stormed into the lead in the top of the seventh inning. Collett led off with a walk and moved into scoring position on a Johnson sacrifice. Cullen cashed in on the RBI opportunity with a game-tying triple – his second three-bagger of the day – and scored the go-ahead tally on a single up the middle by Clout.
The Chargers ran the margin to its eventual final of 4-2 in the eighth inning as Romanelli singled, stole second base and scored on a Johnson base-hit.
Lee (1-2) surrendered four runs (two earned) on eight hits and four walks in 7.2 innings for the Yellow Jackets. He struck out four batters.
Game 2
New Haven opened the scoring in the nightcap as well. Buckley singled with one out in the first inning and, after swiping second base, came home an RBI single from DeMorais.
After three perfect innings by Simone, the home team touched up the southpaw on his second trip through the lineup. Clark scored a run on a balk in the bottom of the fourth and Mike Coyne stroked a two-run homer to put AIC on top, 3-1.
The Chargers cut the deficit in half in the fifth frame on a Clout double and surged into the lead in the top of the eighth. Buckley led off the frame with a triple and scored on an O’Reilly sacrifice fly. DeMorais then singled to reset the table and, following a pitching change, moved to second base on a failed pickoff attempt. After a passed ball, Collett lofted a sacrifice fly to push the go-ahead across.
The 4-3 advantage did not last long, however, as AIC regained the lead with five runs in the bottom of the eighth stanza. Clark knocked in the game-tying run with a double and Coyne’s two-run single put the Yellow Jackets on top for good at 6-4. Zach Kane followed with a two-RBI single to round out the scoring at 8-4.
Geoff McCowat (2-0) got the win in relief, recording the final five outs for AIC. Taylor Candage (Portland, Maine/Deering) allowed one earned run on two hits in 0.1 innings to take the loss out of the Chargers’ bullpen.
