New Haven baseball made their 2020 season debut this past weekend in the Northeast Challenge. Finishing the weekend with a 3-1 record, Charger baseball has captured attention and moved up to No. 5 in the NCBWA East Region Ranking Poll.

Losing their first game in a doubleheader against Felican, could have set the Chargers back, but instead, New Haven rallied and swept their next three games. After falling 6-3 in their first matchup, the Chargers bounced back to defeat Felician University 7-4 in a seven-inning nightcap.

Although they remained hitless in the first three innings, New Haven got their spark in the fourth inning, scoring all seven runs. Felican then battled back in the fifth inning, scoring three runs, but this was not enough. A pair of hits by two sophomore, Noah Budzik and freshman, Robert Taylor, three walks, three hit by pitches and one error led the Chargers to victory.

The trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. was far from over for New Haven as they faced a match up with Stonehill and New York Tech the following day.

Coming out strong against the Stonehill Skyhawks, the Chargers opened their game with a five-run scoring surge. However, this was only the beginning of a stream of Charger runs. Finishing the game with a tremendous 24 runs, various Chargers had a stand-out game. Scoring mostly in four innings, senior Matt Chamberlain started off a chain of homeruns. Followed by one grand slam from Robert Taylor and another from Hunter Boag against the Skyhawks. They solidified their lead when they scored 10 runs in the top of the ninth. Their 24 was the most runs the Chargers have scored since 2018 when they scored 22 runs against Concordia.

Andrew Cain and Billy Huber also saw a lot of action each going 5-for-8, including two walks. Huber got scoring started, hitting an RBI and scoring five runs, while Cain totaled for three. New Haven’s offense was on fire as they finished the game on top, 24-6.

New Haven continued their success in their final game against New York Tech, where they scored three runs in the bottom of the first. This was the third time in three games New Haven had come out swinging. The Chargers were able to get three quick runs in the first inning, two off of a throwing error. Facing the defending East Region champions, New Haven only allowed two runs, putting them up 8-2 at the bottom of the ninth.

As their successful weekend came to a close, the Chargers return home to prepare for their next games and home opener on Friday, Feb. 28 at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. They will face a double header against Saint Thomas Aquinas.