BOX SCORE Box Score

Rindge, N.H. - The University of New Haven baseball team fell 4-1 Thursday night to Stonehill College in the opening round of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship. With the loss the Chargers fall to 31-12 overall, while the Skyhawks improve to 26-16 on the season.

The Chargers now return to action against sixth seeded Merrimack College who upset top seed Southern Connecticut in the first game Thursday. Should the Chargers lose on Friday they will be eliminated, while a win would guarantee them a game on Saturday. Live audio will be available online through the Franklin Pierce athletics website or by clicking here.

Stonehill completed their third victory in five days over New Haven behind a pair of two-run homers in the top of the first inning and the top of the third inning. The Skyhawks took a 4-0 lead, and behind stellar starting pitching, they maintained a shutout through five 1/3 innings.

Senior Kyle Donnelly (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta) broke the shutout in the bottom of the sixth inning when he scored on a fielder's choice by Tom Rombilus (Monroe, Conn./Masuk). UNH also stranded one runner on base in the bottom of the sixth. The Chargers also had an opportunity to put points on the board in the bottom of the ninth inning. UNH put two runners on base with no outs, but Stonehill's shutdown pitcher closed the door on the next three batters.

New Haven was held to four hits in the opening round game. Rombilus, Kyle Pettoruto (Andover, Mass./St. John's Prep ), Donnelly and David Wirkus (Orange, Conn./Fairfield Prep / St. Anselm College) each registered hits, while Donnelly and Rombilus combined for the Chargers single run.

Chris Smith (Shelton, Conn./Emmett O'Brien Tech.) pitched a well managed game, but suffered his third loss of the season. The senior hurled six 2/3 innings and collected seven strikeouts. He gave up four runs, while Kyle Befus (Northford, Conn./North Branford), Eric Peck (East Hampton, Conn./East Hampton) and Mitch Rossi (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Central) each combined for the final two 1/3 shutout innings.

The Chargers now need to win their game on Friday in order to stay alive in the NE-10 Championship. New Haven defeated Merrimack twice during the regular season in a doubleheader in North Andover, Mass.