BOX SCORE NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) hit the first two home runs of his collegiate career and recorded six RBI to lead an offensive onslaught by the University of New Haven baseball team in an 11-4 win at Southern Connecticut State on Tuesday afternoon. Joe Romanelli (Baldwin, N.Y./Holy Trinity) added three hits in the victory.
 
With the win, the Chargers take the season series from their crosstown and Northeast-10 Southwest Division rivals, improving to 18-11 overall with a 6-4 divisional mark. The Owls drop to 17-13-1 with a 3-7 record against NE-10 Southwest competition.
 
Cullen is the first UNH student-athlete to hit two home runs in a game since Michael Moras hit a pair of roundtrippers at Mesa State College on Feb. 23, 2008. The last Charger with six runs batted in prior to Cullen’s performance today was also Moras, who had seven RBI at Queens on May 4, 2008.
 
Romanelli went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two stolen bases and two sacrifice bunts in his first start at third base. Brendan O’Reilly also scored three times, while Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) started the scoring with a two-run single in the first inning. Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford / Wheaton) and TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) were each 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
 
Taylor Candage (Portland, Maine/Deering) worked the first four innings, scattering five hits and two walks that led to two earned runs. The win went to southpaw Joey Royer (Westbrook, Maine/Cheverus), who hurled three scoreless frames of relief to improve to 1-2. Connor Moriarty (Branford, Conn./Branford) and Brian Caselli (Stratford, Conn./Stratford) finished the game with one inning of action apiece.
 
The loss went to Owls’ starter Austin Brochu (0-1). Brochu ceded the first three runs of the game on four hits and two walks in 2+ innings on the mound. Four SCSU relievers combined to finish the outing.
 
The Chargers started the scoring in the top of the first inning. Stephen Clout (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) led off the game with a single and moved to second on a groundout. After Romanelli singled and stole second to put a pair of runners in scoring position for DeMorais. The New Haven designated hitter cashed in on the opportunity with a two-run single through the left side.
 
SCSU answered in the home half of the first on an RBI single by AJ Rouleau, but the New Haven took that run back in the third inning. O’Reilly started the stanza with a walk that chased Brochu from the game, and Romanelli moved him over with a bunt. A groundout by DeMorais moved him to third, and the Chargers’ centerfield raced home on a wild pitch to extend the cushion to 3-1.
 
The Owls again added a single tally in the bottom of the third on a Michael Cleary RBI hit, but once again New Haven responded. A one-out error allowed Johnson to reach and Riccio followed with a single. The pair then executed a double steal, and an errant throw allowed Johnson to come home to move the margin to 4-2 in favor of UNH.
 
The Chargers added two more in the fifth on Cullen’s two-run shot following a Romanelli single, and added three more runs in the seventh. O’Reilly led off with a double and Romanelli then dropped down his second sacrifice bunt of the day and reached on an error. With runners on the corners, Cullen launched his second homer of the day to clear the bases and run the score to 9-2.
 
A bases-loaded walk for Cullen and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Nick Nunziato (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) provided a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning, and the Owls scratched out two tallies in the bottom of the eighth to bring the score to its final mark of 11-4.
 
New Haven, which won the series opener, 5-4, at Frank Vieira Field on April 2, will host the finale against the Owls on April 30.
 
Today’s game began five-game road swing against NE-10 Southwest Division competition for the Chargers. UNH plays a three-game series at Saint Rose this weekend and heads to Pleasantville, N.Y. next Wednesday, April 24 for the rubber match with Pace. New Haven returns to the diamond at Frank Vieira Field on Thursday, April 25 for a non-conference meeting with Post.