BOX SCORE WEST HAVEN, Conn. – For the second straight day, the University of New Haven baseball team climbed out of an early hole en route to victory. This afternoon at Frank Vieira Field, the Chargers fell behind 5-0 to visiting Post before plating 10 unanswered runs en route to a 12-7, non-conference victory.
 
The win improves New Haven to 22-12, while the visitors drop to 16-18-1.
 
Brendan O’Reilly went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while five Chargers pounded out two hits apiece. Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) drove in three runs, and Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) added his third home run of the spring and scored three times. New Haven also got RBI from Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) and Stephen Clout (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern).
 
Joey Royer (Westbrook, Maine/Cheverus) got the win in relief to move to 2-3. The southpaw allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks while striking out one in 2.2 innings. Taylor Candage (Portland, Maine/Deering) started on the mound and worked the first four frames. Jason Lewicki (Milford, Conn./Foran) got four outs out of the bullpen and Derek Drag (Meriden, Conn./O.H. Platt / Central Conn. St.) posted a zero in the ninth to wrap-up the 12-7 win.
 
The Eagles stormed into the lead early with a five-run second inning. The frame included two bunt hits and two unearned tallies for Post, which did not count an extra-base knock among its 11 hits in the contest.
 
New Haven began to chip away at the 5-0 deficit in the home half of the frame. After Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford / Wheaton) singled with one out and was replaced by Nick Nunziato (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) on a fielder’s choice, Collett ripped a two-out, double off the wall in right field to plate the Chargers’ first run.
 
After a scoreless inning from Candage, the Chargers added another single tally in the bottom of the third inning. Back-to-back four-pitch walks to Clout and O’Reilly started the inning, then Joe Romanelli (Baldwin, N.Y./Holy Trinity) laid down a sacrifice bunt to move them both over. DeMorais followed with a single up the middle to trim the deficit to 5-2.
 
TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) roped a one-out double to right field to start-up the offense in the fourth inning. Clout followed with a single that lined off of the shortstop and into centerfield to score the Chargers’ catcher. O’Reilly capitalized with a single that plated Clout and shrank the margin further at 5-4.
 
New Haven claimed the lead in the fifth inning. Kyle Cullen led off with a single and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. After Johnson walked, a double steal put two runners in scoring position for Collett. The sophomore cashed in on the RBI opportunity again with a two-run single down the left field line to give the Chargers a 6-5 advantage. An error then put runners on the corners, and O’Reilly legged out an infield hit to drive home Collett and increase the lead to 7-5.
 
New Haven pulled away in the sixth inning with three more runs. Romanelli led off with a single and moved to second base on a passed ball, then took third on a wild pitch. DeMorais reached on an infield hit that left runners on the corners. Another wild pitch scored Romanelli and brought DeMorais all the way around to score, and the third wild pitch plated the designated hitter. With the bases now empty, Cullen launched a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right field for his third roundtripper of the spring.
 
Now trailing 10-5, Post showed signs of life with a two-out rally in the seventh. The Eagles loaded the bases with two down, chasing Royer from the game as Head Coach Chris Celano called on Lewicki to get out the jam. The right-hander plunked the first batter he faced, pushing a run across, but fought back and forced the potential tying run to loft a harmless pop-up to centerfield to end the threat.
 
Lewicki came back out to toss a perfect eighth inning, and the Chargers added a pair of insurance tallies in the bottom of the frame as Romanelli and Cullen each scored on dropped pop-ups by the Eagles’ fielders.
 
Post would scratch out an unearned run of its own in the ninth before Drag closed out a 12-7 comeback win for New Haven.
 
Phil Sirois took the loss for Post. The left-hander, who fell to 1-1, got three outs in relief and ceded five earned runs on six hits, one walk and four wild pitches.
 
The Chargers resume Northeast-10 Southwest Division action and continue their nine-game homestand this weekend. A three-game set with Assumption begins with a noon doubleheader on Saturday and concludes with a 1 p.m. outing on Sunday. New Haven is currently tied for second place in the division with a 9-5 record.