BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven baseball team got its first two complete game performances of the season this afternoon at Frank Vieira Field en route to a sweep of a Northeast-10 doubleheader with Assumption. Henry Hirsch (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) led the Chargers to a 6-2 win in game one, and Pat Simone (Branford, Conn./Branford) fired a 6-0 shutout in the nightcap.
 
With the victory, New Haven improves to 24-12 overall and claims sole possession of second place in the NE-10 Southwest Division at 11-5. The Greyhounds drop to 13-28 on the season with an even 8-8 divisional mark.
 
Hirsch (4-2) scattered 10 hits in his nine innings of work. The hard-throwing right-hander ceded two earned runs with five strikeouts, one walk and one hit batter. Simone (5-1), who retired the first 12 batters he faced, allowed just four singles while striking out seven in his complete game effort. The Chargers’ junior southpaw did not issue a walk.
 
Prior to today, the Chargers’ last nine-inning complete game was a gem hurled by Joey Royer (Westbrook, Maine/Cheverus) on May 8, 2012 in the Northeast-10 Championship First Round.
 
Offensively, Brendan O’Reilly had four hits and two stolen bases in the twin bill, and Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) and Joe Romanelli (Baldwin, N.Y./Holy Trinity) each homered in game two. Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) pounded out three hits.
 
Game 1
The Chargers started the scoring in game one with a four-run fourth inning. Brendan Buckley led off the frame with a single and promptly swiped the first of his two stolen bases in the game. Stephen Clout (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) followed with an RBI single to plate the game’s first run and O’Reilly kept the wheels turning with a single of his own. After Clout scored on a wild pitch, O’Reilly came home on a DeMorais sacrifice fly. With the bases empty and two outs, New Haven added another run as Cullen walked, stole second and scored on an RBI double by Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford / Wheaton) that chased Assumption starter Zack LaRosa from the game, trailing 4-0.
 
An unearned run came across in the fourth inning when Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) reached on an error, stole second base and scored on an O’Reilly base hit. The Chargers offense finished its scoring in the sixth frame with another unearned tally. After Buckley legged out a bunt single and stole second, a hard-hit groundball by O’Reilly went through the Greyhounds’ third baseman’s legs to run the margin to 6-0.
 
Though Assumption would scratched out single runs in the seventh and ninth innings on a run-scoring double play and a Bret Clark sacrifice fly, Hirsch remained on the mound to finish off the 6-2 win.
 
LaRosa (3-4) took the loss, surrendering four earned runs on six hits, one walk and two wild pitches while accumulating four strikeouts in 2.2 innings of work.
 
Game 2
After both clubs went down in order through the first two innings of the nightcap, the Chargers broke through with a run in the third. Nick Nunziato (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) led off the stanza with a double and moved to third on a Collett sacrifice bunt. The Chargers’ rookie shortstop crossed the plate on a passed ball, giving Simone all of the run support he would need with a 1-0 advantage.
 
New Haven added to the margin in the fourth inning, as Cullen followed a DeMorais single with his team-leading fourth home run of the season. The roundtripper was pulled down the left field line, easily clearing the 341’ sign.
 
A three-run sixth inning capped the scoring. After Clout led off with a walk, took second base on a wild pitch and moved to third on an O’Reilly sacrifice, he was able to trot the final 90 feet as Romanelli launched a ball over the wall in left centerfield and into the side of the batting cages for his first homer of the spring. The Chargers finished off the inning with a DeMorais single and an RBI double from Cullen to run the score to its eventual final of 6-0.
 
Cody Rocha (4-3) was dealt the loss in the battle of southpaws, allowing five earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five in his 5.1 innings of action.
 
The three-game divisional series concludes tomorrow afternoon with a 1 p.m. contest. New Haven finishes up the regular season at home this week with Southern Connecticut State, non-conference foe LIU Post and a three-game weekend set with Adelphi.