BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven baseball team opened its 2014 home schedule on Saturday afternoon with a Northeast-10 doubleheader against Assumption. Frank Vilacha (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) went the distance in a 6-0 triumph in game one at Frank Vieira Field, while the Greyhounds salvaged a split with an 8-4 win in the nightcap.

After the doubleheader, New Haven stands at 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Northeast-10. Assumption remains even at 5-5 and also boasts a 1-1 NE-10 tally. The twin bill will not factor into the NE-10 postseason picture, which is determined by NE-10 divisional record. The Chargers are members of the Southwest Division, and the Greyhounds belong to the Northeast Division.
 
Vilacha scattered six singles and one walk in his complete game performance, only allowing two runners two reach second base. The senior right-hander struck out four batters and hit a pair in his first career complete game. He now stands at 2-0 and is yet to cede an earned run in 14 innings of work, following a five innings of one-hit, shutout ball in the win at Dowling on March 11.
 
Offensively, Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) went 4-for-6 with two runs scored and a stolen base in the doubleheader, and Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) had three hits in total with an RBI in each end of the double-dip. TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) had a team-best three RBI, picking up two in the first game and one in the nightcap. Brendan O'Reilly added four hits from the leadoff spot on the afternoon, and Brendon Buckley (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) drove in two runs with a nine-inning homer in game two. Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) and Nick Nunziato (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) each registered an RBI to round out the offense.
 
Derek Drag (Meriden, Conn./O.H. Platt / Central Conn. St.) was effective but took a hard-luck loss in game two. The right-hander allowed one earned run on four singles and one walk while striking out four in his 2014 debut.
 
Game 1
After Vilacha pitched around a two-out single in the top of the first inning, the Chargers staked their starting hurler to an early lead with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Buckley legged out an infield hit with one down to start up the offense and took second on an Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford / Wheaton) groundout. DeMorais followed with a double to plate Buckley, and Cullen kept the wheels turning with a two-bagger of his own to run the lead to 2-0. After Collett walked, a double steal produced a run as the throw down to third sailed into left field, allowing Cullen to race the final 90 feet to the plate.
 
Vilacha and his counterpart – Assumption's Anthony Perry – then traded zeroes into bottom of the sixth inning. DeMorais led off the frame with a single and took second on a walk issued to Cullen. Collett then dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but beat the throw to earn a hit and load the bases with no outs in the stanza. After a strikeout, Riccio cashed in on the RBI opportunity with a ground out to short that plated DeMorais, boosting the New Haven lead to 4-0.
 
The Chargers capped their scoring with two more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Collett roped a one-out double, followed by an RBI two-bagger off the bat of Nunziato. Riccio then singled up the middle to run the score to its eventual final of 6-0.
 
Vilacha's complete game shutout was the Chargers' first since Pat Simone (Branford, Conn./Branford) blanked the Greyhounds, also by a score of 6-0, on April 27, 2013.
 
Perry took the loss for Assumption, surrendering four runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks in six innings of action. The Greyhounds' right-hander struck out five.
 
Game 2
Assumption took the early lead in game two, pushing across a pair of unearned runs in the top of the second inning. The Greyhounds added another in the third before New Haven got on the board in the bottom of the fourth frame. Johnson tripled to start the inning and raced home on a DeMorais single to cut the deficit to 3-1.
 
The margin held into the eighth inning, when the Greyhounds scored a pair on a Ysander Figueroa home run and Greg O'Donnell sacrifice fly. The Chargers kept pace with two tallies courtesy of Buckley's third home run of the season, and faced a two-run deficit entering the ninth.
 
The Greyhounds notched what proved to be three necessary insurance runs in the top of the frame on a two-run single from Figueroa and a Billy Johnson RBI groundout to take an 8-3 lead into the bottom of the inning.
 
Collett led off the ninth with a single and took second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Riccio lined a double into left centerfield to bring Collett around to score. However, Assumption southpaw Bill King induced a strikeout and a groundout to close the door on an 8-4 decision.
 
Zack LaRosa outdueled Drag to earn the win on the bump. The right-hander allowed one earned run on five hits and two walks while racking up five strikeouts.
 
The Chargers return to action tomorrow (Sunday, March 23) for another Northeast-10 cross-divisional doubleheader at Frank Vieira Field. Merrimack comes to West Haven in a rematch of last spring's NE-10 Championship Game, with first pitch of the twin bill set for noon.