BOX SCORE WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven baseball team opened Northeast-10 Southwest Division play on Thursday afternoon with a 3-1 loss to visiting Pace. Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford / Wheaton) drove in the Chargers' lone run, and Joey Royer (Westbrook, Maine/Cheverus) turned in seven solid innings on the mound.
 
After the loss, New Haven falls to 4-4 overall, 2-3 in the Northeast-10 and 0-1 in the NE-10 Southwest. The Setters from Pace improve to 4-9 on the season with a 1-4 NE-10 mark and a 1-0 division tally.
 
Royer (0-1) ceded three earned runs on five hits and no walks with three strikeouts in seven innings. The southpaw fell in an early hole with two runs on three hits allowed in the first inning and did not allow another hit until the seventh frame. Vincent Aprea (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) fired two scoreless innings to complete the effort on the mound and keep the Chargers within striking distance.
 
After the Setters picked up two runs in the top of the first, New Haven responded in the bottom of the frame. Brendan O'Reilly led off with a single and moved all the way to third on an errant pickoff throw. Two batters later, Johnson lined a single into centerfield to put the Chargers on the board.
 
The 2-1 deficit would hold into the seventh inning, as Pace rounded out the scoring with one run in the top of the frame to extend the margin to 3-1.

The Chargers threatened with two on and one out in the eighth, and TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) led off the ninth with a single, but could not do further damage as the Setters held on for the win.
 
Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard), Nick Russo (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd) and Eddie Tammaro (South Hempstead, N.Y./South Side) also singled for the Chargers, while Johnson and Russo each swiped a bag.
 
Left-hander Jonathan Chudy started on the mound for Pace, allowed just the one unearned run. However, he did not qualify for the win as he was lifted after four frames in favor of Tim Deegan. The right-hander allowed two hits with one walk in five scoring innings of relief to earn the win and improve to 2-0.
 
The Chargers remain at Frank Vieira Field this weekend to play their first three-game NE-10 Southwest Division series of the spring with a visit from Saint Rose. The Blue and Gold host a doubleheader with the Golden Knights on Saturday beginning at noon and wrap-up the three-game set with a 1 p.m. outing on Sunday.