BOX SCORE WEST HAVEN, Conn. – A five-run sixth inning proved to be the difference as the University of New Haven baseball dropped a 5-3 decision to visiting Saint Rose on Saturday at Frank Vieira Field.
 
Game two of the scheduled Northeast-10 Southwest Division doubleheader has been postponed due to rain. Additionally, Sunday's single game has been rescheduled for Monday, March 31 at 3:30 p.m.
 
2014 University of New Haven baseball schedule
 
After the loss, the Chargers stand at 4-5 overall, 2-4 in the Northeast-10 and 0-1 in the Southwest Division. Saint Rose improves to 5-13 with a 1-0 mark in division and the NE-10 overall;.
 
Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) was the lone Charger with a two-hit day. The left fielder went 2-for-5 with a triple, a stolen base and a run scored. Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) also legged out a three-bagger, and Tom Walraven (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) recorded the first extra-base hit of his career with a double.
 
TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) notched an RBI groundout and added a stolen base and a run scored. Brendan O'Reilly reached safely on three occasions with an RBI single and two walks, and also saved a run with a throw to nab a runner at the plate.
 
Frank Vilacha (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) took the ball for the Chargers and was saddled with the loss (2-1). The right-hander allowed five runs (three earned) on nine hits and three walks while striking out three in six innings of action. Southpaw Connor Moriarty (Branford, Conn./Branford) fired a perfect seven inning with a pair of strikeouts, and right-hander John Melville (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston) completed the effort on the mound with two scoreless and hitless frames.
 
Right-hander Coby Schwartz (3-1) earned the win for the Golden Knights after 5.2 innings of work. Schwartz allowed two runs on six hits and four walks. He struck out four batters and uncorked a wild pitch. Left-handers Joe Pokrentowski and Bryan Carr bridged the gap to Chris Gould, who notched the save with a perfect ninth inning.
 
New Haven started the scoring in the fourth inning, as Cullen led off with a triple. He dashed the final 90 feet on a wild pitch as Riccio worked a one-out walk to keep the offense moving. The Chargers' catcher stole second and later scored on a two-out RBI single from O'Reilly that found no man's land between three converging Golden Knights in centerfield.
 
O'Reilly threw out a runner at the plate to preserve the 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Golden Knights surged into the lead in the sixth. Zac Bellinger lifted a sacrifice fly to put the visitors on the board, and Chad Adams singled home a run to tie the game. A base hit from Ryan Hooker staked Saint Rose to its first lead of the afternoon, and a two-run error capped the scoring in the frame.
 
After Moriarty spun a perfect seventh inning, the Chargers took a run back in the bottom of the stanza. Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford / Wheaton) reached on an error to lead off the frame, and Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) followed with a walk. After Cullen singled to load the bases with no outs, Saint Rose called on Carr. Typically a starter for the Golden Knights, Carr came out of the bullpen and induced a fly ball to right, with a strong throw to the plate holding Johnson at third. Riccio followed with a groundball in the hole that scored a run, though a diving effort by shortstop Mike Flynn not only saved a potential second tally, but cut down DeMorais advancing to third for the second out of the inning. Cullen would swipe third base but was stranded as the Golden Knights escaped the jam, still holding the lead at 5-3.
 
The Chargers would go hitless over the final two innings as Carr and Gould closed the door on a 5-3 decision for the visiting Golden Knights.
 
The series resumes with a single game on Monday, March 31 at 3:30 p.m. New Haven will conclude its homestand with a visit from Southern Connecticut State on April 1 and a non-conference meeting with Bloomfield on April 3.