BOX SCORE YAPHANK, N.Y. - Brendon Buckley (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in six runs to lead the University of New Haven baseball team to a season-opening 12-6 win over Pace on Friday at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, N.Y.
 
New Haven begins its season at 1-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons while Pace drops to 0-1. The Chargers and Setters will meet three times as a part of the Northeast-10 Southwest Division schedule later this spring. New Haven and Pace split the regular season division title last season with New Haven advancing to win the Northeast-10 Championship. Both clubs qualified for the NCAA Division II East Region Championship to conclude the 2013 slate.
 
Buckley, who went 4-for-5 on the day, is the first Charger to hit two home runs in a game since Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) hit a pair at Southern Connecticut State on April 16, 2013. That performance was also the most recent six-RBI showing by a Charger prior to Buckley this afternoon. The New Haven third baseman also accumulated 10 total bases to match the most for a New Haven student-athlete athlete since David Anderson had 10 courtesy of a home run and two triples against Molloy on April 25, 2007.
 
Cullen also had a solid day at the plate against the Setters. He went 4-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored in addition to an assist from left field. First baseman Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) added three this with two RBI and two runs scored, and TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) had a double and two RBI as the starter behind the dish.
 
Brendan O'Reilly set the table for the Chargers' offense with a 2-for-3 performance from the leadoff spot. The centerfielder also worked two walks en route to three runs scored, a run batted in and a stolen base.
 
Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) added a two-hit day that included a double, and Nick Nunziato (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) had a base-knock with a run scored to round out New Haven's 17 hits on the day.
 
Pat Simone (Branford, Conn./Branford) earned the win on the hill with five innings of work. The Chargers' southpaw held Pace to one earned run on six hits over the first five frames as New Haven build its sizeable advantage. He struck out two batters and did not issue a walk.
 
John Melville (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston) followed with three innings of hitless relief. He was charged with three earned runs while handing out two walks and recording five strikeouts. George Dummar (Branford, Conn./Branford / Quinnipiac) got the final three outs in his Chargers' debut.
 
Jonathan Chudy started and took the loss for Pace. The left-hander ceded eight earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out four in 2.1 innings of work. At the plate, James Pjura went 2-for-4 with three RBI for the Setters.
 
After Simone worked around a two-out infield hit in the top of the first inning, the Chargers struck in the bottom of the frame. O'Reilly led off with a ground-rule double, and a Buckley bunt single put runners on the corners. Johnson then drove home O'Reilly and reached safely on a fielder's choice, staking New Haven to a 1-0 advantage. After the first out of the inning, Cullen singled to load the bases and Collett followed with a base-knock to push Buckley across and extend the margin to 2-0.
 
New Haven added two more in the bottom of the second as the top of the order jumpstarted the offense once again. O'Reilly worked a one-out walk and advanced 90 feet on his first stolen base of 2014. Buckley followed with a two-run homer to left centerfield to run the lead to 4-0.
 
The Setters took a run back in the top of the third on a two-out double from Chris Gili and an RBI single by Pjura. The Pace rally was cut short as the next batter singled but was nabbed by Cullen attempting to take an extra bag.
 
The momentum from the defensive effort carried over to the plate as Cullen singled to start the bottom of the third and advanced when Collett singled. Nunziato then loaded the bases on a bunt single, and an RBI groundball from Riccio did not produce an out as a fielding error allowed the Chargers' catcher to reach safely and kept the bags full with no outs. O'Reilly would keep the wheels turning with an RBI single that ran the score to 6-1 and chased Chudy from the mound.
 
New Pace hurler Josh Garran was greeted by Buckley, who deposited a grand slam over the wall in left centerfield to put New Haven in front, 10-1. Buckley had two career home runs – one apiece in his freshman and sophomore campaigns – before kicking off his senior season with two long-balls.
 
Simone made quick work of the Setters in the fourth and the Chargers added to their lead in the home half. Cullen led off with a triple and came home on Collett's third hit of the day. Two batters later, Riccio doubled to bring Collett and the way around to score and increase the lead to 12-1.
 
The score held into the eighth inning as three New Haven errors led to four Pace runs to cut the margin to 12-5 in favor of the Chargers. The Setters would add another run in the ninth to move the tally to 12-6 before Dummar got a strikeout to complete the opening day win for the Blue and the Gold.
 
New Haven returns to the diamond on Tuesday, March 11 for a trip to Dowling. First pitch from Golden Lions Field on Long Island is slated for 3 p.m. The Chargers will then embark on a five-game swing at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. before opening the home and Northeast-10 slates with a noon doubleheader on Saturday, March 22 against Assumption. The twin bill with the Greyhounds begins an eight-game homestand at Frank Vieira Field.