BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 WEST HAVEN, Conn. – On a day that featured 35 runs and 52 hits, the University of New Haven baseball team split a Northeast-10 doubleheader with visiting Saint Michael's on Saturday afternoon at Frank Vieira Field.  The Purple Knights took game one, 9-3, before the Chargers responded with a 14-9 win in the night cap.
 
After the split, the Chargers stand at 6-7 overall and 3-6 in the Northeast-10. Saint Michael's moves to 2-9 on the season with a 1-3 conference mark.  As today's twinbill was set to be played in Colchester, Saint Michael's acted as the home team.
 
Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) went 5-for-6 with five RBI in the second game, marking a pair of career highs for the Chargers' first baseman. TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) drove in a pair of runs in each end of the doubleheader, and Tom Walraven (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) swiped five bags on the afternoon.
 
Game 1
Saint Michael's got out to a fast start in the first game, plated four runs in the first frame. The Purple would add four more in the fourth and another in the fifth to claim a 9-0 lead before the Chargers could put a dent in Saint Michael's starter Kurt Echo.
 
Brendan O'Reilly led off the seventh inning with a single, and Brendon Buckley (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) added a one-out knock to move him to second. After a Collett walk loaded the bases, a wild pitch moved all three runners 90 feet as O'Reilly crossed the plate with the Chargers' first run. Two batters later, Riccio smacked a two-out, two-run single to left field to cut the deficit to 9-3.
 
However, both teams would go scoreless over the final two frames, and the Purple Knights claimed the day's opener by a 9-3 final.
 
Echo (1-1) earned the win on the hill for Saint Michael's. He was charged with all three runs, allowing four hits with two walks in 6.2 innings of work.
 
Frank Vilacha (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) started on the mound and took the loss for New Haven. Brian CasellI (Stratford, Conn./Stratford) worked five innings of relief to complete the pitching effort in game one.
 
Game 2
In the nightcap, it was the New Haven bats that set the tone early. Buckley worked a walk to lead off the second inning followed by a Collett single. A passed ball advanced both runners into scoring position, and Riccio followed with a two-run single down the left field line. Another two-run single followed in the stanza as Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford / Wheaton) brought around Riccio and Walraven to increase the early lead to 4-0.
 
The Chargers tacked on a fifth run in the third inning. Buckley reached on an error, stole second and claimed third on a balk before Collett cashed in on the RBI opportunity with a single up the middle.
 
Though Saint Michael's would get on the board with two runs in the bottom of the third, the Chargers hung another crooked number with three tallies in their next trip to the plate. Tammaro led off with a single followed by a knock from his classmate, Walraven, to put runners on the corners. After Walraven stole second base, a wild pitch moved him to third and scored Tammaro. O'Reilly kept the wheels turning with a walk and picked up a stolen base of his own. Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) picked up both runners with a double to right field to push the led to 8-2.
 
The Purple Knights climbed back with four runs in the fifth, and each team notched one in the sixth as New Haven maintained a 9-7 cushion heading into the final third of the contest.
 
The Chargers would put the game away in the top of the seventh inning.  Tammaro's one-out single started the offense followed by a Walraven base-hit.  After an O'Reilly walk to load the bases, DeMorais beat a slow roller to knock in a run and keep the inning alive. Buckley was then hit by a pitch to push home another run, and Collett followed with the big blow of the frame – a bases-clearing double to the gap in left centerfield to stake the Blue and Gold to a 14-7 advantage.
 
Saint Michael's tacked on a pair of ninth-inning runs but would get no closer as the Chargers salvaged a split of the doubleheader with a 14-9 triumph.
 
Vincent Aprea (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) made his first collegiate start, working the first 4.1 innings. Despite exiting with a lead, the southpaw did not factor into the decision. The win went to left-hander Connor Moriarty (Branford, Conn./Branford), who picked up his first career victory with 3.2 innings of relief. George Dummar (Branford, Conn./Branford / Quinnipiac) got the final three outs to clinch the win.
 
The loss went to Alex Winkelmann, who was charged with six earned runs over three innings for the Purple Knights.
 
The Chargers will play another Northeast-10 cross-divisional doubleheader tomorrow afternoon as Saint Anselm visits Frank Vieira Field beginning at noon. The Hawks are 9-16 overall and 3-5 in the Northeast-10 after being swept today at Southern Connecticut State.