BOX SCORE POMONA, N.Y. – Saint Thomas Aquinas scored five runs in the ninth inning to upend the visiting University of New Haven baseball team, 8-7, on Tuesday afternoon at Provident Bank Park. Three Chargers each drove in two runs in the non-conference, East Region loss.
 
The defeat evens New Haven's record at 8-8. The Spartans, who are the defending East Coast Conference champions, improve to 17-10.
 
Brendon Buckley (Monroe, Conn./Masuk), Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) and Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) had two runs batted in apiece, with TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) also picking up an RBI. Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn./Branford / Wheaton) went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, and Buckley swiped two bases for the Chargers.
 
On the mound, Derek Drag (Meriden, Conn./O.H. Platt / Central Conn. St.) worked the first 8.1 innings. He allowed six earned runs on 11 hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Jason LewickI (Milford, Conn./Foran) was charged with the loss in relief to fall to 0-1.
 
The Chargers got on the board early due in part to lack of command by St. Thomas Aquinas starting pitcher Eric Cooper. Tom Walraven (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) led off the top of the first inning with a single, followed by back-to-back walks issued to Johnson and Brendan O'Reilly. Two batters later, Buckley was hit by a pitch to push Walraven across the plate with the game's first run. Collett followed with a two-run double, and an RBI groundout by Riccio capped the first-inning spurt with the Chargers jumping out to a 4-0 advantage.
 
After the Spartans manufactured a run in the bottom of the first with a leadoff single and two productive outs, both offenses were held at bay into the fourth frame. In that stanza, Stephen Sunday belted a two-run homer for St. Thomas Aquinas to trim the New Haven lead to 4-3.
 
The Chargers tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning. Johnson singled with one down in the frame followed by an O'Reilly double. DeMorais pushed one run across with a sacrifice fly, and then Buckley delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-3 at stretch time.
 
Johnson doubled to lead off the top of the ninth inning, and O'Reilly laid down a sacrifice bunt to move him to third base. DeMorais brought him the final 90 feet with a single as the Blue and Gold took a 7-3 advantage into the bottom of the ninth inning.
 
After two singles in the ninth, a double steal with one out pushed a run across for the Spartans, and a Rich Baerga triple scored another to chase Drag from the game. Lewicki promptly delivered the second out of the inning with a flyout before two singles and a double knotted the contest at 7-7. The next batter was Derek Hirsch, who lined a 1-1 pitch into left field to plate the winning run in an 8-7 decision.
 
The win went to Nick D'Angelo – the last of five STAC hurlers to toe the rubber. D'Angelo allowed one earned run on two hits in two innings of work.
 
The Chargers return to the diamond on Wednesday, April 9 as Northeast-10 Southwest Division play resumes with a 3:30 p.m. trip to Pace. The Setters claimed the first meeting between the two clubs, 3-1, on March 27 at Frank Vieira Field.