WEST HAVEN, Conn. –
Robert Petrillo (Branford, Conn./Branford) had three hits and scored three runs as the University of New Haven baseball team split a doubleheader with the Adelphi Panthers, winning game two by a score of 7-1 after dropping the opener 7-3 on Saturday afternoon at Frank Vieira Field.
With the split, New Haven is now 7-9 overall, 3-5 in the Northeast-10 and 3-3 in the Southwest Division. Adelphi is 10-11 overall with a 7-4 record in conference and a 5-4 mark in divisional play.
In game two, the Panthers struck first with a run in the second inning. The Chargers rallied with a pair in the bottom of the frame.
TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) walked and moved to second on a single by Petrillo.
Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) followed with a bunt single to load the bases.
Nick Russo (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd) stood in next and lined a single to right field, plating Riccio and Petrillo for a 2-1 New Haven lead.
The Chargers expanded the lead in the third as Petrillo singled to lead off the frame and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cullen. Two batters later,
Eddie Tammaro (South Hempstead, N.Y./South Side) laced a single to center, bringing home Petrillo to make it 3-1.
New Haven put the game away in the sixth thanks to some timely hitting and shaky Panthers defense. With one out, Petrillo reached on an error by the second baseman. Two batters later, Russo reached on a dropped pop up by the shortstop as Petrillo moved to third. Tammaro followed with a single to score Petrillo and advance Russo to third. On the throw to second to try to get Tammaro moving up, the third baseman sailed the ball into rightfield, scoring Russo.
Jack Zagaja (Merrick, N.Y./St. Dominic) capped the scoring, clocking his third homerun of the season to make it 7-1.
David Palmer (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) (1-3) turned in an excellent performance on the mound for New Haven, going five innings, striking out three.
In the first game, Adelphi jumped on the board early, scoring seven runs in the first three innings. The Chargers got on the board in the fifth on Cullen's second homer of the season. They would tack on two more in the eighth as a ground out by
Tom Walraven (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) scored
Brendan O'Reilly (Devon, Pa./Conestoga) who opened the inning with a double and then advanced on a wild pitch. Later in the inning,
Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a double by Riccio. Petrillo drove in Collett with a groundout.
Connor Moriarty (Branford, Conn./Branford) turned in a standout performance out of the bullpen, throwing five shutout innings, striking out four, surrendering just three hits.
New Haven is back in action on Tuesday, April 14 at 3:30 p.m. when it hosts Pace in a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division matchup.
