WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven baseball team built a 5-0 lead in the first three innings and then held on in the later frames as the Chargers topped the Concordia Clippers 5-4 on Thursday afternoon in a non-conference game at Frank Vieira Field.
With the win, New Haven is now 5-7. Concordia drops to 8-7.
The Chargers started the scoring in the second inning as
Brendan O'Reilly (Devon, Pa./Conestoga) walked and stole second. After an
Eddie Tammaro (South Hempstead, N.Y./South Side) walk, O'Reilly stole third to put runners on the corners. From there, New Haven executed a double steal with O'Reilly coming home for a 1-0 lead.
Nick Russo (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd) followed with his first of three hits on the day, singling to center to move Tammaro to third.
Tom Walraven (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) capped the scoring in the inning, reaching on a fielder's choice to plate Tammaro and extend the lead to 2-0.
In the third, the Chargers used a patient approach at the plate to further their advantage. With one out,
TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) and
Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) each walked. After a pop out,
Jack Zagaja (Merrick, N.Y./St. Dominic) walked to load the bases. Tammaro followed with another base on balls to force in Riccio and make it 3-0. Russo then smacked a double down the leftfield line to bring home Cullen and Zagaja and push the lead to 5-0.
New Haven would need all of the early runs as the Clippers put up two in the fourth and single tallies in both the sixth and eighth innings to slice the lead to 5-4. With a run already in during the eighth and the tying run in scoring position,
Brian Caselli (Stratford, Conn./Stratford) came out of the bullpen and shut down Concordia to hold the lead. He then handed the ball to
Vincent Aprea (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) in the ninth who recorded his first save of the season.
The win went to
Joe Caico (Hopedale, Mass./Worcester (MA)) (1-0) who pitched the first five innings allowing two runs and striking out five.
Offensively, the Chargers were led by Russo who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Walraven also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk.
New Haven returns to the diamond on Tuesday, April 7 when it hosts Molloy in a non-conference tilt at 3:30 p.m.
