NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven baseball team scored five runs in the top of the 11th inning as the Chargers beat the Southern Connecticut State University Owls 8-3 in a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division game on Wednesday afternoon.
 
With the win, New Haven is now 6-7 overall with a 3-3 record in the NE-10 and is 3-1 in the Southwest Division. The Owls fall to 11-13 overall and are 3-5 both in conference and divisional play.
 
Offensively, Brendan O'Reilly (Devon, Pa./Conestoga) led the Chargers, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and three stolen bases. Tom Walraven (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) and Robert Petrillo (Branford, Conn./Branford) also each had two hits.
 
Tied at 3-3 in the eleventh, New Haven jumped on the SCSU bullpen while taking advantage of some shaky defense. Eddie Tammaro (South Hempstead, N.Y./South Side) walked and moved to second on a single by Walraven. Petrillo followed with an infield single to load the bases. After a fielder's choice forced Tammaro out at the plate, TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) grounded a ball to first base that was misplayed by the Owls, allowing Walraven and Petrillo to score and moving Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) to third, making it 5-3 Chargers. A wild pitch followed, scoring Collett, while advancing Riccio to third.
 
The inning continued as Kyle Cullen (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) walked. On a pickoff attempt, the ball got by the first baseman, enabling Riccio to score and move Cullen to third. O'Reilly capped the scoring in the frame, plating Cullen on a sac fly for an 8-3 New Haven lead.
 
Trailing 1-0 early, New Haven rallied in the third. Tammaro led off with a single and moved to second on a sac bunt by Walraven. Petrillo came up next and singled through the middle, plating Tammaro to tie the game at 1-1. Petrillo then stole second and moved to third when the throw sailed into centerfield. Collett followed with a drive to right field for a sacrifice fly, to put the Chargers up 2-1.
 
Southern Connecticut State tied the game with a run in the bottom of the third. With the score tied 2-2, New Haven broke the deadlock in the sixth as with two out, O'Reilly doubled. Jack Zagaja (Merrick, N.Y./St. Dominic) reached on a fielder's choice, moving O'Reilly to third. After Zagaja stole second, Nick Russo (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Tammaro worked the count before drawing a walk to force home O'Reilly for a 3-2 Chargers advantage. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Owls scored a run in the bottom of the seventh on a throwing error.
 
Kellen Croce (Middlebury, Conn./Gunnery School) (1-0) picked up the win going two perfect innings in relief, including striking out the side in the 10th on just 10 pitches. Joey Royer (Westbrook, Maine/Cheverus) started and went 6.2 innings, striking out four and allowing just two earned runs.

The Chargers are in action next on Friday when they will host the Owls in a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division game at Frank Vieira Field beginning at 3:30 p.m.