NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Jack Zagaja (Merrick, N.Y./St. Dominic) had five hits and eight RBI as the University of New Haven baseball team won game two of a doubleheader against the Merrimack Warriors 17-5 in a Northeast-10 Conference game on Sunday afternoon. Earlier in the day, the Warriors won the first game by a 12-5 margin. With the split, New Haven is now 10-12 overall and holds a 5-4 conference record.
 
Key Players:
--The five hits by Zagaja are a career-high and the most for a New Haven player since Tom Walraven (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) went 5-for-5 against Dominican on April 29, 2015. His eight RBI are the most for a Chargers player since Michael Moras had 12 against Assumption on April 23, 2007. It is also the fourth highest in a single game this season in NCAA Division II.
--Joe Caico (Hopedale, Mass./Worcester (MA)) had four hits including his first two career home runs, one in each game of the doubleheader.
--Robert Petrillo (Branford, Conn./Branford) had five hits and three RBI combined for the two games.
--Andrew Garcia (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) had a career-best four hits in the second game.
--TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) had four hits in the two games and drove in three runs.
--Nick Perrelli (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) had two hits in the opener and one in the second contest, extending his hitting streak to 13 games.
--Mike Schettino (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) had started the second game and went a career-long 7.0 innings, striking out eight.
 
How It Happened (Game One):
--The Chargers opened the scoring in the top of the first inning as Russo, Perrelli and Petrillo each singled to manufacture a run.
--Merrimack plated single runs in the first and second innings.
--New Haven tallied three runs in the fourth as after an error and a single put two runners on, a Petrillo double scored both, giving the Blue and Gold a 3-2 lead. Two batters later, TJ Riccio (Port Jeff Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) singled to push the advantage to 4-2. One more run was added in the sixth as Joe Caico (Hopedale, Mass./Worcester (MA)) hit his first career home run.
--The Warriors responded, scoring five times in the sixth and once again in the seventh to take an 8-5 lead. They would score four more in the eighth to put the game away.
 
How It Happened (Game Two):
--New Haven raced out of the gates with five runs in the first. The big blast in the inning was Caico's second homer of the day, a three-run blast.
--After adding a run in the second, the Chargers scored three more times in the third to open a 9-0 lead. A double by Russo keyed the frame.
--Zagaja had an RBI hit in each of the first three innings.
--The Blue and Gold didn't score in the middle three innings, but picked the offense back up with a run in the seventh, four in the eighth and three in the ninth. Highlighting the eight run output in the final three innings was a run-scoring single by James Myers (Saint James, N.Y./Smithtown East), his first career RBI and a pair of two-run doubles by Zagaja, giving him eight RBI in the game.
 
Turning Point (Game One):
Trailing 5-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Warriors scored five times in the frame, taking a lead they would not relinquish.
 
Turning Point (Game Two):
The Chargers burst out of the gate with five first inning runs and were never challenged the rest of the way in the win.
 
By the Numbers:
--The 17 runs are the most in a game for New Haven since an 18-14 win at Saint Rose on April 20, 2013.
--The 19 hits are the most for the Blue and Gold since banging out 19 knocks against Queens on April 23, 2015.
--The Chargers hit .412 (14-for-34) with runners in scoring position in the two games.

 
Up Next:
New Haven is in action next on Wednesday, April 13 at 3:30 p.m. when they host cross-town rival Southern Connecticut State in a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division game at Frank Vieira Field.