WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 7 University of New Haven baseball team (17-2) split its second Northeast-10 doubleheader of the season at Vieira Field on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Merrimack Warriors in game one, 6-1, before fighting back with an offensive burst to come away to win game two, 11-3.
 
Five Chargers tallied three hits on the day with senior Joe Caico (Hopedale, Mass./Worcester (MA)) batting .333 with two doubles and a team-high three RBI. Junior James Myers (Saint James, N.Y./Smithtown East) hit .600 (3-for-5) and also had one double in game two. Among the other Chargers with three hits were junior PJ Contreras (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) who went 3-for-6 with a double and two RBI, graduate student Tom Walraven (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) who also went 3-for-6 with an RBI, and junior Andrew Garcia (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) who was 3-for-9 on the day and also drove in a run. Graduate students Rob Giovanelli (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) and Jazk Zagaja each tallied two hits.
 
Game One: Merrimack 6, New Haven 1
 
After a scoreless first three innings, Merrimack got on board first in the top of the fourth with a one-run double down the left field line. Caico then doubled home Walraven in the bottom half of the inning, who was hit by a pitch to lead off. DiMascio pitched his third 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth and did not allow a hit during his final inning of the day in the sixth. Senior Colin Keyes (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) entered the game for DiMascio and tossed a three-up, three-down inning, but got into a jam, allowing two runs in the top of the eighth to bring in sophomore Brandon LaManna (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West). Merrimack squeezed out another run in the top of the eighth and added two more in the ninth to put the game out of reach for New Haven.
 
Keyes suffered his first loss of the season with 1.1 innings of work and two strikeouts, while Vin Zappulla earned the win for the Warriors. DiMascio tossed 6.0 innings for the Chargers and delivered four strike outs.
 
 
Game Two: New Haven 11, Merrimack 3
 
New Haven scored the game's first four runs in the bottom of the third inning as Myers singled up the middle to start things off, and Giovanelli reached on a walk a batter later. Walraven drove in the first run of the game with a single to left field before the second run scored on a throwing error by the Warriors. Garcia kept the rally going with a soft liner over the second basemen's head to plate Walraven, before Contreras clocked a shoelace single that fell just short of the center fielder's glove, scoring Caico.
 
Merrimack broke the shut out in the top of the fifth with a double down the left field line, but New Haven stretched the lead to 5-1 as Caico reached home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the frame. Merrimack closed the gap with another run in the sixth, but New Haven continued to have a response, adding a sixth run in the seventh inning.  
 
Merrimack did not give in as the Warriors cut the lead in half, but New Haven put the game out of reach for the visiting team, scoring five runs on four hits in the bottom of the eighth to seal the victory. During the rally, Zagaja and Caico each notched two-RBI doubles before Contreras hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to eight runs. Merrimack loaded the bases on their last chance, but senior Kellen Croce (Cheshire, Conn./Gunnery School) shut the Warriors down, not allowing a run in his final inning.
 
Freshman Izaiya Mestre (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) earned the win, his third of the season, behind 7.0 innings pitched and five strike outs. Croce pitched the final two innings, striking out two batters in the process.
 
 
Up Next:
 
After the long 36-inning weekend, the Chargers return to action on Wednesday, March 28 across town for a single game at Southern Connecticut State. First pitch at the Ballpark at SCSU is slated for 3:30 pm.