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MANCHESTER, N.H. – Despite a late rally in game two, the No. 2 seed from the Southwest Division University of New Haven baseball team (37-10) fell in the final two games of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Saturday to the No. 3 seed from the Northeast Division Merrimack Warriors (31-19) 3-2 and 10-8.
 
Graduate student Tom Walraven and senior Joe Caico were each named to the NE10 All-Tournament team, as Walraven batted .421 over the five-game stretch with two doubles, three runs batted in, five runs scored and three walks. Caico finished with six hits (.300) and six RBI, including a home run and three runs scored. Sophomore Matt Chamberlain (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) also hit well at the plate throughout the tournament, as the North Branford native hit .400 during postseason play with three runs scored and seven walks.
 
Walraven finished 4-for-8 at the plate during Saturday's games, recording two hits in each game and driving in two runs in the nightcap. Junior Andrew Garcia (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) played well in game two, as he scattered a team-high three hits with three RBI, including an RBI-double in the bottom of the sixth inning and a two-run single an inning later. Junior PJ Contreras (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) was clutch at the plate Saturday, as he went a combined 3-for-8 on the day with three RBI behind a home run and two RBI-singles in back-to-back innings.
 
Game 1: Merrimack 3, New Haven 2
 
Sophomore Devon DiMascio got the start on the mound for New Haven, pitching the first 4.1 innings without surrendering a run, striking out three batters. New Haven got on the scoreboard first, as Contreras ripped a home run to left field on the first pitch of an at-bat in the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Chargers added a second run as Walraven scored on a wild pitch an inning later before Merrimack quickly answered with two runs in the top of the sixth to tie the score.
 
Merrimack third baseman Joey Porricelli hit a two-out solo home run to left field in the top of the eighth, and that run would hold up for the Warriors as New Haven was retired in order in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings to force the winner-take-all game.
 
Game 2: Merrimack 10, New Haven 8
 
The defensive battle continued into game two, as each team went scoreless over the first two innings. Merrimack's offense caught fire in the third, plating four runs behind a three-run home run by right fielder Matt Nicholson to take the lead. Senior David Palmer (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) pitched out of a one-out jam, retiring the next two batters in order with a strikeout and pop up and entered the bottom of the third trailing 4-0.
 
New Haven chipped back with one run in the bottom of the frame before Merrimack extended the lead to 7-1 with three runs on four hits in the top of the fourth. The Warriors added another run to make it 8-1, putting New Haven down but not out entering the sixth inning.
 
With a near-impossible task to close the gap in front of them, New Haven stormed back late, cutting the deficit to just one run at 9-8 by the bottom of the eighth inning. Garcia started the rally in the sixth when he sent an RBI-double down the left field line to bring home Caico who reached on a dropped fly ball. Contreras followed that with a single through the left side to allow Zagaja to score easily from third to make it 8-3. The Warriors extended the lead back to six runs before the Chargers exploded for four runs after Garcia and Contreras recorded RBI-singles in the seventh, cutting the deficit to just two runs at 9-7.
 
The Chargers pushed across their final run in the eighth, as Chamberlain led off with a double to right-center field and scored on a Walraven single to right field. The New Haven rally was stalled however, when Zagaja sent a ball to the warning track in right-center field, but Warrior center fielder Tyler Lyne made a great sliding grab to end the frame and keep the Merrimack lead intact. The Warriors loaded the bases in the top of the ninth and notched one final insurance run on a single through the left side and retired New Haven in order to close out the game.
 
Up Next: 

New Haven will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Championship and will find out its seed and opponent during the selection show which will be aired on NCAA.com tomorrow (Sunday) evening at 10:00 p.m.