PHOTO GALLERY
WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Sophomore Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) knocked in all three runs for Baseball in game one, as New Haven returned to Frank Vieira Field for the first home game in 689 days, dropping a Sunday non-conference doubleheader to the visiting Pace Setters.
Game 1 - Pace 9, New Haven 3 (9 Innings)
After a 1-2-3 inning for both sides in the first, the first baserunners for either side came for Pace in the top of the second. An infield single, hit by pitch, and a walk loaded the bases for the Setters with two outs, before senior pitcher Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) worked his way out of the jam getting the next batter to fly out to right field to end the inning.
New Haven got its first baserunners in the bottom half nearly the same way with a base hit, walk, and hit by pitch with two outs, before a strikeout ended the inning.
Pace scored the first runs of the game in the top of the third on a two-run double by Matt Almonte that followed walks to the second and third batters in the order. That hit was immediately followed by a walk to the five hitter that ended Cain's outing for the Blue and Gold.
Senior southpaw Cam Guarino (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) took the hill for the Chargers, getting the second out of the inning on a fly out that advanced the second base runner to third. Another hit into the left-center gap scored two more runs for Pace before the batter was called out trying to stretch for a triple.
After going down in order in the bottom of the third, head coach Chris Celano sent senior right-hander Izaiya Mestre (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) to the bump, who earned a strikeout on his first batter. The reliever would make up for a base hit on the next at-bat, picking off the runner at first, before getting a pop up to end the inning.
The top of the fourth saw the Setters load the bases once again, this time with no outs, before Mestre struck out the six-hole hitter swinging for the first out. The next batter would hit a two-run single, with the runner at first being thrown out at third, and the batter advancing to second on the throw. The following batter knocked a ball over the third baseman's head, allowing another run to score which gave pace a 7-0 lead after 4.5 innings of play.
The Chargers broke through for the first time in the bottom of the fifth after loading the bases with two outs. Wells knocked a ground ball through the middle scoring a pair for his side on just the second hit of the game.
Pace would respond, tacking on another run in the top of the eighth, followed by a threat from the Chargers in the bottom half that saw the home side strand runners on the corners to end the inning.
The Setters put runners on the corners themselves with no outs in the ninth, bringing one run home in the inning, while New Haven added one more on a Wells single in the bottom half, with the Chargers dropping a 9-3 decision.
Game 2 - Pace 7, New Haven 3 (8 Innings)
Junior right-hander Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) got the nod for the Chargers to start game two with junior Josh Lester (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague) behind the dish. Eletto would get the Setters to go down in order to open the game, eventually closing out his day throwing four scoreless innings, while surrendering three hits.
New Haven opened the scoring in the bottom of the third loading the bases with no outs, which allowed freshman Jack Reardon (Commack. N.Y./Commack) to plate the first run with an RBI groundout to short. An error on the Setters first baseman allowed two runs to score, putting the Chargers lead at 3-0 after three innings.
Sophomore Bryan Pazulski (Media, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) came on in relief, giving up Pace's first run of the game on an infield single to third in the top of the sixth. With runners on the corners and two away, an error at second allowed a second run to score and cut the New Haven lead to one and forcing Pazulski out of the game. Graduate student Brandon LaManna (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) entered for the Chargers, and on a wild pitch allowed the runner at third to score, bringing the two sides level before getting out of the inning.
New Haven and Pace would enter the seventh and final inning deadlocked at three. After Pace failed to score in the top half, the Chargers put runners on first and second with one out. A ground ball to short allowed the Setters to turn a double play and send the game to extra innings.
With two outs in the eighth, Pace's first baseman hit a ball to deep center that scored two runs, followed by another hit up the middle that made the score 6-3 in favor of the visitors. The rally continued with a grounder off the lip of the outfield, extending the lead to four, and forcing the fifth pitching change of the game for New Haven, as sophomore right-hander Drew Silverman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) came on to prevent any further damage.
In the bottom half the Blue and Gold managed one runner off a walk, but were unable to score as they dropped the nightcap 7-3.
NEXT ON TAP
Up next, the Chargers will host Le Moyne in a Saturday-Sunday doubleheader at Frank Vieira Field. First pitch on both days is set for 12:00 p.m. Live coverage of the weekend series will be available on the Chargers Sports Network on NE10 NOW with live stats available on NewHavenChargers.com.
