Saint Thomas Aquinas 8, New Haven 9 (9 Innings)

After picking up a win in his Chargers debut, Liam Carroll (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) took the mound once again, looking to lead New Haven to 3-1 record on the weekend. The freshman faced adversity right away, however, loading the bases with a single and two walks. After striking the next man up, the Spartans roped a single to right field to bring two runs in. A runner would cross on a wild pitch before Carroll got the final two batters swinging to avoid further damage.

The Chargers answered back in the bottom of the first, starting with a solo shot to deep left field by Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park). The junior first baseman has now homered in three games to start the season. Maucere's RBI triple to center field, which brought home Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery), extended his RBI streak to six straight games.

Saint Thomas would add to their lead in the top of the second after a pair of walks led to a runner scoring on a wild pitch. A single to left field brought home another run for the Spartans as they took a 5-2 lead after two innings.

Carroll had a bounce back inning in the top of the third, retiring the Spartans in order, while catching one batter looking. The Chargers, however, couldn't capitalize after Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) reached base on an error to lead off the inning.

After the Spartan's leadoff man went down swinging, they put runners on second and third with two outs but the freshman south-paw forced a fly out to escape the inning.

The Charger's offense began to click in the bottom of the fourth after Josh Lester (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague) successfully bunted to put Taylor, who laced a double to center field, and Maucere, who was hit by a pitch, in scoring position. Dylan Chiaro (Southington, Conn./Southington) couldn't find open grass but was able to drive in Taylor on a lineout to straight away center. After Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) singled to put runners on the corner, Hunter Boag (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck) came through with an RBI single right field to plate Maucere.

Kyle Allen (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) relieved Carroll on the mound but jumped on right away by Saint Thomas Aquinas as the Spartans took him deep to left for a solo homerun. Despite that, Allen remain unfazed, retiring the next three batters, the last of which would go down looking. New Haven went down quietly in the fifth, even after Taylor drew a two-out walk.

After a double and hit batter, Allen forced a popup to short to get out of the jam and keep the Chargers within two. New Haven would get a run back after Boag grounded out to bring home Lester, who walked to leadoff the bottom of the sixth.

Gary Costello (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) took the mound to start the seventh inning, allowing a single while striking out one. The Chargers continued to trail, however, going down in order to retire the side.

Following another shutout inning from Costello, Cain tied the game at six after singling to center field to bring home Maucere, who walked to start the inning.

Despite a two-run homerun for the Spartans, the Chargers added another two runs of their own. Both Noah Budzik (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) and Kenneth Franquiz (Bellmore. N.Y./Mepham) singled with two gone to set up Maucere, who once again delivered with an RBI single. Aaron Soucy (Brooklyn, Conn./The Pomfret School) drove in the tying run, Brett Reedy (Enfield, Conn./Enfield), who was pinch running for Franquiz, on a single to left field.

Cam Guarino (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) was tasked with keeping Saint Thomas Aquinas off the scoreboard in extra innings, a task in which he succeeded in as he forced a 1-2-3 inning. After Boag reached on a fielder's choice, Wells was able to draw a walk to move him into scoring position. It was Budzik, who would deliver the game winning hit as he poked a single to left to plate Boag, giving the Chargers a 9-8 win over the Spartans. 
 

NEXT ON TAP
Up next, the New Haven baseball team will have to wait for their home debut after their game with Assumption was postponed. The squad will head to Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. on Saturday to take on the Mercy Mavericks for the first of a double-header. First pitch is scheduled for noon on Saturday, March 12.