West Haven, CT – On their first day of conference play the Chargers found themselves two more wins against the Panthers of Adelphi on Friday afternoon. After defeating the Panthers 23-4 down in Florida, the Chargers completed the two-game sweep with scores of 9-2 and 4-1.
Game 1- New Haven 9, Adelphi University 2 (9 Innings)
Coming off a hot win against Adelphi in their last meeting, the Chargers turned to Izaiya Mester to start the first game of the slate to do it again. Starting the game off with sitting down the first batter he faced, Adelphi still managed to get some contact in, but would not find a run within the inning.
The Chargers would go down quickly in the first but would find their momentum in the second inning. Starting the momentum off with a single from Josh Lester (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague), followed by a double to center field from Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy). With only one out, Kenneth Franquiz (Bellmore. N.Y./Mepham) would find himself at the plate with two runners on. With an 0-2 count, Franquiz would find himself a two RBI single to center field.
The Chargers would break open the game in the top of the fifth with a four-run innings. The inning started on a leadoff single from Noah Budzik (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell), then another single from Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park). The Chargers could not settle for a single, instead collecting a double from Cole Maucere (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) and a triple from Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) to add to New Haven's lead. The inning would be capped off with a sacrifice fly from Owen Pincince (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) bringing in another run to extend their lead 6-1.
New Haven's offensive would be capped off with a 2-run bomb to left field from Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park), his fourth on the season thus far.
Izaiya Mestre (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) earned the win on the mound for New Haven. The righthander surrendered one run on five hits over five innings, striking out four and walking one. Bryan Pazulski (Media, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) threw four innings in relief out of the bullpen.
Leading the way in the box for the Chargers was Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park), who had three hits in five at bats. The Chargers tallied up nine hits on the first game. Cole Maucere (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) and Kenneth Franquiz (Bellmore. N.Y./Mepham) both finding two RBIs for New Haven.
Game 2- New Haven 4, Adelphi University 1 (7 Innings)
Looking to continue their hot start, New Haven turned to graduate Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) to start the second game of the slate. Starting the game off hot with a 1-2-3 inning to retire the side.
The Chargers bats stayed hot, finding their first run in the first inning off a line drive single from Owen Pincince (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) driving in one. Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) up at the plate would find himself an RBI on a ground out to the first baseman, and Josh Lester (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague) would bring another one home on a single to left field.
A homerun in the top of the third inning from Adelphi would deny New Haven the shutout but would be answered right away with a leadoff homerun to right field from Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford). The game would then continue to stay consistent, lockdown pitching minimizing the damage from both the Panthers and the Chargers at the plate.
Freshman Michael Gatti (East Norwich, N.Y./Oyster Bay) would find himself out of the bullpen and in to pitch in the top of the 5th inning. Facing a little bit of adversity, the freshman would find himself with bases loaded and two outs, trying to keep the Chargers lead at three. After a hard fought at bat from the Adelphi first baseman, Gatti would find himself a third strike and get himself out of trouble.
Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) would improve his record to 4-0 on the season thus far, allowing only two hits and one run over four innings, striking out five and walking one. Drew Silverman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) would find himself his second save on the year, after entering out of the bullpen to close out the game in relief.
New Haven found themselves six hits in the second game of the doubleheader. Leading the way at the plate was Josh Lester (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague) and Owen Pincince (North Haven, Conn./North Haven), both managing multiple hits on the afternoon.
UP NEXT:
The Chargers will continue their four-game series against Adelphi on Sunday, March 26th with another doubleheader. The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and all the action will be available on the Chargers Sport Network on NE10 NOW.
