West Haven, C.T.- In the five-game series against Saint Thomas Aquinas the Chargers bounced back a first game loss to the Spartans. The blue and gold ending their non-conference series play, looked to get a series win against STAC, with these two wins the Chargers will look to Monday afternoon to take the series against the Spartans.
Game 1: New Haven 4, STAC 1
Graduate Izaiya Mestre (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) took the mound to start the Chargers comeback, going five innings, allowing five hits and one run, striking out seven and walking one. After sending the Spartans line up back to their bench in order, Mestre would keep the Spartans to a zero run first inning.
The Chargers would start off their first at bat with a strikeout but would eventually capitalize on their first run when Josh Lester (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague) would hit a single to right field to score one run.
Going into the second inning the Chargers would have a one run lead, which would continue on into the next inning after Mestre put down the side. Continuing his momentum, Mestre once again sent the Spartans back to their bench in order.
New Haven would capitalize on their home pitching by grabbing another run to further their lead when Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) would hit a sacrifice fly to send Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) home, after Cain had found himself on base from a single to the shortstop.
The inning would end on a high note for the Chargers, pushing their lead to 3-0 when Josh Lester (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague) would put himself in a run down during and first and third situation, letting Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) run home shortly before he was tagged out for the third out of the inning.
The Spartans would find their first run in top of the fifth of a single to center field, howver the Chargers would answer back with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth. After a leadoff single from Noah Budzik (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell), Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) would step up to the plate and find himself a single. Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) would hit a dribbler to the pitcher, allowing Budzik to score to boost the Chargers lead to four, which would end the Chargers offense for the rest of the game.
Izaiya Mestre (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) would grab another win for the Chargers, with help from Bryan Pazulski (Media, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) who threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen. Pazulski recorded the last six outs to earn the save for the Chargers.
The Chargers gathered a total of six hits on the afternoon, with five different New Haven players collecting at least one hit a piece.
Game 2: New Haven 6, STAC 0
Coming off a win from game one the Chargers looked to graduate Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) to attempt to take a full sweep on the afternoon. Eletto went for six innings, allowing three hits and zero runs over, striking out five and walking none.
The Chargers got a hot start in the first inning, starting the momentum from a single from Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), followed by a double from Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery). Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) would step up to the plate with two runners on, hitting a sacrifice fly scoring one for the first run of the day.
Eletto would end up putting down the side in order for two innings, disrupted by one error in the top of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth the Chargers would start off with a walk from Kenneth Franquiz (Bellmore. N.Y./Mepham). After a perfect bunt from Noah Budzik (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell), Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) would find himself a single to left field, moving Franquiz to third base. Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) would find a ground ball and reach on an error from the shortstop allowing two to score, pushing the Chargers lead to 3-0.
The lead would continue, when Shaun Callahan (Newington, Conn./Newington) would single on a line drive to left find scoring two. The last run from the blue and gold would come from a sacrifice fly from Noah Budzik (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell), scoring Callahan, putting the Chargers up by six in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Drew Silverman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) came in for the last inning, walking the first batter but gathering three strikeouts to end the game.
Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) led the Chargers going two for four at the plate. Shaun Callahan (Newington, Conn./Newington) and Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), as well as four other Chargers found themselves one of the six hits collected by New Haven.
UP NEXT:
The Chargers will continue the five-game series as they head to Sparkhill, New York to take on the Spartans for the last of the two games from the five-game series. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 first pitch at the Palisades Credit Union Park.
