FAIRFIELD, Conn. — New Haven baseball (1-15, 1-5 NEC) suffered a 16-3 defeat against Sacred Heart University (5-16, 3-3 NEC) at Veterans Park on Wednesday.
Casey Cerruto (Torrington, Conn./St. Paul Catholic) led the Chargers with a double and an RBI in the second inning.
Sacred Heart set the tone early, scoring four runs in the first inning due to several walks, leaving New Haven trailing 4-0. The Blue & Gold responded in the second inning when Cerruto walked, advanced on a
Jake Russo (Yaphank, N.Y./Bellport) double, and crossed the plate on
Joseph Frazzetta's (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) single, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
The third inning saw Sacred Heart widen the gap with seven more runs, capitalizing on walks, a two-RBI single, wild pitches, and a sacrifice fly, pushing the score to 11-1. Sacred Heart added to its lead in the fourth inning, scoring four additional runs, including two on a wild pitch and an RBI single, making it 15-1.
In the fifth inning, New Haven managed to score.
Jaylin Manson (Newington, Conn./Newington) walked and scored on Cerruto's single, followed by Russo's sacrifice fly bringing in
Shaun Callahan (Newington, Conn./Newington), closing the gap slightly to 16-3. However, neither team scored in the final two innings, with Sacred Heart claiming a 16-3 victory.
New Haven's pitchers faced difficulties throughout the game.
Jesse Kostulias (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) walked all five batters he faced, allowing four earned runs.
Justin Eckrote (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) pitched 2 innings, conceding five earned runs on two hits and six walks, with one strikeout.
James Reilly (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa), Kaleb Martinek,
Robert Synodi (Hebron, C.T./RHAM),
Cole Gibson (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlow), and
Carson Morgan (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) also took the mound, combining for nine earned runs on five hits, with Gibson and Morgan managing to record strikeouts.
Offensively, Cerruto recorded two hits, including a double, and contributed one RBI while scoring a run. Manson drew two walks and scored, while Russo added a hit and an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Frazzetta also chipped in with a hit and an RBI.
Up next, New Haven will host Wagner College at 3 p.m. Friday, March 27, at Frank Vieira Field in West Haven, Conn.