(04-02-08)
Box Score
WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- Senior left-hander Dan Blake went seven scoreless innings and combined with two other pitchers to five-hit Concordia College, as the University of New Haven picked up a 10-0 win in East Coast Conference play on Wednesday at Frank Vieira Field.
UNH improves to 10-12 overall and retains control of first place in the ECC standings with a 6-2 conference record, while Concordia (N.Y.) falls to 5-15, 2-6.
Kyle Bombace launched his first homer of the season in the eighth inning, a two-run shot, while Tom Rombilus was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI's in the game-breaking fifth inning. Michael Moras finished the day 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Chad Lemos, Kyle Donnelly and Evan Okon each drove in a run as well.
The Charger pitching staff, which sported a bloated 12.07 ERA after the team's 0-8 start, has settled down during UNH's recent run of success. UNH has won 10 of its last 14 games, and during that period Charger pitchers have a 2.66 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 118 1/3 innings.
No one evidences the change more than Blake, who saw his overall ERA drop to 5.35 overall but who has posted a 1.21 ERA in five appearances (22 1/3 innings) since the team's winless start.
On Wednesday, Blake allowed just four hits over seven innings of work to improve his record to 2-2 this season. He used just 63 pitches to get through the seventh, striking out two before leaving with UNH ahead 5-0. Dan Johnson and Mitch Rossi closed out the game with one inning of scoreless relief apiece.
UNH broke open a scoreless game with a five-run fifth inning, keyed by a leadoff double from Moras. Lemos followed with an RBI single to left field, and Tom Ballaro singled to leave two men on. After the first out of the inning, Adam Rozum singled to right field to load the bases. Concordia pitcher Tommy Paradise struck out a batter to make it bases loaded with two outs, but Rombilus knocked a 2-RBI single through the left side to make it a 3-0 game. Two more runs scored on an error at third base in the next at bat, and UNH never looked back.
Donnelly had a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and Okon doubled in a run in the next at-bat, followed by Moras driving in a run on a single to make it 8-0 heading to the eighth.
Bombace hit his first home run of the season in the eighth inning to cap off the day's scoring. The shot easily cleared the left-field fence to plate himself and Rozum.
UNH steps outside conference play for a date with future NE-10 opponent UMass Lowell at Vieira Field this Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. The Chargers host ECC foe Dowling on Sunday.
