(04-18-09) WEST HAVEN, Conn. - The University of New Haven baseball team won the second of two games on Saturday afternoon against Southern New Hampshire University at Frank Vieira Field. The Chargers dropped the first game of the day, 3-2, but bounced back to grab an 8-4 game two victory.
Prior to Saturday's game, UNH senior Evan Okon (left) was recognized for passing Rob Skinnon (right) as the Chargers all-time hits leader.
Game One
Tom Rombilus singled to start the game and moved to third following a sacrifice bunt and groundout. With Jimmy Rivas at bat, a passed ball allowed Rombilus to score and give the Chargers a 1-0 lead.
New Haven held the lead until the 3rd inning when the Penmen pushed across two runs to take a 2-1 advantage.
After Southern New Hampshire tacked on another run in the 6th inning, the Chargers again capitalized on a Penmen miscue when Kyle Donnelly scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 3-2. However, that is as close as New Haven would get as they fell by one run.
Ryan Brockett went 3-for-3 to lead the Chargers at the plate, while Rombilus finished 2-for-4 with one run scored.
Vince Lehman pitched 5.1 innings and allowed three runs with three strikeouts, and Kyle Befus came in and pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in relief.
Game Two
After falling behind 3-0 to begin the second game, New Haven got on the board in the bottom of the 1st inning on a RBI single by Rivas that scored Brockett from second base.
In the 3rd inning, the Chargers first two batters reached base when Dan Harper walked and Michael Magnussen doubled to start the inning. Rombilus had a RBI groundout to bring home Harper and an error by the Penmen brought home Magnussen to tie the game at 3-3.
Both teams scored once in the 6th inning and the game remained tied until the bottom of the 8th when the Chargers put together a two-out rally. Donnelly, Magnussen and Rombilus each had RBI singles as New Haven put together four runs to take an 8-4 lead.
Rombilus and Magnussen both finished with two hits for the Chargers. Rombilus also tallied two RBIs while Magnussen had two runs scored and an RBI. Mitch Rossi earned the win after pitching 2.0 innings in relief.
New Haven returns to action on Sunday, April 19 when they travel to Southern New Hampshire for a 1:00 p.m. game.
Box Score - Game One
Box Score - Game Two
