Logan Gillis
Logan Gillis

New Haven Takes a Pair from Bentley, 4-3 and 4-1

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Sophomore lefty Joey Royer (Westbrook, Maine) and junior righty Henry Hirsch combined on a four-hitter as the University of New Haven completed a sweep of visiting Bentley University, 4-1, in the second half of a Northeast-10 Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Frank Vieira Field.

The Chargers, who pulled out a 4-3 win in the opener, improved to 8-4 overall and 2-0 NE-10 while Bentley slipped to 7-10 (0-2).

In the nightcap, New Haven junior DH Chris DeMorais (West Hartford, Conn.) led off the second with a single to left center. After a sacrifice and an error put runners on the corners, sophomore first baseman Zach Collett (Westbrook, Maine) made it a 1-0 game with an RBI single to left. Freshman shortstop Alex Palmieri (West Haven, Conn.) followed with another single to left for the Chargers' second run.

Bentley threatened in the fifth with a single by junior right fielder Tom Nagy (Fairfield, Conn./ Ludlowe HS) and two errors loading the bases with one out. However, Hirsch escaped with back-to-back strikeouts, both looking. He finished the day with nine in six innings of relief work.

New Haven added insurance runs in the fifth and seventh innings with Bentley's lone run of the game sandwiched in between, in the top of the seventh.  Freshman first baseman Evan Mondor (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth HS) singled up the middle, senior second baseman Logan Gillis (Merrimack, N.H./Lawrence Academy) followed with a double, and Mondor scored on the fourth sacrifice fly of the year by senior catcher Kevin Korwek (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand HS).

Royer, in his first appearance of the season, pitched the first three innings for New Haven and retired all nine Falcons he faced. Hirsch followed him to the mound and scattered four hits, including two to Nagy.

Senior righty JP Ashline (Clinton, Mass./Acton-Boxboro Reg. HS) was on the mound for the Falcons and he allowed nine hits, including three by Palmieri, in seven innings.

In the opener, Bentley senior reliever Lamarre Rey (Lynn, Mass./Pingree School) took the loss despite striking out seven of the eight batters he faced. The only hit he allowed was a double by freshman shortstop Nick Nunziato (Setauket, N.Y.) to lead off the seventh, and that proved to be costly. A wild pitch sent Nunziato to third, and another enabled him to score, breaking a 3-3 tie.

The back-and-forth game saw Bentley strike first with a run in the top of the first. Junior center fielder Sean Keady (Norwood, Mass./Norwood HS) reached on an error to open the game, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and score on a grounder to first by junior shortstop Will Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley HS).

After New Haven scored single runs in the third and fifth, Bentley regained the lead with two in the top of the sixth. Brennan delivered a one-out single to left center, moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch and scored on Nagy's single down the right field line. Nagy stole second and scored the Falcons' third run on a single up the middle by Gillis.

The lead didn't last long as the Chargers answered in the bottom of the sixth, a two-out double by senior second baseman Andrew Johnson (Branford, Conn.) sending in DeMorais from second.

Gillis and Keady each had two hits for Bentley in the opener, and both Nagy and Gillis had three in the doubleheader.

Bentley remains on the road for a doubleheader at Southern Connecticut State Sunday at noon.