Matt Cain- Contributor
The Owls lost a wild and grueling game to their cross-town rival, University of New Haven. The final score would be 11-9 in a windy and rainy game.
The Chargers came into the university ballpark and jumped out to a whooping 11-0 lead through the first seven innings. The Chargers scored seven runs in the seventh, flipping the batting order over.
“We’re playing a cross-town rival. We wanna put our best foot forward, and we can’t go down seven nothing and be ok,” Head Coach Tim Shea said. “To their credit, we got the tying run to the plate. These guys are resilient.”
Late in the game, the Owls came storming back, driving in eight runs in the eighth inning and one more run in the ninth to make the score 11-9, with a chance to walk it off for the Owls.
This loss now puts the Owls at 12-8 on the season and 1-1 at their home ballpark. With the Owls fighting their way back into the game, this has been the norm for their season so far.
The Owls came into this game having won three of their last five, all of which were close games. In this game, New Haven took control on the mound, with their starting pitcher Vincent Fusco, pitching a shut-out.
Pitcher and designated hitter Chad Fedeli, a junior, struggled on the mound, giving up six hits in five and two-thirds innings.
“This team has a lot of fight. Everyone believes in that, and we look forward to the next pitch because we know we can compete with anyone,” Fedeli said.
After struggling the first five innings on the mound, Fedeli kept the game scoreless through the first three. Coach Shea looked towards the bullpen after five innings while Fedeli continued to bat.
Through the first twenty games, Fedeli has a .299 batting average and 19 RBI, which is why he hit second in the order.
Fedeli is also a key piece to the team, as he is a utility player who normally plays some of the in-field. He was a part of the big rally in the eighth, getting on base.
Catcher Billy Sullivan, a senior, started the rally.
While bases were loaded, third baseman Derick Jagello, a junior, and shortstop Patrick Dillon, a graduate, each scored a run thanks to Sullivan’s reaching on UNH’s fielding error.
First baseman and cleanup hitter Jack Drewry, a graduate, singled, knocking in Fedeli and advancing Sullivan to second.
“There’s been times this year where we got off to a slow start in the front-end of the game and build momentum through the back-end of the game,” Sullivan said. “We have to build off that and jump out to an early start offensively.”
With this loss, the Owls will look to take a different approach in their coming games.
