Box Score

West Haven, Conn. – The fourth-seeded Adelphi University baseball team concluded its season with a 5-0 loss at top-seeded University of New Haven in Northeast-10 Conference Championship Southwest Division First Round action at Frank Vieira Field on Tuesday. The Panthers wrap up the 2013 season with an overall record of 23-25-1, while the Chargers improve to 30-13 and advance to the double-elimination round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship where they will host third-seeded Le Moyne on Thursday.

Adelphi ran into a collective three-hit effort by New Haven pitching, beginning with starter Pat Simone who went six innings of two-hit shutout baseball. The lefty needed just 72 pitches to record 18 outs, although Panther hitters worked three walks off Simone, who had issued just five walks in 55 innings prior to today's game.

Starting pitcher Stephen Bove was saddled with the loss for the Panthers after tossing the first 4.1 innings. At the plate, Kevin Hutzel, Brandon Stahl and Vincent Sharkey each singled for the visitors, who saw just two runners reach scoring position in the contest.

For New Haven, Kyle Cullen ripped a pair of doubles, while Andrew Johnson poked a two-run single and recorded a sacrifice fly for a game-high three RBI. Brendan O'Reilly singled twice, and Joe Romanelli and Chris DeMorais each drove in a run.

Bove worked around a leadoff single in the first thanks to some heads-up defense. After Stephen Clout's base hit through the right side, Mejia charged to field O'Reilly's bunt and fired to second for the force out. Bove then knocked down a comebacker for the second out and retired the side with an infield pop-up.

The Chargers jumped on the board in the bottom of the second after Cullen hustled for a leadoff double and moved to third on a balk. Johnson lofted a fly ball deep enough to left field to plate Cullen and give the hosts a 1-0 lead after two frames.

Bove kept the New Haven bats in check for the next two innings but ran into trouble in the fifth. The Chargers sent nine batters to the plate in the inning, beginning with Clout's leadoff single. Brendon Buckley bunted Clout to second and New Haven loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch and another base hit. Romanelli cracked a one-run hit to make it 2-0 and chase Bove from the game, but DeMorais greeted reliever Jeff Andersen by working a bases-loaded walk to force in the third Chargers run. Andersen sat Cullen down on strikes, but Johnson laced a two-run single to center that made it 5-0 before another K retired the side.

The fifth would prove to be the difference as neither team pushed across a run the rest of the way. Adelphi reliever Dillon McNamara dodged two hits and a walk but tossed two shutout innings to keep the deficit in check, yet John Melville was equally as strong out of the bullpen for the Chargers. The middle reliever threw two innings, struck out three and allowed just one hit to bridge the gap to Peter Jay, who helped punch New Haven's ticket to the next round with a one-two-three ninth inning.

Adelphi finishes the 2013 season with its ninth postseason appearance in 10 seasons under Head Coach Dom Scala. The Panthers surpassed the 20-win mark for the ninth straight season and a pair of Adelphi players reached historical personal milestones. McNamara set the Adelphi single-season and career saves records with his league-leading 13 saves, while Anthony Zarrella eclipsed the 100-career RBI mark with a 2-4 performance in a 10-3 win over Saint Rose on April 28.