West Haven, Conn. – Sophomore righty Ryan Murphy (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) struck out a career-high 12 in the opener and redshirt senior first baseman Andrew Taft (Clinton, N.Y./Clinton/Buffalo) blasted a go-ahead home run in the nightcap to lead the Le Moyne College baseball team to a sweep of the University of New Haven in a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division doubleheader on Friday at Frank Vieira Field. The Dolphins won the opener, 5-2, and posted a 7-1 win in the second game.

New Haven opened the day's scoring with a run in the bottom of the second inning. First baseman Andrew Garcia led off with a double to left field and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Designated hitter Thomas Eletto then doubled to right center to drive in Garcia.

The Dolphins took the lead with four runs in the fifth. Redshirt sophomore second baseman Brian O'Mara (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) led off with a single to center and then took second on a wild pitch. After freshman shortstop Nick Nevins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) singled back to the pitcher, senior catcher/designated hitter Camillo Spinoso (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/George Washington) doubled down the left field line to plate O'Mara. Following a walk by Taft to load the bases and a pitching change, senior designated hitter Nick Place (Towanda, Pa./Towanda) walked on six pitches to force in Nevins. Sophomore right fielder Michael Smith (Montebello, N.Y./Suffern) then lifted a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Nevins with the third run. Taft then scored as junior third baseman Nicholas Jacques (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa) reached on an error by the third baseman.

The Chargers cut their deficit to two with a run in the eighth on two hits. Left fielder Dylan Chiaro led off with a single to second base and moved to second on a wild pitch. Following a pair of outs, second baseman/third baseman James Myers doubled to right center to knock in Chiaro.

Le Moyne pushed its lead back to three with one run in the ninth. Taft walked with two outs, moved to second on a single by Place and scored on a single to center by Smith.

Murphy, who struck out 10 and tossed a seven-inning no-hitter against the Chargers last year, recorded multiple strikeouts in four of his eight innings, while yielding just two runs and six hits. Freshman Jacob Maser (Chittenango, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) earned his sixth save of the season after recording three outs on seven pitches in the bottom of the ninth. Devon DiMascio dropped to 0-7 on the season after allowing four runs and five hits over four-plus innings, while striking out five.

Following five scoreless innings to start the second game, the Dolphins struck for three runs in the top of the sixth. Nevins drew a walk to start the frame and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Following an out, Taft blasted his East Region-best 11th home run of the season to left field. After Smith singled and an out, junior center fielder Justin Tuey (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) doubled to left center to drive in Smith.

Le Moyne pushed its lead to four with a run in the seventh. Sophomore catcher Drew Fureno (Canajoharie, N.Y./Fort Plain) led off with a single to right, stole second with one out and scored on a double to left by Nevins.

New Haven answered with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Eletto led off with a double to center and moved to third on a one-out single to right by Chiaro. Following an out, right fielder Noah Fortuna singled to right to plate Eletto.

The Dolphins added another three runs in the eighth inning. Tuey doubled down the left field line with one out, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball as Place walked. After Fureno reached on an error by the third baseman and an out, Nevins singled to left field to knock in senior pinch-runner David DiNorcia (Naples, Fla./Seacrest Country Day) and Fureno.

Sophomore Sam Byrns (Mount Kisco, N.Y./Fox Lane) earned his third win of the season after recording 10 outs out of the bullpen, while striking out five and yielding just one run and four hits. Nevins, Taft, Smith and Tuey each recorded two hits in the game. Chris Leindecker took the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits over six innings, while striking out eight.
 
Le Moyne (17-19, 8-8 NE10, 5-5 SW), which has posted consecutive doubleheader sweeps of the Chargers, completes the series with the Chargers on Monday at 3:30 p.m.