Merchants ace Vince Lehman powers past #23 Southern Connecticut in a 2 - 0 shutout.

WEST HAVEN, Conn. - The University of New Haven baseball team defeated Southern Connecticut State University 2-0 Wednesday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference contest at Frank Vieira Field. The Chargers improve to 22-9 overall and 10-6 in the NE-10, while the Owls falls to 21-8-1 overall and 14-4 in conference play.

Trailing 1-0, SCSU opened the sixth inning with a single, but three straight outs, including a double play, ended the inning. UNH managed one hit in the bottom of the sixth, while senior starting pitcher Vince Lehman forced another three-straight SCSU outs to open the seventh inning.

Sophomore Jordan Kershaw recorded another lead off hit with a single to right center to start the bottom half of the seventh inning. David Wirkus then entered the game as a pinch runner at first base. Donnelly advanced Wirkus to second with a well-place sacrifice bunt, while two errors eventually scored Wirkus and gave the Chargers a 2-0 lead.

The Owls had just two base runners in the final two innings, while Mitch Wassi stepped into the game on the mound for the Chargers and recorded his eighth save of the season.

Lehman led the Chargers in his third win of the season. He pitched seven 1/3 innings and tallied eight strikeouts.

The Chargers return to action this weekend when they travel to Merrimack College for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 17. New Haven also hosts American International on Sunday in a single game at 12 p.m. Lehman will return to the Merchants for the fourth consecutive year.