NEW HAVEN (Interstat) — Esteban Torres pitched six innings of no-hit baseball and the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks defeated the New Haven Chargers 5-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday in a Northeast Conference matchup.

Torres, a right-hander, allowed one earned run on zero hits while striking out two and walking three over six innings. He did not surrender a hit, the only run coming on a third-inning single by Cam McGugan that scored Nick Ungania, who had reached on a hit-by-pitch and stolen second. Henry Clausell relieved Torres and tossed three hitless innings with one strikeout to earn the save, as the Hawks improved to 9-38 while the Chargers fell to 11-33.

Maryland-Eastern Shore struck first in the top of the first inning when Julian Jimenez singled down the right-field line, but he was caught stealing second. The Hawks stranded a runner in the inning, but the game remained scoreless until the top of the fourth.

Leading 0-0, the Hawks broke through against New Haven starter Maxwell Hilsenroth. Darrius Brown led off with a double down the left-field line, and Diego Aponte followed by crushing a two-run home run to right field, giving Maryland-Eastern Shore a 2-0 lead. Aponte finished 1-for-3 with the homer and two RBIs.

The Chargers answered in the bottom of the third. Ungania was hit by a pitch, stole second, and McGugan singled to left to cut the deficit to 2-1. That was the only hit Torres allowed. He exited after six innings having thrown 89 pitches, and Clausell took over in the seventh.

The Hawks extended the lead in the sixth inning. Jonathan Gonzalez Perez reached on a fielding error by third baseman Joseph Frazzetta, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Joshua Caldwell, and scored on a passed ball after Brown singled to center. Brown advanced to second on the passed ball and later to third on a groundout, but was stranded.

Maryland-Eastern Shore added two more runs in the top of the seventh. Ansel Carson walked, Henry Clausell reached on another error by Frazzetta, and Gonzalez Perez doubled to left-center, scoring both runners for a 5-1 cushion. Clausell, serving as the designated hitter in the first inning, struck out looking in his final plate appearance but later took the mound.

Hilsenroth took the loss for New Haven, allowing four earned runs on nine hits over seven innings while striking out six. Jace VanValkenburg pitched two scoreless innings in relief, giving up one hit and striking out two.

Brown led the Hawks’ offense, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Gonzalez Perez went 1-for-5 with two RBIs. For New Haven, Ungania doubled in the first inning and finished 1-for-4, while Frazzetta doubled in the sixth. McGugan drove in the Chargers’ only run.

Defensively, the Chargers committed two errors at third base, both by Frazzetta, and allowed an unearned run. The Hawks turned one double play in the fourth inning when shortstop Jonathan Rodriguez fielded a grounder and started a 6-4-3 twin killing.

The game was the first of a two-game series between the teams, with the second game scheduled for later Friday. No betting line was available for the contest.