WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Rightfielder Jimmy Chatfield homered and drove in five runs, and four players had multi-hit games, as the Yale baseball team beat LIU 9-6 Thursday afternoon in the home opener at George H.W. Bush '48 Field.
 
Yale (4-4, 0-0 Ivy League) fell behind early but tied the game in the bottom of the first. Chatfield's one-out blast to left field with leftfielder Alec Atkinson and shortstop Mason LaPlante on base knotted the score 3-3.
 
Right-hander Grant Kipp settled down after allowing three runs in the first inning, and wound up getting into the sixth before giving way to left-hander Reid Easterly. Kipp finished with six strikeouts in 5.1 innings, allowing five earned runs.  
 
Yale went ahead with a big inning in the bottom of the third. Chatfield was once again at the center of the action. After Atkinson doubled in LaPlante to break the tie, Chatfield doubled to drive in Atkinson and designated hitter Ben Metzner. Third baseman Carson Swank then drove in Chatfield to extend the lead to 7-3.
 
The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, with first baseman Colton Shaw and LaPlante scoring on wild pitches.
 
LIU (6-7, 0-0 NEC) crept closer with a run in the fifth and two in the sixth, but Easterly finished off the win with 3.2 innings of scoreless work.
 
Atkinson, Chatfield, LaPlante and Metzner had two hits each. LaPlante scored three runs.
 
The game was originally scheduled to be played Saturday but was moved up due to the weather forecast. This was Yale's first home baseball game since sweeping Princeton in a doubleheader May 11, 2019. The Bulldogs had not played any home games when the 2020 season was canceled after 10 games due to the pandemic.
 
Yale plays at Fordham Friday at 4:00 p.m.