WEST HARTFORD, CT ? The University of Hartford softball team took the rubber match of the three-game series against Stony Brook University in an 8-1 final on Wednesday afternoon at the UH Softball Field.
Senior Nikki Thompson hit two home runs and drove in five runs to lead the offense while freshman pitcher Brittney Stratton held the Seawolves to only three hits while striking out nine. Thompson's second homer of the game, her fourth of the season and the 18th of her career, tied the school record for career home runs.
Stratton got off to a rough start, walking the game's first batter and then throwing a wild pitch to give Stony Brook (24-14 overall, 10-4 America East) a runner at second with no outs. She worked out of the jam by getting a pair of strikeouts and an infield pop up to strand the runner.
Hartford (19-18 overall, 9-5 America East) put four runs on the board in the third inning, the first of which scored on a throwing error by the SBU third baseman. Thompson then came up with two on and two outs and blasted a shot to right-center that bounced off the top of the fence and out of the park.
Stony Brook's lone run came in the fourth on Stratton's only mistake of the game. Cleanup hitter Melissa Fleury hit a one-out homer to left field that was gone as soon as it hit the bat. Stratton, however, struck out the next batter and then got a pop up to end the inning.
Hartford added a pair of runs in the fifth on RBI singles by sophomore Jackie Simonetty and freshman Olivia Piacentini. Thompson's second homer of the game, a two-run shot that hit off the left field foul pole, came in the sixth. It was the first multiple-homer game of her career and she tied a career high with the five RBI.
Stratton, who has won her last three conference starts, pitched a complete game and improved to 12-8 on the season. Stony Brook starter Sarah Hoffman took the loss, giving up six runs (one earned) on six hits over 4.1 innings. Alyssa Struzenberg threw 1.2 innings of relief and yielded two runs on three hits.
Hartford will next host St. Bonaventure University for a doubleheader on Thursday, April 26 at 2 p.m.
