West Hartford, CT - The University of Hartford baseball team bounced back from a Monday loss to take home an impressive 11th inning walk-off 16-12 victory over the Rhode Island Rams on Tuesday afternoon. Senior catcher Ryan Crowley saved the game for Hartford with a two-run bomb to right center field in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score at 12, before belting the game-winning walk-off grand slam over the right field fence.
Crowley finished the game with four hits in seven at bats with eight RBI, a season best for all Hawks and a career best for him. He was one of five players to finish with a multi-hit game, with the other four all recording two hits a piece. Brady Stouffer, Bill Perry, Chris Hebert and Andrew Dorman all finished with two hits.
The Hawks finished with 16 total hits in the game, while Rhode Island had 14. In total, there were six home runs, three from each team. Perry added a solo home run to lead off the second inning. Hebert and Dorman also added two RBI for the Hawks. The Rams were led by Zach Zaneski, who finished with three hits in six at bats with five RBI.
Weston Szymanski picked up the victory for the Hawks (6-5 overall), pitching the final three innings. He was one of 13 total pitchers in the game six for Hartford. Brendan Floyd started for the Hawks and lasted one-plus innings. Floyd allowed eight runs, all earned on five hits and four walks. Bryan Bloch came in relief and pitched four innings, allowing three runs, two of them earned on four hits. Two of Bloch's runs came off of home runs. He also finished with four strike outs. Also seeing time on the mound for the Hawks was Zach Tarner, Marc Toomey and Steve Dabroski.
Both teams opened up the flood gates in the first inning, with each scoring five runs. Mike O'Malley put the first hit on the board with a double to right center with one out. He then stole third and scored on a throwing error for the games first run. After the next two batters walked, Zaneski sent the first wall ball of the day over the right field fence, giving the Rams a four run lead. Ryan Cunningham then came up and single to center field only to score three batters later on an infield ground out.
The Hawks came out of the gate with a vengeance after Ben Sobocinski became the first base runner on a walk. He then took second on a single from Perry and scored on a single to center from Crowley, for the Hawks first run. Adam Bowser then doubled down the left field line, scoring Perry. Bowser became the third Hawks run when he scored on Hebert's first hit of the game. Dorman then sent a ground rule double to center field, scoring Greg Cinelli and Hebert.
The Rams came back out in the second to re-take the lead, a lead they would hold until the ninth inning Hawks come back. Rhode Island led off the inning with the first four batters reaching safely, two on walk and two on hits. The first three of those batters would all come around to score, two of which came off a double to left field from Zaneski. Perry's solo home run in the bottom half of the second pulled the Hawks back within two runs.
The Hawks allowed run in the third, fourth fifth and seventh innings, with Hartford being held scoreless until the seventh inning. Nick Greenwood put up impressive numbers over five and one-third innings of relief pitching. He allowed just one earned run on three hits, while striking out six batters.
Hartford began its come back with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, pulling within three runs. The Hawks threatened with bases loaded in the eighth but were unable to produce, with Tim Boyce doing his job out of the bullpen, forcing Hebert into a lineout to third base.
The Hawks led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to left field from Erik Price. He would take second when Matt O'Connell was hit by a pitch, and then scored on a single to left field from Stouffer. A new pitcher for the Rams, Jamie Degidio, forced Perry into a double play, but Crowley came to the plate with the game on his shoulders, sending his third home run of the season over the right center field fence to tie the game at 12.
Szymanski pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just three base runners, none of which made it past first base. Hartford led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a single to right field from O'Connell, before a single to the pitcher allowed Stouffer to reach. After forcing a fly ball out, the Rams intentionally walked Perry to load the bases, before Crowley sent a two-strike bomb over the right field fence, approximately 25 feet in from the foul pole to end the game.
Hartford will be back in action on Friday when they began a three-game series with the New Jersey Institute of Technology at 3:00 p.m. The Hawks will play a single game on Friday before closing out the season with a double header on Saturday.
