West Hartford, CT ? Junior outfielder Adam Bowser hit a walk-off single to give the Hartford Baseball team a 3-2, 11th inning, victory over Albany on Sunday at the Hartford Baseball Field. With the win, the Hawks improve to 12-30 overall and 8-11 in conference play. Hartford will next play on Saturday, when they host Maine in the first game of a four-game series with the Black Bears.
With two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, Ben Sobocinski singled up the middle. A throwing error on the Great Danes third baseman, which pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowed Bill Perry to reach first safely and Sobocinski to take third. Bowser then came up and line-drived a two-strike pitch over the head of the center fielder to score Sobocinski.
In the fifth inning, Brady Stouffer hit a solo home run down the left field line to tie the score at one, the first of two ties in the game. The Hawks allowed the first Albany run in the first inning, when a lead off double for Dave West scored off a sacrifice fly from Steve Wyland.
After the Hawks tied the score in the fifth, Albany made Hartford pay on a lead off walk. After the Hawks loaded the bases, to create the force at home, Chris Wood hit a line drive right at the Hawks center fielder with the throw home not in time, allowing West to score the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.
Hartford answered right back when Bowser led off the bottom half of the eighth with a single to left field. Bowser took second on a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt from Ryan Crowley and then went to third on a routine infield ground out. Chris Hebert hit a clutch single to shallow right field, allowing Bowser to score, tying the game at two.
The Hawks had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, when with runners on second and third, a diving catch by the Great Danes third baseman caught designated hitter Greg Cinelli off the bag and unable to tag and score the game-winning run.
Marc Toomey picked up his first win of the season out of the bullpen. Toomey pitched the final four innings of the game and did not allow a run on three hits, while striking out two batters. Rookie right hander Kyle Perry started and went four and one-third innings, coming out of the game with a runner in scoring position and only one out. He was replaced by rookie Bob Rogers, who kept the Great Danes from scoring in that inning. Rogers did allow one run, (earned) in two and two-thirds innings. He also allowed just one hit, while striking out three batters.
The Hawks bats were led by Cinelli, who finished with three hits in five at bats. Bowser finished the game with two hits, the only other Hawk with a multiple hit game. Hartford finished with eight total hits. The Hawks RBI's came from Stouffer, Bowser and Hebert.
Hartford will not be in action again until next weekend when they welcome Maine to town for a four-game conference series. The series will begin on Saturday with a single game, with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
