West Hartford, CT - The University of Hartford baseball team picked up a pair of come-from-behind victories over instate rival Sacred Heart University on Saturday afternoon at the Hartford Baseball Field. The Hawks earned 4-3 and 3-2 decisions over the Pioneers, improving to 5-10 overall on the season. Sacred Heart falls to 1-19 on the year.
Hartford's two staring pitchers threw complete games, the first two of the season for Hartford. Weston Szymanski earned his first win of the season with his nine inning outing. He finished the game allowing three runs, just one of them earned, on eight hits, while striking out seven batters. Chris Greiner pitched the complete second game, seven innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits, while striking out nine batters. Sxymanski and Greiner lead the team in strikeouts on the season with 17 and 16 respectively.
Bill Perry, Andy Drexel and Mike Amendola led the team on the day, each finishing with three hits. Amendola added three RBI to his tally, leading the team. Four other players finished with an RBI each, while five others each had a hit.
Sacred Heart struck first in the early game with two runs in the third inning. The Pioneers led off the inning with Greg DePalma reaching base on a Hartford error. He eventually scored on a JJ Edwards single after Ryan Nemcek reached base on a walk. Nemcek was the second run of the innings scoring on a Tyler Santos single.
Hartford tied the game with a pair of runs in the sixth inning after a lead off single for Ben Sobocinski. Sobocinski came around to score the first run of the inning on an infield groundout. Brady Stouffer provided the second runner of the inning when she reached on a catcher's throwing error. He eventually scored on a single from Amendola.
Hartford then took a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning after a lead off walk to Sobocinski proved costly. He advanced to second on a sacrifice from Stouffer and then scored on a double to right field form Perry. Perry then scored on an Amendola single, his second RBI of the game.
Szymanski allowed a leadoff single to start the ninth inning and it turned into the Pioneers third run. He then stranded the tying run on third forcing MC Shifano into a groundout back to him.
In the second game, Greiner sat the first three batters of the game down before allowing a lead off home run to begin the second inning, putting the Hawks behind 1-0 early. Hartford tied the game with a single run in the fifth after a lead off single from Drexel. He advanced to second on a sacrifice and wheeled out a run on a single from Simon Kudernatsch with two outs.
Sacred Heart then regained the lead with a run in the top of the sixth, making the Hawks pay on a leadoff error in left field. Mike Fitton started the game reaching on the Hartford miscue and would score on the next batter, a single from JJ Edwards.
Hartford closed out the day with four straight hits in the bottom of the seventh, leading to a pair of runs, the game winner coming on a walk-off single from Adam Bowser. Matt Walker led off the inning with a single and he scored on the next batter, a double to left center field from Amendola. Amendola then took third on Drexel's single and scored on Bowser's single to end the game.
Hartford will play a double header at Quinnipiac to close out a four-game weekend. The Hawks and Bobcats will throw the first pitch of the day at 12:00 p.m. in Hamden, CT.
