West Hartford, CT ? The University of Hartford baseball team dropped the final game of a four-game series against the UMBC Retrievers at the Hartford Baseball Field on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Retrievers (16-23 overall, 8-8 AE) complete a four-game sweep of Hartford and also complete the first conference series victory of the season. Hartford falls to 14-24 on the season and 6-6 in conference play.
UMBC took the first lead of the game and would never trail throughout. They put the first run on the board in the fourth inning and then added six runs to that in the fifth inning. The first run was made possible by a Hawks error, which allowed Will Delawter to reach base. He advanced to second on the original error and then scored on the next at bat, a double to center field from Shawn Retz.
The Retrievers batted around in the fifth, beginning everything with Rich Conlon reaching base on a Hawks error. Conlon would eventually be the first run of the game, scoring with Wink Nolan on Scott Peddicord's double to left center field. Nolan would be the only earned run of the six in the inning, with the next four runs scored with two outs. Peddicord would eventually score on a wild pitch, while Steve Russo provided the final three runs of the inning on a three run blast, scoring Delawter and Retz who both walked to reach base.
The Hawks turned to relief pitcher Bob Rogers during the Retrievers fifth inning rally. Rogers would hold UMBC scoreless for the next 4.1 innings, while Hartford chipped away at the lead. The Hawks put up two runs in the sixth, added two more in the seventh and completed the comeback with three runs in the bottom of the ninth to extend the game into extra innings.
The first two Hartford runs came courtesy of a two run home run to left field for Bill Perry, the sixth of the season for him. His long ball scored lead off batter, Ben Sobocinski who reach base on a double to left center. The Hawks opened the seventh with another home run, this time a four-bagger for Matt Walker. Adam Bowser followed him by reaching base on a single up the middle. Andy Drexel came up to the plate and continued the hit streak with a double to left center, scoring Bowser from first.
In the ninth, Hartford began its rally with Drexel reaching base a throwing error from third base. He advanced when Brady Stouffer was hit by a pitch and both advanced two bases on a two out double to left center from Sobocinski, allowing Drexel to score. Both Stouffer and Drexel then wheeled home on a single from Simon Kudernatsch, before UMBC reliever Austin Drewyer forced Perry into a pop up.
Rogers pitched three perfect innings allowing the Hawks to claw back into the game, but then gave up a leadoff home run to Delawter in the first extra frame, it was the only run the Retrievers would need, despite two more base hits in the 10th. Drewyer forced the first Hawks batter in the bottom of the 10th into an infield groundout, before picking off the next two batters looking to end the game.
Hartford returns to action on Tuesday afternoon when they welcome Dartmouth to town for an America East versus Ivy League showdown at 3:00 p.m. at the Hartford baseball field.
