West Hartford, CT ? The University of Hartford softball team picked up two wins against Fairfield University on Thursday, defeating the Stags by a final of 10-2 in the first game and picking up a 4-2 victory in the second at the UH Softball Field. With the pair of wins, the Hawks improve to 15-16 on the season, while the Stags fall to 15-19.
In the opening game of the doubleheader, pitcher Brittney Stratton fanned four batters in five innings en route to her 11th win of the season, allowing just two runs on five hits. The victory was the 43rd of the junior's career, tying Danielle Simoneau for the program's all-time win record.
Hartford's bats caught fire in game one as the Hawks notched 10 runs behind 11 hits to earn a 10-2 mercy-rule victory over the Stags. Four Hawks recorded multiple-hit games with Sara Messinger and Amanda Sais leading the offense tallying three hits apiece. Messinger recorded three doubles with three RBI and crossed the plate twice while Sais finished 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring two runs and knocking in one. Also hitting well for the Hawks was junior Ann Kyzer. The first baseman went 2-for-3, driving in two runs off her third homer of the season.
The Hawks crossed one run in the bottom of the first inning and rallied for four runs in the second to take an early 5-0 lead over the Stags. A one out double by Messinger followed by a Sais single and a walk by Kyzer loaded the bases for senior Kristen Cericola. The center fielder earned a walk ? the 66th of her career, breaking the school record previously set by Kristie Rochette in the 2007 season ? off Fairfield hurler Iovino to plate Kyzer for the first notch on the scoreboard.
Hartford plated four runs off four hits in the second to extend its lead to five runs. Anrico singled and Demarest was hit by an Iovino pitch to lead off the bottom half of the frame. Messinger's second double of the outing plated Anrico for the Hawks' second run of the game. Sais followed with a base hit to drive in Demarest, and a single by Kyzer brought home Messinger and Anrico for the final runs of the stanza.
Kyzer's two run shot in the fourth extended the Hawks' lead to 7-0. The Stags plated two runs on three hits in the top of the fifth however Hartford came back with three of their own in the second half of the frame to clinch the 10-2 mercy-rule victory. Messinger powered her third double of the game with no outs and the bases juiced to drive in two, and Cericola closed out the game with an RBI single.
Danielle Iovino took the loss for the Stags inside the circle dropping her record to 1-4 overall. The sophomore pitched 4.2 innings, allowing 10 Hartford runs on 11 hits. Kayla Marth led Fairfield at the plate, finishing 2-for-3.
The Hawks scored a pair of runs in both the first and third innings to jump out to a 4-1 lead over the Stags in the nightcap. With two runners in scoring position and just one out, a single off the bat of Kyzer plated Messinger and Kyzer in the first, giving Hartford an early 2-0 advantage. Fairfield managed to get one run back in the second, but a long ball over the left field fence by sophomore Lauren Kamena boosted the Hawks' lead to 4-1.
The Stags scratched one more run across the scoreboard in the top of the fifth on a double by Kayla Marth, scoring Kristie Trifiolis who walked to lead off the inning. With the score at 4-2, Fairfield had an opportunity to plate the potential game-tying run in its final at-bats with runners on the corners and two out, but Hartford rookie Siera Sheehan forced Fairfield third baseman Allison Wigand into an infield ground out to end the game.
Sheehan pitched a complete game for the Hawks, giving up just two runs on six hits to earn her fourth win of the season (4-9). The rookie fanned four batters in the win. For the Stags, Meghan Borst and Sarah Minice each pitched three innings. Borst gave up four runs while striking out four for the loss, while Minice gave up no runs on two hits, earning one strikeout.
In the two games, the Hawks combined to score 14 runs on 20 hits, with Sais leading the offense with five hits in seven at-bats. The senior also crossed the plate a team-high four times. Hartford held its opponents to just 11 hits, allowing four Fairfield runs in the doubleheader.
The Hawks travel to Maine for a three-game weekend series with the Black Bears. The first pitch of the series will be thrown on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
