West Hartford, CT ? Junior Mike Amendola made his second hit of the day pay off, scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting Hartford to a 13-12 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders on Wednesday afternoon. The Hawks improve to 5-15 on the season, while Holy Cross stands at 12-17 overall.
A total of 16 pitchers were used in the game, eight for each team. The Hawks win went to Simon Kudernatsch (2-0) who came on as one of the relievers. Kudernatsch pitched the 10th inning and allowed an unearned run on one hit. Ryan George suffered his second loss of the season, falling to 1-2 overall. George pitched the final two innings allowing six earned runs on five hits and three walks, with three strike outs.
At the plate, the Hawks were led by Andy Drexel who finished 4-for-5 with six RBI, including two on a first inning home run and two crucial RBI on a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth. Kudernatsch and Brady Stouffer also finished with a multi-RBI game, each contributing two. Kudernatsch finished the game going 2-for-6, while also scoring two runs.
The first seven runs of the game all came by way of home runs. The Hawks put the first four runs on the board, two in the first and two in the third. Drexel provided the thrust in the first inning, scoring Amendola who walked with two outs. In the third, a lead-off walk to Jason Freethey proved costly as Stouffer followed that at bat with a home run to right center field, in only his second game after returning from injury.
The Crusaders put their first runs on the board in the fourth inning, all coming by way of a three-run home run from John Sills, which scored Eric Oxford who reached on an error and Jake Gorman who walked.
The Crusaders took their first lead in the fifth inning, again scoring three runs. Matt Perry provided the RBI that tied the game on a single, while Oxford scored the go-ahead RBI, knocking in two runs on a single to left. Holy Cross added two more runs in the sixth and three additional in the seventh.
Hartford added single runs in the fifth, sixth and eight, but a four-run ninth is what made the difference, forcing extra innings. The first three Hawks batters in the bottom of ninth all reached safely, the first two by walks and the third hit by a pitch. Kudernatsch knocked in the first run of the inning on a bases-loaded fielders choice. The next two scored on Drexel's single up the middle, his fourth hit of the game. The tying run came off the bat of Ben Sobocinski who doubled to center field, scoring Amendola.
Kuderntasch gave up one run in the 10th inning, a run only made possible by a Hartford error. Jack Laurendeau was the first base runner, reaching on a throwing error at third base which also allowed him to take second. Laurendeau then scored on the next at bat, a double down the left field line from Eddie Blailer.
The Hawks scored both the tying and game-winning runs in the tenth with two outs. Matt Walker provided the first hit of the inning, a double to right center field. A routine groundout led to the second out and allowed Rodger Wilmot, who pinch ran for Walker, to advance to third. Victor Santana was then hit by a pitch, putting runners at the corners, which led to a single to left scoring Wilmot to tie the game. With runners again at the corners, Amendola looked at a third ball, before taking a full count slider down the left field line allowing Santana to score easily from third.
The Hawks welcome the Maine Black Bears to the Hartford Baseball Field for the home conference opener on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The teams will play a double header on Saturday, a nine inning followed by a seven inning game, and the follow that up with a doubleheader on Sunday, which is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
