Box Score

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The wind was blowing out to left field and the hitters of the Hartford and Fairfield baseball teams were quick to take advantage of it. Five home runs were hit between the teams, including back-to-back shots from the Hawks' Mike Amendola and Andy Drexel, as the Hawks dropped their fifth straight game, 24-16.

Bob Rogers started and took the loss for the Hawks (3-8), evening his record at 1-1. Kevin Fico went six innings to grab the victory for Fairfield (7-9).

The tone of the game was set early, when Fairfield jumped out to a 5-0 lead before two outs had been recorded. Hartford answered with three in the bottom of the first. Sophomore Victor Santana sent an RBI double screaming down the left field line, and Amendola followed with a rocket to center that got over the outfielder's head for a double. Junior Mike Aldrich would add an RBI single later in the frame.

The Stags broke the score wide open in the third inning, scoring seven runs off Rogers before Zach Tarner was brought in to close out the inning. Fairfield added a run in the sixth before Amendola led off the bottom of the inning with a blast to left field. It was the Hawks' first home run in five home games this season. Drexel wasted no time tallying number two, as he launched a towering shot to right-center.

Tarner, meanwhile, kept the Hawks' prayers alive in his 4.1 innings of work, allowing just two earned runs while striking out two.

Little did the two teams know it, but the three combined runs in the sixth inning marked the start of a game-ending stretch where at least one run was scored in every half inning. Fairfield added three runs in the seventh, seemingly a luxurious cushion to what had been an eight-run lead, but the Hawks came to the plate determined and focused in the bottom of the seventh.

With one out and no one on, pinch hitter Matt Walker lined a single to center field. After sophomore Andrew Siano walked, Santana lined a single to right that scored Walker and pushed Siano all the way to third base. Amendola then walked to load the bases, prompting the Stags to bring Kyle Goldstein out of the bullpen.

As the crowd came to life, Goldstein fared no better than his predecessor, hitting Drexel to force in a run. Aldrich looped a single down the right field line, scoring two and sending Goldstein to an early exit. After a strikeout, Rodger Wilmot kept the inning going by hustling down the first base line on a roller to third, causing a wild throw that moved everyone up a base and brought Drexel in to score. Junior Bobby Gorski capped the inning with a liner to left center, scoring Wilmot and Aldrich. Suddenly the three Fairfield runs from the top of the inning looked even more important as they led just 16-12.

The Stags got three more big insurance runs in the eighth, matched by three from the Hawks in the bottom of the inning. Aldrich's single down the right field line scored Santana and Amendola, and freshman Erik Figueredo recorded his second career RBI when his sacrifice fly backed the center fielder up onto the warning track in the deepest part of the ballpark.

Fairfield put the game out of reach with five runs in the ninth inning, and although Amendola doubled home the game's 40th run in the bottom half, it was not enough for the Hawks to mount yet another dramatic comeback.

The Hawks are back on the field on Friday for a doubleheader with Sacred Heart. The twin bill gets underway from Fiondella Field at 1 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 860-768-HAWK, or they can be purchased at the gate.