Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Dramatic, late-inning comebacks have become almost commonplace for the 2010 Hartford baseball team. Efficient and dominant pitching has not. On Friday afternoon at Fiondella Field, though, the Hawks got both as they swept a doubleheader from Sacred heart, 5-4 and 2-0. Chris Greiner and Steve Sobocinski each pitched complete games, with Sobocinski earning his first career shutout and the first for Hartford since 2008.

"The way our pitching has been going, we had a lot of games this week and we used a lot of our bullpen to throw innings," head coach Jeff Calcaterra said. "Today, we needed that performance from those two guys. For Chris to give us a complete game and for Sobo to give us the start we needed with the momentum from Game One was really good to see."

Despite Greiner's strong pitching performance in Game One - four earned runs and a career-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings - it appeared that the Hawks would end up on the wrong end of the scoreboard heading into their last licks in the bottom of the seventh. They had managed just one run - an RBI double from Mike Aldrich - and Sacred Heart had just added an important insurance run in the top of the seventh.

Jared Balbach, himself going for a complete game, walked Jared Canney to open the seventh. Jon Ricco followed with a line drive single to right, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch moments later. Freshman Erik Figueredo, who earlier in the game had lined his first collegiate base hit into left field, lofted a fly ball to medium depth center field. Canney tagged and looked ready to score on the catch, but the catch never came. Sacred Heart's center fielder Mike Drowne dropped the ball, allowing Canney to score and Figueredo to reach safely.

In desperate need of a double play ball, Balbach got just that. Sophomore Andrew Siano rapped a hard grounder to shortstop John Murphy, but the ball went right through Murphy's legs, once again foiling Balbach's attempts to get out of the inning and letting the Hawks load the bases.

James Ineson was called upon to relieve Balbach at that point, and was promptly greeted by an RBI single from sophomore second baseman Victor Santana. The hard liner bounced just in front of the left fielder, scoring Ricco and keeping the bags juiced. Senior catcher Mike Amendola followed with a slow roller to short. Murphy handled this one and retired Santana at first, but the ball was hit too slowly to double up Amendola and Figueredo sped home with the tying run.

The winning run stood just ninety feet away, and there was only one out in the inning. Hartford's cleanup hitter, Andy Drexel, strode to the plate looking to atone for three strikeouts earlier in the game. After a forceful swing-and-a-miss to open the at bat, Drexel connected, lacing what would normally have been an extra-base hit into the right-center field gap. A single was all that was needed for Siano to trot home with the winning run, giving Hartford its third win of the season via a last-inning comeback.

"From an offensive standpoint, we've shown some resiliency all season," Calcaterra remarked. "We're trying to teach our kids that it is one at bat at a time, and each at bat is precious. It's important that we keep on fighting. Today, our pitching kept us in the game and let our offense work. That's what was different from the previous four or five games."

Riding the high of the comeback victory in Game One, Hartford clamped down on Sacred Heart in the second game. Drowne singled to lead off the game, advancing as far as third base before Sobocinski induced a comebacker from slugging catcher Jeff Heppner to end the inning. No other Pioneer would reach base until Drowne, this time with two outs in the third, executed a perfect bunt to get aboard. Steve Tedesco followed with a single of his own before Sobocinski got Robert Griffith to line out to center to end that threat.

Sacred Heart would not get another hit the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, for the Hawks on offense, Mike Aldrich proved to be all that Hartford would need in Game Two. In the second inning, he followed Drexel's leadoff double with a two-bagger of his own, this one sliced to right center. Two innings later, Aldrich smoked a line drive to deep right center that carried up and over the wall for his first home run as a member of the Hawks. Hartford led 2-0, and although they, too, were shut down from that point on, it would be all they needed.

Sobocinski finished with six strikeouts in seven innings, allowing just those three hits. He improved his record on the season to 1-2. Greiner picked up his first decision of the year in Game One, moving to 1-0.

Hartford will now enjoy a day off before welcoming Harvard into Fiondella Field for a doubleheader on Sunday. The Crimson will be in town tomorrow afternoon as they square off with Sacred Heart in a doubleheader on the University of Hartford's campus. Tickets for Sunday's doubleheader are available by calling the Hartford box office at 860-768-HAWK. They can also be purchased at the gate.