Game #1 Box Score
Game #2 Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The University of Hartford softball team snapped an eight-game losing skid with a pair of wins at in-state rival Sacred Heart on Tuesday afternoon. Hartford took game one by a 10-6 final and defeated the Pioneers, 5-2, in the nightcap.The Hawks improve to 15-16 overall while the Pioneers fall to 18-21.
Seven Hawks got into the box score under the hit column in game one with four players notching multi-hit games. Amanda Dilworth went 2-for-3, drove in a pair of runs and scored three times while Kate Wacyk knocked in three runs on a 2-for-3 performance.
Hartford jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the opening frame behind three-straight singles. Jessica Oliveira notched a base hit to lead off the game, and after stealing second, the outfielder scored on a single to right field by Dilworth. With two down in the inning, a single off the bat of Ann Kyzer plated Dilworth from second.
Sacred Heart got one run back in the second and knotted the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third inning. An RBI single by Alyssa Garza got the Pioneers on the scoreboard in the second before Carley Rudloff connected for a two-out double in the third, plating Bradley for the game tying run.
The Hawks manufactured a pair of runs in the top of the fourth and exploded for a five-run, fifth inning to boost their lead to 9-2.
Dilworth reached base on an infield error and with two down, Rachel Clonick was hit by a pitch to set the scene for freshman Wacyk's bases clearing double to left field.
Hartford took advantage of Sacred Heart's pitching change and hammered Kylie Abrams for five runs on four hits. With Sara Messingerand Dilworth occupying first and second, Nicole Springer brought the pair home when she ripped her team-best 10th double to left field. The Hawks then juiced up the bases and scored their third run of the frame on an error that allowed Lauren Kamena to score. Wacyk's single plated the fourth run and another costly Pioneer error allowed Clonick to advance from third to home for the final run of the frame.
The Pioneers used four runs in the bottom of the fifth to get back into the game at 9-6. With runners on first and second, Amanda Bradley smacked a double to left center, scoring Jessica DiPiazza and Jill Timmer. With two out in the frame, Sacred Heart continued to use its bats as Lee launched a triple to right field and plated Bradley to cut the Hawks' lead to 9-5. Jasmin Vicente rounded out the inning's scoring a single, allowing Bradley to score the team's sixth run of the game.
Hartford cushioned its lead with two outs on a single run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Dilworth.
Springer went the distance inside the circle and picked up her second win this season in game one. The rookie allowed six runs – five earned – on 10 hits and fanned three batters.
The roles were reversed in game two as Sacred Heart got on the scoreboard early at 2-0 in the bottom of the first. A triple off the bat of Bradley scored Taylor Froelich from second and Garza from first to give the Pioneers the early advantage.
The Hawks got the pair of runs back and added two more to the scoreboard in the third inning to build their first lead of the game at 4-2. Hartford did its damage with two outs as Springer's second double on the afternoon scored Simpkins who notched a single to left field and Messinger who worked a walk off of Nicole Sidor. Senior Olivia Piacentini returned the favor and plated Springer with a double and scored on the same play on back-to-back throwing errors by the Pioneers.
The Hawks plated a single run in the fourth to boost its lead to 5-2. Siera Sheehan scattered just three hits over the final three innings and the Hawks were able to keep Sacred Heart off the scoreboard. The sophomore finished with a pair of strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs on the afternoon en route to her sixth win inside the circle.
Hartford returns to action on Sunday, April 25 when it travels to in-state rival Fairfield for a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
