WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford baseball team hit six home runs, including four in the second game of its doubleheader with Binghamton on Sunday, but that was not enough as the Bearcats slammed seven of their own en route to victories of 16-5 and 20-8. Andy Drexel had two of the home runs for Hartford, while Binghamton hit all seven of their bombs in the second game.

Chris Greiner started and took the loss in the first game. Vincent Fiore made the start and got hooked with the loss in Game Two.

The Hawks got off to a strong start in the first game, scoring twice in the first and two more in the second. Mike Aldrich got things going when he slammed a home run to left-center field, a two-run shot after Victor Santana had walked earlier in the first. Aldrich drove in another run in the second, with leadoff hitter Andrew Siano also knocking in a run with a single up the middle. After two innings, Hartford held a 4-1 lead.

Things stayed that way until the fourth when Binghamton scored four runs, taking the lead and chasing Greiner from the game. The junior had built up a high pitch count working around trouble in the first and second innings, and Binghamton touched him for five hits and four earned runs in the fourth.

Binghamton scored four more in the fifth before Victor Santana chipped away with a shot to deep right-center in the bottom of the inning, his first home run of the season. Santana finished with four hits in five at bats in the doubleheader.

The Bearcats sealed the deal with seven runs in the seventh inning, capping the 16-5 triumph.

Game Two featured eleven total home runs, including four by the Hawks. The homer deluge started early when Peter Bregartner led off the second for the Bearcats with a solo shot. The Bearcats would tack on another run in the inning, but Andy Drexel smoked the first of two home runs he would hit in the game to lead off the bottom of the second, cutting the deficit in half.

Binghamton was far from done, scoring three in the third and four more in the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, Jon Ricco smashed his second home run to deep left-center field, a two-run shot after Drexel's one-out single.

The Hawks broke out in the sixth inning with two dingers, including the second of the day for Andy Drexel. Later in the inning, Jason Freethey hit his first homer of the season, a blast to left field. Aldrich added an RBI single in the inning and would knock home a run with a double in the ninth, but Hartford could not keep up with the pace of Binghamton, which scored 20 runs for the second time in the four-game series.

The Hawks will remain at home for their next game, an out-of-conference matchup with Central Connecticut on Tuesday. Game time has been moved up an hour to 2:00 p.m. from the originally scheduled 3:00 p.m. The game is a rematch of Hartford's season opener, a 12-11 come-from-behind victory for the Hawks. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling 860-768-HAWK. They can also be obtained at the gate on Tuesday.