Box Score

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford baseball team kept its hopes of making the America East Championship alive as they grabbed a 7-6 victory over the visiting Maine Black Bears on Saturday afternoon. Erik Figueredo pinch hit and drove in Jon Ricco for the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth with a line drive to right field. Andrew Siano scored four runs for the Hawks, including a lead-off home run on the first pitch he saw in the first inning.

The victory snaps a nine-game losing streak for the Hawks. Steve Sobocinski earned the win, pitching 3.1 innings of one-hit relief for Hartford. He improved his record to 2-7. Justin Latta took the loss for Maine.

Siano gave the Hawks an early lead with that blast in the first, his second home run of the season. The sophomore outfielder took the first pitch he saw from Jeffrey Gibbs and smoked a line drive to the opposite field. It narrowly eluded the reach of right fielder Matt Howard, clearing the fence and giving Hartford a 1-0 lead.

The Hawks would make it 3-0 in the second inning, and once again, Siano was in the middle of things. With one out, Cory Beahm lined a single to right field. Siano then came to the plate, and the speedy leadoff man rolled a tailor-made double play ball right at shortstop Tony Patane. Worried about the speed Siano possessed, though, Patane let the ball roll right through his legs. Beahm advanced to third and the Hawks had runners on the corners with one out.

After a pop up for the second out, it once again appeared that Gibbs was out of the inning when Andy Drexel rolled a grounder to third baseman Tyler Patzalek. Patzalek hurried the throw, though, and first baseman Joey Martin was unable to scoop it. Maine had its second error of the inning, and as Beahm crossed the plate, Hartford had its second run. Siano would score when Mike Aldrich rapped a clean single up the middle, making the score 3-0 Hawks.

Maine would respond with force, scoring four times in the top of the third inning, including a home run from Joe Mercurio. Chris Greiner, who started for Hartford, got Patane to ground out to end the inning with runners on first and second. In all, the Black Bears stranded eleven runners, including five in the first three innings.

Hartford tied the score in the fourth. Siano led off with a walk, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Rodger Wilmot. After Siano stole third base (his team-best twelfth steal), Mike Aldrich drove him in with an infield single that forced Patane far to his left at shortstop just to keep the ball on the infield.

The Hawks took a 6-4 lead in the fifth, with both runs coming with two outs and both unearned. Beahm lined a two-out single back up the middle, and Siano followed with a rope back through the box. Siano was not satisfied with just a single, though, as Maine center fielder Taylor Lewis was slow going to field the ball. Siano never hesitated, speeding around to second and sliding safely in with a double. By forcing the action, Siano rattled the Maine defense, which let Lewis' throw get away and allowed Beahm - who had stopped at third - to move up and score the go-ahead run. Siano would score moments later when Wilmot knocked an RBI single to right.

Once again, the Black Bears refused to go away. Maine scored twice in the top of the sixth, forcing Greiner from the game after a solid 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts. Steve Sobocinski was brought on to get out of a bases loaded jam. The first batter he faced was Joey Martin, who was hit by a pitch on a controversial call that forced the umpires to convene behind the pitchers mound before awarding Martin first base. That forced in a run, tying the score. Sobocinski settled down, though, getting the next batter to pop up to shallow left field to end the inning.

After Sobocinski cruised through the next three innings, Hartford came up in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to put the game in the books. Senior Jon Ricco got things started when he ripped a double to deep left-center field to lead things off. Matt Walker followed by laying down a perfect sacrifice bunt, and with a runner on first and no one out, head coach Jeff Calcaterra elected to have freshman Erik Figueredo pinch hit.

Electing not to load the bases and create forces at any bag, Maine pitched to Figueredo, and the freshman came through on the first pitch. He laced a line drive to right field. Although Howard reeled it in, his throw to the plate was far too late to get the speedy Ricco, who came home with the game-winning run to snap Hartford's losing streak.

The Hawks and Black Bears were originally scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday, but that changed due to inclement weather in the area early in the afternoon. The two teams are now set to play a twin bill on Sunday starting at noon instead of the originally-scheduled 1:00 p.m. Prior to the first game, Hartford will recognize its four seniors - Mike Amendola, Jon Ricco, Bob Rogers and Zach Tarner - in the annual Senior Day ceremony. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the gate.