WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford baseball team got two solid pitching performances on Saturday afternoon as it played its first home conference games of the season, but the Hawks could not take advantage of them as they were swept by Maine in a doubleheader, 3-1 and 5-1. Mike Thatcher pitched his second complete game of the season in Game One, allowing just four hits while taking the loss. Alex Gouin started and took the loss in Game Two as he and relievers Hunter Englehart and Kevin Veilleux scattered eight Maine hits.

Hartford (2-25-1) managed just six hits in the doubleheader. Mark Sorbara had the only run batted in for Hartford, a sacrifice fly which scored Brian Hunter in the third inning of Game One. The Hawks got their run in Game Two when Brendan Behm scored on Jason Freethey's double play ball.

Maine got things started in the top of the first inning of the first game, taking advantage of a shaky start for Thatcher. The junior hurler hit Michael Fransoso with his first pitch of the game, and would wind up hitting two other batters before the inning ended with Maine up 2-0. The Black Bears got just one hit in the inning, a ground ball single up the middle by Taylor Lewis that drove in the first run. Ian Leisenheimer would score when Thatcher tried to pick Lewis off, but first baseman Matt Walker couldn't handle the throw and Leisenheimer sprinted in from third base.

The Hawks would answer with a run in the third inning. Hunter walked to get things started, and one out later, Victor Santana rifled a double to deep left field, the Hawks' first hit of the game. Hunter motored around to third, and came home a batter later when Sorbara lofted a fly ball to deep center.

That would be all the Hawks could muster, though, as Maine starter Keith Bilodeau cruised through the rest of the game. Ryan Lukach's one-out single in the fourth was the last hit Hartford would get, in fact, as Bilodeau retired the last 10 Hartford batters that came to the plate.

Maine added an insurance run in the seventh when Michael Fransoso hit a home run to right.

Fransoso wasted no time giving Maine an early lead in Game Two, as he led off and crushed his second home run of the day, this one to left. The Black Bears would get another run in the fourth before Gouin gave way to Hunter Englehart. Gouin gave up just two hits in his four innings of work, but walked three and allowed the two earned runs.

Maine would tack on another run in the fifth and one more in the sixth thanks to home runs by Mike Connolly and Ian Leisenheimer.

Hartford got on the board in the sixth and appeared to have the makings of a big inning going, but could get just one run out of it. Behm walked to lead it off, and Sorbara executed a perfect hit-and-run as Behm took off for second and Sorbara rapped a single through the hole between first and second. Behm moved up to third on the play, and although Freethey's double play ball scored him, it snuffed out the brewing rally.

Maine would tack on one more insurance run in the eighth on Justin Leisenheimer's RBI double.

The Hawks and Black Bears will play one more game here in West Hartford on Sunday afternoon. First pitch in the nine-inning contest is set for 1:00 p.m. Tickets are still available, and can be purchased by calling 860-768-HAWK. They will also be available at the gate.