LIVE STATS     LIVE VIDEO (first game Saturday only)

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Looking to snap a five-game losing streak, the Hartford baseball team will host Albany this weekend in a three-game series at Fiondella Field. The Hawks, which dropped all three games they played at Albany earlier this month, need a big weekend to get back into the race for a berth in the America East Championships. Hartford and Albany will play a doubleheader starting at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, with the first game streamed live on HartfordHawks.com All-Access. Brian Irizarry will have the call. The Hawks and Danes will conclude their series on Sunday with a single game getting underway at 1:00 p.m.

Hartford comes into the weekend 1-8 in America East play, having lost its last five games overall and three in the league. The hawks are 3.5 games behind Maine for fourth place and a berth in the America East Championship, but need to take care of business with just seven conference home games remaining including the three this weekend.

The Hawks have seen their young pitching come around of late, pitching to a 4.33 earned run average in conference games, compared to an 8.01 ERA overall for the season. Anthony Mannuccia, who has the Hawks' only conference victory with a complete game 4-1 defeat of Maine, has pitched a team-high 20.2 innings during America East action. He is 1-2 with a 4.35 earned run average over three starts. Hunter Englehart and Alex Gouin have also been impressive, along with the steady junior starter Mike Thatcher.

With that in mind, Hartford needs to see increased production from its bats to keep itself alive in the America East race. Although the Hawks are getting men on base relatively well - the Hawks are batting .325 to lead off an inning during league play - they are finding themselves struggling to get those runners across. Hartford's average with runners on during conference games is just .230, a number which drops to .197 when those runners are in scoring position. Matt Walker has been Hartford's best hitter with men on, batting .364 (4-for-11) with runners on in America East action, and .375 (3-for-8) with runners in scoring position.

In the other dugout, Albany has won four of nine games since sweeping the Hawks at home April 9-10. Currently sitting in third place in the America East, the Great Danes are three games back of first-place Stony Brook and 4.5 games ahead of the Hawks. Nolan Gaige leads the team with a .336 batting average and three home runs, adding 20 runs batted in. Pete DiResta tops the team with 29 RBIs, good for fourth in the America East. He also leads the league with seven triples. Albany as a team is very patient, drawing a league-high 155 walks so far this season.

Meanwhile, Dane pitching has walked just 116 batters while striking out 203. Dave Kubiak is 4-4 for Albany so far, posting a team-best 3.09 earned run average through nine starts. He has four complete games and a team-best 51 strikeouts. Kasceim Graham is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA, whiel Zach Kraham is 2-4 with a 4.80 ERA. Greg Lutton has been one of the Danes' top options out of the bullpen, making 14 appearances spanning 22.2 innings, pitching to a 3.97 ERA.

Tickets for all three games over the weekend are still available, and can be purchased by calling 860-768-HAWK or by visiting the Malcolm and Brenda Berman Athletics Box Office at the Reich Family Pavilion. Fans can also get their tickets at the gate Saturday and Sunday.