GAME ONE BOX SCORE
GAME TWO BOX SCORE
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – Playing down the road at neighboring Central Connecticut State, the University of Hartford softball team dropped a pair of games to the Blue Devils on Thursday afternoon at the CCSU Softball Field. The Hawks fell in six innings in the opening game by an 8-0 final and went on to drop a 2-1 decision in the nightcap.
Hartford drops to 3-20 on the season while Central Connecticut State pushes its record to 16-9-1.
In the opening game, the Blue Devils broke open a scoreless tie with a single run in the bottom of the third and went on for an offensive burst in the bottom of the fourth with five more runs. The home team put the game out of reach in the sixth frame, plating a pair of runs to score the mercy-rule victory.
Hartford third baseman Kate Wacyk was the only member from the visiting team to reach base in the contest. The sophomore finished 1-for-1 and earned a walk off of Blue Devils' hurler Tingley who went on to strike out five to earn the clean slate and improve to 7-3 on the season.
Inside the circle for the Hawks, junior Siera Sheehan suffered the loss, allowing six earned runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings of work while fanning a pair of batters. Nicole Springer threw 1.2 innings in relief and gave up a pair of earned runs.
In the tail end of the twinbill, Hartford faced a 2-0 deficit entering its final at-bats, but fell short of plating the game-tying run. Four Hawks collected hits with sophomore Jordan Haines finishing 2-for-3. Classmate Wacyk doubled and scored the squad's lone run.
Bruno put the Blue Devils on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning. The left fielder, who reached base on a bunt, reached second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced 60 more feet on a fly out to right field. With two down in the frame, an infield single off the bat of Mussatti plated Bruno to give the home team the 1-0 advantage.
Central Connecticut State went on to double its lead in the bottom of the fifth when Mussatti knocked a solo shot over the right centerfield wall. The Hawks disrupted the shutout in the seventh inning, however, as Wacyk led off the frame with a double down the right field line. After reaching third on a fly out to center field by Haines, Wacyk crossed home plate on an infield ground out by first baseman Chelsey Mooney. Blue Devils' pitcher Montemurro retired the next Hartford batter in line however to prevent the comeback from the visiting squad.
Kaitlyn Meade, a rookie hurler, allowed just two earned runs in the outing while striking out a pair of Blue Devils. For the home team, Montemurro went the distance giving up one earned run and recording eight strikeouts.
The Hawks return to action on Saturday, April 9 when they host the Connecticut Huskies for a single game with the Nutmeg State foes. First pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 1:00 p.m.
