BOX SCORE
West Hartford, Conn. – The Hartford baseball team picked up its second victory of the season and snapped an eight game skid with an 8-4 victory over the visiting Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Wednesday afternoon at Fiondella Field. The Hawks (2-14 overall) were led by sophomore catcher James Alfonso who finished 3-of-5 at the plate with four RBI.
Alfonso's three hits led a total of seven hits for the Hawks, while the offense also worked nine total walks and had batters hit by a pitch. The Knights finished with 12 hits on the afternoon and were led by Eric Anderson who also finished 3-of-5 at the plate.
Alfonso set a pair of career highs in the game with his four RBI and two doubles. His three hits also ties a career best, which he has done on four occasions, including one other time this season. The Hawks four other hits all came from different players as Chris Suchy, Alex Bulger, Trey Stover and Rob Meerman all put a notch in the hit column. Bulger finished second overall with a pair of RBI, while Simon Kudernatsch also knocked in a run.
On the mound, reliever Charlie Moran picked up the victory, his first decision in 2012. The sophomore righty finished two innings of work with no runs allowed on four hits. Zach Ferris earned his second straight mid-week start and threw four innings allowing one run on three hits, while also striking out two batters. Alex Fiste and Freddy Andujar also saw relief time for the Hawks.
The Hawks gave starter Ferris an early lead to protect after scoring three runs in the bottom of the first, quickly knocking the Knights starter Mitch Paz out of the game with just one out recorded. The Hawks led off the inning with the first four batters all reaching base, three of which on free passes, two walks and a hit batter. Pat Knauth started the inning with a leadoff walk and after taking second on a passed ball, scored easily on a double to right field off the bat of Alfonso.
Following Alfonso first hit of the day, Andy Drexel and Alex Fiste each received free passes, Drexel hit by a pitch and Hunter a walk, which loaded the bases. Kudernatsch would provide the muscle with the bases juiced with a sacrifice to left field allowing Alfonso to score. Brady Sheetz followed that with a walk to reload the bases and that opened up another sacrifice attempt from Bulger, which drove in the third and final run of the inning.
Hartford added two more runs in the second inning, again making the Knights pay after the first two batters reached on free passes, Meerman on a walk and Knauth on a hit batter. Meerman became the first run of the inning as Alfonso drove in his second run in the game on a single to left field, putting runners on first and second. Following back-to-back fly outs to center field, Knauth would become the second run in the inning as he came across the plate on a balk call against the Knights.
Fairleigh Dickinson saw its first run come in the third inning after Ryan MacDonald and Matt Holsman worked back-to-back one out walks. With MacDonald in scoring position, a ground rule double off the pine of Ryan Kresky.
After leaving one runner stranded in the fourth, the Hawks got back in the scoring column with three runs in the fifth inning, two of which came courtesy of a double from Alfonso, his third hit of the game and second double of the contest. Sheetz would open up the inning with a leadoff walk and after taking second on a balk come around to score on the next at bat, the first of two doubles in the inning which came from Bulger. Bulger and Knauth, who reached on a walk, would become the second and third runs to score in the inning both crossing the plate on Alfonso's two bagger.
The Knight's second run of the inning came in the seventh inning and came with two outs in the inning. Jordan Ritz was the runner that crossed the plate in the seventh, after originally reaching base on a fielder's choice. With Ritz on first, the Knights worked back-to-back hits, a double from Kresky and a single to left center from Eric Anderson, the second of which provided the RBI.
FDU added two more runs in the eighth that cut the Hawks lead in half. Patrick McClure opened the offense up with a single to right center field and he and Riley Moonan would be the two runs scored. McClure and Moonan were joined on the base paths by MacDonald who single to center, which loaded the bases. McClure would then score on a hit batter, Matt Holsman, while Jordan Ritz provided the muscle to score Moonan on a sacrifice to right field.
The Hawks play a four-game series with the Yale Bulldogs this weekend. The series will consist of a pair of doubleheader, one each at Yale Field in New Haven and Fiondella Field in West Hartford. The first of those doubleheaders will take place in New Haven as the Hawks will now travel to Yale on Friday for the double-dip scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will then return the favor and travel to West Hartford for a Saturday afternoon doubleheader, scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start.
