BOX SCORE - GAME 1
BOX SCORE - GAME 2
New Haven. Conn. – The Hartford baseball team split a Friday doubleheader with the Yale Bulldogs, winning the early game 7-5 before falling in the night cap 8-5. The Hawks and Bulldogs will now transfer the series to West Hartford for a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at Fiondella Field. First pitch will be at 12:00 p.m.
The Hawks worked with just 14 hits spread over the two games, compared to 21 hits for the opposition. Leading the way for the day was Trey Stover who finished with three total hits, the only player to record a multi-hit game, finishing 2-of-3 in the opener. Simon Kudernatsch led the team with three RBI, all coming in the first game, while Brady Sheetz finished with two RBI, with both also coming in the first game.
On the mound, Austin Barnes and Hunter Englehart picked up the decisions. Barnes earned the victory in the opening game, working the final 3.2 innings of the game and allowing two runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Brian Hunter started the first game on the hill, going 3.1 innings and allowing three runs on five hits, while walking four and striking out four, the most among all five pitchers the Hawks used on Friday.
Englehart suffered the loss in the final game as he allowed seven of the Bulldogs eight total runs on eight hits in five innings of work. He also struck out three batters. Alex Fiste and Freddy Andujar each saw relief work in the nightcap. Fiste pitched a pair of middle innings without allowing a run and allowing just one hit, while also striking out three batters. Andujar pitched the final inning for the Hawks and allowed the final run of the game on one hit while recording two strikeouts.
In the opener, a seven inning game, the Hawks struck first with two runs in the top of the first inning as Pat Knauth opened the afternoon with a leadoff walk. The Hawks would end that first inning with three hits, all singles, with Sheetz only hit in the game providing the first two runs of the game as he drove in James Alfonso and Hunter, who each reached on singles, on a single to right center field.
Yale took its first lead of the day in the second inning with three runs on four hits. Chris Piwinski and Cale Hanson providing the payoff hits. Piwinski drove in a pair of runs with his first hit of the game, a single to right field, while Hanson drove in the final run of the inning, scoring Piwinski, on a two out double to left.
Hartford regained a lead with a three run fifth inning, all three runs of which came off a single hit as Kudernatsch cleared the bases on a double to right field, which scored Stover, Alfosno and Hunter. Yale would score its final two runs of the game in the sixth inning, both by virtue of sacrifices.
The game winning run for Hartford came in its final inning at the plate, both unearned runs scoring on an outfield error, which allowed Alfonso and Andy Drexel to score after both were in scoring position following Drexel's only hit of the game, a double to right field.
In the nightcap, the Bulldogs put the first runs on the board in the first inning, two of which were made possible by a triple to left center from first baseman Kevin Fortunato. Yale never looked back from that lead, extending its advantage to as much as 7-1 following a second three run inning in the fourth. In that inning Jacob Hunter and Fortunato provided the run scoring. Hunter drove in the first run of the inning sacrificing himself on a fly ball to center, while Fortunato knocked in two more runs on a single down the left field line.
The Hawks spread their scoring over four innings with single runs in the second, seventh and eighth and a two run fifth inning. Drexel would muster the first RBI for Hartford knocking in the first of the Hawks fifth inning runs on a sacrifice fly, while the second run scored courtesy of a wild pitch.
Hunter and Stover provided the only other RBI's in game two. Hunter's came in the seventh inning as he drove in Alfonso, who originally worked a one out walk. Stover's RBI came in the eighth inning as he knocked in Kudernatsch who led off the inning with his only hit in the second game, an infield single.
