GAME ONE BOXSCORE
GAME TWO BOXSCORE

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- The University of Hartford baseball team used a pair of rallies in their final at bats to sweep both ends of a doubleheader against NJIT Friday afternoon. The Hawks earned a 3-2 victory in game one of the twin bill with an RBI single by sophomore James Alfonso. The Hawks capped game two with a four-run ninth inning, culminating in a single through the left side by freshman Pat Knauth for an 11-10 triumph.
 
The Hawks improved to 7-17 on the season and have won their last four games at Fiondella Field. Freshman pitcher Freddy Andujar earned the victory in relief in both games Friday to run his record to 2-1.
 
Hartford and NJIT will conclude their three-game series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Fiondella Field. The game, originally scheduled for a noon start time, was pushed back due to concerns of inclement weather.
 
In the first game, the Hawks entered the bottom of the seventh with a 2-1 deficit. Simon Kudernatsch led off the inning with a single to left field. He advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Mark Sorbara. The next batter, Rob Meerman, drew a walk. Both Kudernatsch and Meerman would later advance on a passed ball. With runners on second and third with one out, Brady Sheetz struck out on a wild pitch. Sheetz reached first safely as Kudernatsch beat a play at the plate to tie the game, 2-2.
 
Two batters later, with the bases loaded, Alfonso drove a single to the gap in left center to score Meerman for the Hawks' first walk-off win of the day.
 
In game two, Hartford jumped ahead in the bottom of the third with back-to-back triples by Stover and Meerman, staking the Hawks to a 1-0 lead. The Hawks picked up their second run when Brian Estevez drove in Meerman with a sacrifice fly to right.
 
The Highlanders got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth when Mike Rampone scored from second on a throwing error.
 
The score remained 2-1 in favor of the Hawks into the bottom of the sixth. In that fram, Hartford sent 11 batters to the plate scored five runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 7-1 lead. Kudernatsch blasted a three-run homerun over the right-field wall to drive in Brian Hunter and Sheetz to give the Hawks a 5-1 cushion. A Highlander error extended the inning for the Hawks, allowing Stover and Meerman to cross home plate to push the Hawk lead to six runs.
 
The Highlanders would make a push in the top of the seventh. DJ Roche drove in a pair with a ground-rule double to left center. Roche later scored on a single to right by Jeff Peterson to cut the lead to 7-4.
 
NJIT then exploded in the top of the ninth. The Highlanders used four hits, a walk, a hit batter and an error to post six runs in the inning and take a 10-7 lead into the final frame.
 
Hartford did not go quietly in the ninth. Andy Drexel led off the inning with a ground-rule double to left. He scored when the next batter, Hunter, singled to left to make it a 10-8 game. Hunter advanced to second on a passed ball and Sheetz drew a walk to put two men on, with the pair executing a double-steal to move into scoring position. Stover then drew a one-out walk that loaded the bases.
 
With one out, Chris Suchy pinch hit for Meerman. The switch worked in the Hawks' favor as Suchy knocked a single to right to cut the lead to one, 10-9. With the bases still loaded, Estevez was hit by a pitch, forcing Sheetz in from third and tying the game, 10-10.
 
That is when Knauth poked a single through the left side to score Stover and push the Hawks to the 11-10 win.
 
Of the nine Hawk batters who had a turn at bat in the second game, nine reached base safely with at least one hit. The lone Hawk without a hit, Estevez, notched the game tying RBI in the ninth inning.