GAME #1 - BOX SCORE
GAME #2 - BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford softball team suffered a pair of losses at the hands of the Fairfield Stags on Tuesday afternoon, wrapping up a five-game homestand for the Hawks. The Stags came back from a one-run deficit to win game one by a 3-2 score and took the final game by a 10-4 count.

Junior Jordan Haines, who played behind the plate in the first game and served as Hartford's (4-29) designated player in the nightcap, paced the Hawks at the plate, combining for a 4-for-7 effort including one run and an RBI.

In the opening game, the Hawks led the entire way until the top half of the seventh, when a two-run home run by Kimi Kurata provided Fairfield (18-20) with its first advantage of the game at 3-2.

Playing from behind for the first time in the afternoon, Hartford took it down to the wire against Fairfield in its final at-bats, but Fairfield managed to squeak away with the one-run triumph.

In the bottom half of the seventh, Stags' pitcher Rebecca Trott was scheduled to face the Hawks' 2-3-4 batters, which had previously combined to go 5-for-11. After retiring senior Shannon Simpkins, the hurler issued a walk to junior Kate Wacyk, putting the game-tying run on the base paths. Haines, the next batter, went down swinging for the second out, putting the pressure on rookie Jackie Kelly who worked a walk off of Trott to put runners on first and second.

With two down, sophomore Chelsey Mooney entered the line-up as a pinch hitter, and after working the count to full, she roped a single into left field to load up the bases. Hartford was unable to battle back as pinch hitter Melani Maxwell was induced into a pop-out to close end the game.

Ana Alberti, a rookie hurler, was just one out shy of closing out her first complete game and earning the first victory of her collegiate career. She struck out four batters while allowing three runs, two earned, in 6.2 innings.

Earlier in the game, Amber Andrews, a sophomore second baseman, quickly provided the Hawks with a 1-0 advantage after taking the first pitch she saw from Trott and pounding it straight away over the centerfield wall for her second home run of the 2012 campaign.

Fairfield got on the scoreboard for the first time in the top of the fourth, first loading up the bases using a single, an infield error and a walk with zero outs recorded in the frame. Sam Frungillo tied up the contest in the next at-bat with an RBI single to left field which brought in Sammy Ruffolo.

The Hawks, however, prevented any more damage and ended the inning in impressive fashion by grabbing three outs on the same play. The Stags' next batter, Brianna Levick, was retired on an outfield fly ball and Erica Phelps' arm continued the play from outfield when she rifled a throw home to Jordan Haines who then caught Lawson in a pickle between second and third. Wacyk tagged Lawson for the second out, and teamed up with Haines to catch Rachel Beaudoin between third and home for the final out of the play and the inning.

Hartford was quick to grab that run back and crack open the deadlock in the bottom of the fourth as an RBI single off the bat of Alberti plated Haines, who led off the frame with a two-bagger to left centerfield.
Both teams collected nine hits a piece afternoon's first game. Trott earned the victory to improve to 10-1 on the season.

In the final game of the afternoon, Fairfield struck the scoreboard first with four runs, however Hartford cut into the early lead and made it a 4-3 contest after just one inning of play as it plated the first run on a walk by Kelly and used an error with the bases loaded to score Wacyk from third and Simpkins from second base.

Fairfield used a single run in the top half of the second to extend its advantage to two runs at 5-3 and went on to put the Hawks away with a three-run third inning. The Hawks managed to trim their deficit to four at 8-4 after an RBI double by Haines drove-in Wacyk, who singled to start the bottom of the third, however the Stags regained their five-run cushion at 9-4 in the top of the fourth and added an insurance tally to the scoreboard in the sixth to take the win by the eventual 10-4 final.

Kaitlyn Meade took the loss for the Hawks, allowing 10 runs on 12 hits in seven innings, while Rae Ball scored the win, striking out six to even her record at 5-5.

The Hawks return to the diamond on Thursday when they take a trip to Worcester, Mass. to face the Holy Cross Crusaders in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 3:00 p.m.