BOX SCORE
West Hartford, Conn. – The University of Hartford baseball team dropped its only mid-week action on Wednesday at Fiondella Field by a 2-0 final to the visiting Iona Gaels. Hartford drops to 8-22 overall and will next travel to Maine for a three-game set league set with the Black Bears this weekend.
The Gaels needed just one swing of the bat to provide the only runs needed for their 12th victory of the season. Senior first baseman Michael Chiaravalloti sailed a double into right center field just over the reach of the infield that allowed two runners to score in the sixth inning, Chiaravalloti's 12th and 13th RBIs of the year.
Hartford finished with seven hits in the game, all coming from different players. One of those hits went for extra bases, a ground rule double off the bat of Brian Hunter. Despite the seven hits, the Hawks left five runners in scoring position, including the bases loaded in the bottom of the eight with one out. Hartford would also have one runner picked off and another caught stealing, eliminating both runners from scoring position.
The Hawks used four pitches in the mid-week action with junior Ryan Carter earning the start and pitching just one inning, his first action after returning from injury. Carter faced four batters in the inning and allowed two hits. Charlie Moran, Zach Ferris and Austin Barnes all saw at least two innings in relief, with Ferris suffering the loss, his fourth of the season. Moran pitched two innings and did not allow a hit while facing eight batters. Ferris pitched 2.1 innings and was tagged with allowing both Iona runs on one hit, while walking three batters. Barnes did not allow a run in 3.2 innings but allowed four hits, one of which was Chiaravalotti's single that provided the go ahead runs. Barnes also struck out four batters.
In the sixth, Jimmy Guilano started off the inning with a leadoff single to center field and following a pair of walks was one of three runners on for the Gaels, all with one out in the inning. Following a pitching change that inserted Barnes, Chiaravalloti came up and took the first pitch just out of reach from the leaping second baseman, Brian Estevez, but enough to score Guilano from third and Chris Burke from second.
The Gaels threatened again in the seventh after Joe Torres smacked a one out triple to left center field that eluded the glove of a diving Hawk, but Barnes would end the inning with a strikeout and groundout stranding two runners on.
The Hawks biggest threat was the bases loaded opportunity in the eighth inning, but Gaels reliever Derrick Blight worked out of the trouble by getting James Alfonso looking and forcing Simon Kudernatsch into a check swing groundout. Thomas Kriss then came in and shut down the Hawks in the ninth earning his third save, while Steve Basile earned the victory on the mound.
Hartford's three-set series at Maine begins with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. The Hawks and Black Bears will then close out the series with a single game matinee on Sunday afternoon, with the start of both days action scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
