BOX SCORE
West Hartford, Conn. – The Hartford baseball team snapped a four game losing skid with an 11-5 win over the visiting Quinnipiac Bobcats on Tuesday afternoon at Fiondella Field. Rookie shortstop Trey Stover led the Hawks finishing 2-of-3 with two runs scored and driving in two runs. Hartford improves to 9-25 on the year, while Quinnipiac stands at 6-28 overall.
Stover's two hits was one of three players who finished with a multi-hit outing as he was joined by catcher James Alfonso and center fielder Rob Meerman all finishing with two hits. Sophomore Brian Estevez also finished with two RBIs for Hartford, while three other players all drove in one run.
Freshman lefty Freddy Andujar scored his third win of the season, pitching three innings of middle inning relief. Sophomore Zach Ferris, also a lefty, started for Hartford and pitched 4.2 innings. He allowed two earned runs on two hits while striking out five batters. Ferris opened the game retiuring the first eight batters he faced in order. Andujar finished his three innings of work allowing no runs on two hits allowed and striking out a game best four batters.
Hartford struck first in the contest with a single run in the second inning, all possible on back-to-back hits from the eight and nine whole hitters. Estevez began the offense with a one out double just inside the left field line and he was able to score on the next at bat as Meerman sent his first of two hits in the game into center field.
Quinnipiac struck back taking their first of two leads in the game with two runs in the fifth inning before the Hawks matched that output in their half of the same stanza. Hartford's first run in the fifth came on a first pitch home run to Stover, his first career home run, drilling the ball over the left field fence. Alfonso followed that up with another extra base hit, a double down the left field line and following an error at first base and a walk delivered to Bulger, he came across the plate on a bases loaded balk to regain a 3-2 advantage for the home team.
Quinnipiac answered those two runs with three more in the top half of the sixth inning, taking a 5-3 advantage. Gabe Guerino, Chris Caldari and Brian Ruditys secured RBIs in the sixth for the Bobcats. The Hawks chipped that lead in half with a single run in the bottom of the sixth before exploding for six runs in the seventh inning to take control of the contest.
Hartford scattered just two hits en route to their six run seventh inning. Stover and Alfonso accounted for the Hawks two hits, while also responsible for driving in three runs on those two hits. Stover picked up two RBI on a bases clearing single up the middle, while Alfonso's second double of the game allowed Stover to score from second.
The Hawks would add one more run in the eighth inning, making a fielding error at second base haunt the Bobcats. Brady Sheetz opened the inning with a ground ball to second that was bobbled and then thrown well over the head of first baseman Vincent Guglietti. After advancing to second on the initial error he took third on a single from Alex Bulger and came around to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Estevez.
Hartford will return to Fiondella Field on Wednesday when they welcome the Dartmouth Big Green for their second game in as many days, all in preparation for a four-game set at Stony Brook this coming weekend. The Hawks and Big Green are scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. first pitch.
