BOX SCORE
West Hartford, Conn. – Despite a combined 7-of-10 outing for sophomore Brian Hunter and senior Andy Drexel the Hartford baseball team dropped a 14-5 decision to the visiting Dartmouth Big Green on Wednesday afternoon at Fiondella Field. The Hawks drop to 9-26 overall in 2012, while Dartmouth improves to 13-15 overall.
Hunter and Drexel were two of four Hawks who finished with a multi-hit afternoon as Brian Estevez and Alex Bulger added two hits apiece. Hunter finished the game 3-of-4 at the plate, while Drexel finished 2-of-3. Junior outfielder Pat Knauth led the way with a pair of RBI, while Hunter, Bulger and Brady Sheetz all finished with one. Overall, the Hawks scattered 12 hits, while giving up 20 to the opposition.
On the mound, rookie Austin Barnes suffered the loss for Hartford, pitching eight total outs while allowing seven runs, four earned on seven hits. He also walked one batter and struck out two. Ryan Carter, Charlie Moran and Alex Fiste all saw two innings of relief work for the Hawks. Carter allowed four earned runs on six hits; Moran gave up a single run on two hits, while Fiste allowed two runs tos core on five hits, while walking two batters.
Dartmouth opened up their scoring batting through the order in the top of the first inning, putting five runs on the board against Barnes. The first three runs for the Big Green came off one swing of the bat, the first of two home runs for Dartmouth, this one to left field off the bat of Dustin Selzer.
Hartford wasn't able to respond until the bottom of the second, nearly erasing the five run deficit with four runs on six hits. The first five batters in the inning all reached safely on four singles and a double. Drexel started off the hit streak with a single to left center following up by a double off the bat of Hunter. Sheetz, Estevez and Bulger all following with singles with Sheetz and Bulger accounting for the first RBIs of the inning. Following a strikeout to Rob Meerman Knauth recorded his two RBI on the sixth hit in the inning, a single to center field, which allowed Sheetz and Estevez to score.
Dartmouth began adding to its lead with two runs in the third, one in the fourth and three more in the fifth, growing its lead back to six. The first of Dartmouth's three runs in the fifth came on a solo home run well over the fence in left field off the bat of centerfielder Jake Carlson. The Hawks final run came in the fifth inning when Drexel and Hunter followed each smacked two baggers, the second of which drove in Drexel.
The Big Green added three more insurance runs before all was said and done, one in the seventh and the final two runs in the ninth.
Hartford returns to league play this weekend when they travel to the Empire State for a four-game set at Stony Brook. The series is scheduled to include doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, with action on both days starting at 12:00 p.m.
