BOX SCORE - GAME #1
BOX SCORE - GAME #2

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – In America East action on Saturday afternoon, the University of Hartford Hawks fell to the Albany Great Danes in a doubleheader at the University of Hartford Softball Field. Albany took both games in five innings, scoring a 10-1 victory in game one before blanking the Hawks, 12-0, in the second game of the afternoon.

Hartford (4-26, 0-8 AE) and Albany will conclude its three-game set on Sunday. First pitch is slated to be thrown at 12:00 p.m.

On the afternoon, Albany (23-7, 7-1), which blasted seven home runs in the doubleheader, combined to outhit Hartford, 27-7, and outscored the Hawks by a total of 21 runs.

In the opening game, the Great Danes took the a 1-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back, adding a pair of runs in the second inning and two more in the top of the third frame. Charlise Castro plated Albany's first run of the game, using a double to right center field to score Taylor Franich who had previously reached on a fielder's choice.

Alexa Toole's two-run homer in the top of the second made it a 3-0 game and in the top of the third, Castro extended the Great Dane's advantage to 4-0 with a lead-off solo shot to centerfield. Kylie Apostolina, Albany's catcher who earned a walk in the next at-bat, would then score on an outfield base hit off the bat of Lauren Alcorn to put her team up at 5-0.

The Great Danes would then plate three more runs in the top of the fourth inning before the Hawks struck the scoreboard in the bottom of that stanza using three-straight singles to load up the bases. With one out recorded, Chelsey Mooney, Jordan Haines and Melani Maxwell each connected for singles allowing a soft infield ground ball off the bat of Jackie Kelly to plate pinch runner Devynne Butler for the Hawks' lone run of the afternoon.

Albany added a pair of runs in the top of the fifth thanks to push its lead to 10-1 as an RBI double by Castro and a single by Katie Wambold secured the five-inning win. Brittany MacFawn, a sophomore, struck out nine and allowed just one run on six hits to improve her mark to 10-3. For the Hawks, senior Siera Sheehan suffered the loss, allowing eight earned runs in 3.1 innings.

Shannon Simpkins led the Hawks at the plate, finishing 2-for-3.

In game two, the Hawks trailed by three after three before Albany lit up the scoreboard with nine runs on nine hits and one error to take the game by a 12-0 final. Kaitlyn Meade threw 4.1 innings for Hartford, allowing six earned runs while recording one strikeout.

Brittany Schweiger was lights-out for the Great Danes in game two, striking out eight batters en route to the one-hit shutout. Castro, Wambold and Apostolina each recorded three RBIs in the five-inning affair while scoring two runs apiece to pace the Great Danes' offense which made contact for 16 hits.