BOX SCORE
West Hartford, Conn. – The Hartford baseball team scored an 8-7 victory in walk-off fashion in the final game of a three-game series with the Maine Black Bears on Sunday afternoon on Senior Day at Fiondella Field. Andy Drexel, one of those senior's, led Hartford with a 3-for-4 afternoon with five RBI at the plate.
Drexel was one of two players to finish with three hits as fellow senior Simon Kudernatsch also finished 3-for-4, while driving in one run. Brian Estevez and Brendan Behm were the only other Hawks to record hits as the Black Bears held an 11-8 advantage in the hit column. Estevez and Brian Hunter recorded RBIs, the latter of which provided the game winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Rookie reliever Austin Barnes scored his second victory on the hill, now 2-6 on the season. Barnes pitched one inning of relief and allowed just one hit while walking one and striking out one. Alex Gouin started for the Hawks and threw four innings allowing three earned runs on seven hits without walking or striking out a batter. Zach Ferris also saw relief work for the Hawks, pitching four middle innings, while also pitching to the first two batters in the top of the ninth inning. Ferris allowed four earned runs on three hits, walked three batters and struck out a game high four batters.
Fran Whitten suffered the loss for the Black Bears, pitching 1.1 innings late in the contest. Whitten, who faced the first two batters in the ninth inning, allowed one hit, a single to Estevez in the final stanza, which eventually led to the game winning run. Jeffrey Gibbs started for the Black Bears, but the Hawks hitters got to him early scoring five runs off of Gibbs in just 2.1 innings of work.
Hartford struck first with a single run in the bottom of the first inning after Kudernatsch became the Hawks first base runner when he was hit by the first pitch he saw. After advancing to second on a while pitch, the speedy third baseman was able to score on a single straight up the middle off the bat of Drexel putting Hartford on the board.
The Black Bears then used three straight hits with one out in the third to take their first lead of the game, as Colin Gay recorded both RBI on a single up the middle allowing Michael Fransoso and Troy Black to score. The Hawks would answer right back in the bottom half of the third with four runs, the final two of which came off the bat of Drexel as he sailed his team leading fourth home run of the season over the fence in right center. Estevez and Kudernatsch recoded the Hawks other two RBI in the inning as they drove in Behm and Trey Stover, respectively, who each reached base on a walk.
That lead would stand for three innings as the Black Bears chipped away at the deficit with single runs in the fourth, fifth and the tying run in the sixth after a leadoff walk to Black paid off when he was driven home on a sac fly from Gay.
Hartford would retake the lead in the seventh inning with two runs, both of which were driven in by Drexel. Behm led off the seventh working his second walk of the day and after two outs were recorded Kudernatsch put two runners aboard with his second hit of the afternoon, a single to right field, put runners on first and second. Despite just one of those runners in scoring position, both were able to score on Drexel's second extra base hit of the contest, sailing a double to the fence in left center.
The Black Bears managed to tie the game in the top of the ninth after the first two runners reach safely on a walk to Fransoso and a single through the left side from Gay. A failed pick off allowed both runners to advance into scoring position, from which a single to right from Alex Calbick allowed both to score, with Gay tying the game at seven as he crossed the plate.
The Hawks would then use a one out single from Estevez to get the action started in the bottom of the ninth. Kudernatsch followed that hit, and a pitching change for the Black Bears, with his third hit of the afternoon, a double to right field putting him and Estevez in scoring position. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Hunter laid down a ground ball to short stop and Maine was unable to turn the double play as the throw to first pulled the first baseman, Justin Leissenheimer, off the bag. That groundball allowed Estevez to score from third with Hunter recording his 21st RBI of the season.
Hartford will close out the 2012 season with a three-game series at Albany next weekend. The Hawks and Great Danes are scheduled for a Friday doubleheaders (12:00 p.m.) and a single game on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) at Varsity Field.
