MIAMI, Fla. – The University of Hartford softball team rebounded from a pair of tough losses suffered on Saturday by slugging Savannah State, 13-0, in the final game of the FIU Classic on Sunday morning. Five players collected multiple hits for the Hawks who improve to 1-4 with the triumph.

The 13 runs scored were the most for a Hawks' team since 2009, when it belted out a 14-0 shutout of Rhode Island on Mar. 18.

Junior hurler Kaitlyn Meade went the distance in the five-inning, mercy rule win while senior Erica Phelps paced Hartford at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs and a pair of RBI. Meade scattered just four hits in the shutout and issued just one walk during that stretch.

The Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening inning and pounded the scoreboard with 11 runs in the top half of the fourth to grab the commanding 13-0 advantage over Savannah State (7-7).

Senior Kate Wacyk, sophomores Margaret Betz and Peyton Fisher and rookie Sawyer Fried each collected two hits with Wacyk and Fried adding two and three RBI, respectively. Also recording hits on the morning were sophomore Jenice Aloyo and sophomore Jackie Kellly.

Junior Amber Andrews scored three times, including the first run of the game and a pair of runs in the fourth frame. The Hawks' lead-off batter, the junior earned a walk to start the game, part of back-to-back walks as Aloyo earned four balls in the next at-bat. A ground-out from Wacyk pushed each runner up the base paths 60 feet before Fried emptied the bases on an RBI single to right field. Andrews scored on the hit and Aloyo crossed home following an error by Savannah State's right fielder to provide Hartford with the early 2-0 lead.

Savannah State threated in its first at-bats, starting things off with two-straight hits that put runners on first and third with zero down in the frame. Hartford's defense, however, quickly halted the Lady Tigers' momentum as they turned an infield ground out by Stewart into two and induced Wright, the next batter, into an infield pop-out to end the inning.

The Hawks put the game out of the reach in the top of the fourth, using eight hits to bring in 11 runs. Phelps got the rally going for Hartford, leading off the inning with a single through the left side of the field. After moving to third via a sac bunt from Betz and a single from Fisher, she stole home on a double steal, pushing Hartford's lead to 3-0.

With still one out, Hartford loaded up the bases, allowing back-to-back hits by Wacyk and Kelly and walk by Fried to plate three-straight runs and make it a 6-0 ball game. Another walk, this one by Maxwell, pushed the lead to seven runs before Phelps stepped up to the plate and belted out a two-run single to left field to make it a 9-0 game in favor of the Hawks.

With the bases still juiced, Andrews earned an RBI after taking first base on a walk, while outfield singles off the bats of Aloyo and Wacyk rounded out the scoring for the morning as they drove in one and two runs, respectively.

For the Lady Tigers, McDowell earned the start, allowing eight earned runs, nine total, on seven hits. She finished with four strikeouts. Standard threw 1.2 innings for Savannah State, giving up four runs and striking out two.

The Hawks have a week off before heading to Rock Hill, South Carolina for the Winthrop Tournament. Hartford kicks off play on Friday, March 1 with two games against Virginia (1:00 p.m.) and Monmouth (5:00 p.m.)