WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford baseball team dropped its series opener against the Maine Black Bears on Saturday afternoon by a 9-3 final. The Hawks (2-14, 2-2 America East) and Black Bears (12-12, 3-1 AE) are scheduled to continue the series with a Sunday afternoon doubleheader with the first pitched set for 12:00 p.m.

Hartford finished the game with just three hits with rookie Chris DelDebbio leading the team with one of the three hits and driving in two of the Hawks three runs. Ryan Lukach and James Alfonso also finished with one hit apiece, while two of the Hawks three hits, Lukach and DelDebbio, went for two bases.

Hawks starter Kyle Gauthier suffered his third loss of the season. He pitched five innings and allowed six runs, all earned, on nine hits with a strikeout and two walks. Alex Gouin, Ryan Carter and Sam McKay all saw time in relief of Gauthier. Gouin would be tagged for one earned run on three hits in three inningsd of work. Carter pitched just two third of an inning and allowed two earned runs, while McKay closed out the top of the ninth.

Maine struck early with back-to-back one out hits, the first from Colin Gay, a flare just over the head of Hawks second baseman Brian Estevez. Gay, after stealing second, found himself scoring easily as Michael Fransoso lifted the fifth pitch he saw over the fence in right field giving the visitors an early 2-0 advantage. The Black Bears added one more in the top of the first courtesy of a two out double to right field from Fran Whitten who drove in the first free pass issued by Gauthier.

The Black Bears added to its tally with single runs in the second and third. The first of those runs, in the second, came as a high fly off the bat of Fransoso got lost in the sun allowing him to reach second safely and drive in Gay from first. Gay reached on a fielder's choice. In the third, Alex Calbick lifted the first pitch her saw from Gauthier over the fence in right field, his second long ball of the season and the second of the game for Maine.

After having their first 17 batters sat down in order, the Hawks first base runner came in the fourth inning courtesy of a dropped fly ball in centerfield. Hartford wouldn't be successful in pushing a run across the plate until the seventh inning when Lukach being hit by a pitch with one out came back to haunt Maine starter Tommy Lawrence. Lukach advanced two bases on the next at bat, a single down the right field line, which broke up Lawrence's no hitter, from Alfonso. Lukach then scored on a throwing error charged to Lawrence as he sailed a throw to first wide of the base.

Maine added its final three runs by way of a home run in the eighth and a pair of runs in the ninth, the first on an RBI single from Brian Doran and the second on a balk charged to Carter. Hartford would make a push in the bottom of the ninth, but were only able to get two runs back. Both runs came thanks to a double to right field from DelDebbio, with the ball sailing just out of reach of the Black Bears right fielder.