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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hawks return to conference play with their third-straight home league series when they welcome the Binghamton Bearcats to Fiondella Field. Hartford and Binghamton enter with identical 3-3 records in America East play, two of four teams tied for second place in the league standings (UMBC, Albany).
Inside the Series: Today's game will be the 38th meeting between Hartford and Binghamton with the series dating back to the Bearcats' first season at the Division I level (2002). The Bearcats hold a 30-7 (.811) advantage in the all-time series and have enjoyed a stretch of 17 wins in the last 19 meetings, dating back to the 2007 season. The two lone Hartford wins in that stretch came in 2008 and last season as the Hawks won the first of a four-game series with Binghamton. Also in that stretch, the Bearcats have held the Hawks without a victory in four seasons. Six of the Hawks' seven victories in the series have come in West Hartford as the Hawks are 6-17 at home.
A Glance at the Bearcats: The Bearcats enter the weekend series at Hartford with a 12-8 overall record and a 3-3 mark in America East play after taking two-of-three from the reigning conference champion Stony Brook Seawolves last weekend. Their most recent action was a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader at Bucknell where they split with the Bison. For the season, sophomore outfielder Jake Thomas leads the team with a .375 batting average. One of five players who have started all 20 games, Thomas has hit safely 24 times in 64 at bats while driving in 19 runs and scoring 21 more. Junior second baseman Daniel Nevares enters this weekend with a team-high 24 hits while senior Jordan Smucker leads the way with 24 runs driven in. Among the projected starters, Jay Lynch and Jack Rogalla lead the squad with 2.96 and 3.04 ERAs, respectively. In five starts, Lynch has allowed 12 runs, nine earned, on 30 hits in 27.1 innings of work. Rogalla has allowed 17 runs, eight earned, on 27 hits in 23.2 innings on the hill. The third projected starter, Jake Lambert, leads the team with 22 strikeouts while sporting a 5.40 ERA.
The Rotation: The Hawks are projected to use a familiar rotation for their third America East series against the Bearcats. Freshman Kyle Gauthier will make his fifth start and sixth appearance in the opening game on Friday. Gauthier enters with a 7.46 earned run average. Last weekend against the Black Bears, Gauthier was tagged with his third loss of the season after pitching five innings and allowing six earned runs on nine hits. Junior Brian Hunter is scheduled to pitch the second game of the Friday afternoon doubleheader, while sophomore Sean Newcomb will pitch the series finale on Saturday. Hunter holds a 6.45 ERA, allowing 23 runs, 16 earned, on 18 hits in 22.1 innings of work. Last weekend, Hunter pitched 2.2 innings in a no decision against the Black Bears. He gave up five earned runs on five hits. Newcomb pitched four innings against the Black Bears, allowing six runs, three earned, on five hits and five walks. He also struck out a weekend-high eight batters. For the season he has made four starts and allowed 20 runs, 14 earned, on 17 hits in 18.2 innings of work.
Last Time Out: The Hawks scored a 2-1 victory thanks to six scoreless innings from freshman Sam McKay on Thursday afternoon. McKay, who started for the first time against the Stags, scattered three hits while striking out five batters. Rookie Chris DelDebbio and junior James Alfonso recorded the RBI's for Hartford with Alfonso's coming on a bases loaded walk in the first inning and DelDebbio on his fifth double of the season. Leadoff batter Trey Stover led the Hawks with two of their five total hits, while Nick Dummar joined DelDebbio and Alfonso with the remaining three. Another freshman hurler, Justin Robarge, picked up the first Hartford save in 2013 and the first of his collegiate career.
Last Season against Binghamton: The Hawks and Bearcats met four times over one weekend in 2012, all at Fiondella Field. The Bearcats finished the weekend series with a 3-1 record, with Hartford winning the series opener, 4-2, before dropping the next three (7-3, 11-3, 2-1). Over the two-day series, the Hawks collected 26 hits in 111 at bats for a .234 batting average, led by Simon Kudernatsch who finished 5-of-13 (.385). Shortstop Trey Stover finished the weekend with a team-best four RBI while hitting .333 on four hits in 12 at bats. Three of his four hits went for two bases. The lone projected starter for this weekend's series that also started against the Bearcats in 2012 is junior Brian Hunter, who completed seven innings and allowed six earned runs on four hits. He also finished with a bullpen-best six strikeouts.
Let's Go Streaking: Just one Hawk enters the weekend series against Binghamton with a hitting streak intact, centerfielder Chris DelDebbio who has hit safely in the last two games. In that stretch, the freshman has three hits in seven at bats. The longest hit streaks of the season for Hartford came from DelDebbio and sophomore Ryan Lukach who both had seven game hit streaks snapped against Albany.
Top Hawk: Freshman Chris DelDebbio has been leading a group of 15 rookies who joined the Hawks in 2013. The rookie centerfielder is hitting at a .294 clip, which is currently second for the Hawks. He has hit safely 20 times in 69 at bats with a team-high 10 RBI and has scored seven runs. Six of his 20 hits have gone for extra bases, five doubles and a triple, while he has finished eight games with two hits in each, including a streak of six straight.
Diaper Dandy's: There wasn't much doubt that Hartford would field a young team in 2013 after welcoming 15 new faces to the dugout. Hartford has played 12 freshmen over their first eight games, six position players and six pitchers. Of those 12, six have had starting roles for coach Justin Blood, including right hander Kyle Gauthier who saw his first start on the hill come against James Madison. In comparison to the rest of the country, the Hawks are tied for seventh for the number of rookies used in 2013. Tennessee leads the nation having utilized 17 freshmen through the first four weeks.
Blood Announces Captains: Second year head coach Justin Blood announced the leadership for his 2013 Hartford Hawks squad, senior Pat Knauth and sophomore pitcher/outfielder Ryan Lukach. Knauth completed his first season with the Hawks in 2012, finishing the season batting .207 with 19 hits and 12 runs batted in. Lukach is a two-time captain as he was one in 2012 despite a season ending injury. Before the injury, Lukach appeared in 11 games including two appearances on the mound. At the plate he finished with eight hits in 343 at bats. On the mound, Lukach made his first start of the season against CSU and earned the victory pitching five innings in a 5-2 win over the Blue Devils.
Blood Named Top-10 Coach Under 40: Hartford head coach Justin Blood, who enters his second season with the Hawks, was one of 10 collegiate coaches named to the Top-10 College Head Coaches Under 40 list by Baseball America. Blood is the youngest of the 10 coaches who made the Top-10 list, which was released on January 3 and is referred to as a rising star in the coaching ranks. In his first season at Hartford, Blood led the Hawks to a 16-40 overall record and a 7-17 mark in conference play. The 16 wins is the most for the Hawks since the 2008 season (18 wins), while under his tutelage a pair of Hawks earned All-Conference Honors with senior Simon Kudernatsch named to the America East Second team All-Conference and freshman Sean Newcomb named to the All-Rookie squad.
What's on the Menu: Head Coach Justin Blood announced a 55-game schedule for the Hawks in 2013. The first 12 games of the year will all be played in the south as the Hawks look to beat out the frigid temperatures and falling snow in the northeast. The Hawks will open up with four games at Campbell and follow that up a week later with four games at James Madison. The final four games to open the season will feature two each against Troy and Southeast Louisiana in Troy, Ala. The 2013 home opener also serves as the conference opener as the Hawks will welcome the Albany Great Danes for the first three league games in what is a 30-game conference schedule. This is the first season that Hartford and the other five conference schools will play a 30-game schedule with each team playing two three-game series, one on each team's home field. The top four teams following the regular season will advance to the 2013 America East Championship which will be played at the home field of the highest seeded team on May 22-24.
What's Coming Back: Junior's James Alfonso and Brian Hunter enter 2013 as the top returners offensively, while Hunter joins sophomore Sean Newcomb as the top returners on the hill for the Hawks. Alfonso and Hunter finished third and fourth on the team last season with .290 and .288 batting averages, respectively. Alfonso, a catcher, led the pair with 53 with 14 of those going for doubles while hitting a pair of home runs. Hunter finished with 49 hits, 13 of which were two baggers while adding a pair of triples and a pair of home runs. Hunter led the two with 21 RBI while Alfonso added 19. On the hill, Newcomb returns from a mid-season season ending injury after leading the way with a 4.17 earned run average. He made nine appearances, all starts, and posted the first no-hitter (seven innings) in school history against Yale. Hunter, who started as a reliever, was thrust into a starting role and pitched a total team-high 65 innings of work, sporting a 4.71 earned run average.
What's New: The Hawks welcome 15 new faces to the dugout in 2013 highlighted by catcher/infielder Billy Walker (Smithfield, R.I.) and infielder Aaron Wilson (Windsor, Conn.) who were named in the top-five newcomers for the America East Conference by Baseball America. After finding success with recruiting from the Nutmeg State at UConn, Coach Blood is bringing in seven Connecticut players in the Class of 2016. Of the remaining eight rookies, two hale from Massachusetts, two from New York and one each from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and the furthest coming from Arizona.
New Digs: The America East Conference on Wednesday announced that it would move away from a home site league championship in 2013 and take the three-day event to LeLacheur Park in Lowel, Mass., home of the Boston Red Sox Single A affiliate Lowell Spinners. LeLacheur Park, which opened in 1998 and holds 4,767 spectators, is also the home site for future America East member UMass Lowell, who announced their transition to Division I and the America East Conference in February. The 2013 America East Championship is scheduled for May 22-24 with May 25 available as a rain or extra day if needed. The top four teams following a 30-game conference regular season will advance to the championship event.
Next on Tap: The Hawks continue a seven-game home stand with a mid-week game against the Holy Cross Crusaders on Tuesday afternoon. The Hawks and Crusaders are scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. first pitch.
