WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Sophomore shortstop Trey Stover drove in a pair of runs, while third baseman Nick Dummar drove in one, but the Hartford baseball team dropped a mid-week tune up to the Holy Cross Crusaders on Tuesday at Fiondella Field. Hartford falls to 5-19 overall, while Holy Cross improves to 11-14.

The Hawks finished with seven hits; six coming off of Crusaders starter Christopher Kono, who despite giving up three unearned runs earned his second victory of the season. Reliever Austin Barnes was tagged with the loss for Hartford, giving up three runs in his two-third of an inning of work. Overall, the Hawks used seven pitchers.

Freshman Billy Walker, the designated hitter, finished with two of Hartford seven hits, while the remaining five all came from different players. Overall, Walker was 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. The Crusaders finished with 10 total hits, six of which went for two bases, all from different players.

Holy Cross struck first on Tuesday scoring two runs in the top of the second inning thanks to three extra base hits, all doubles from Brandon Cipolla, Jordan Enos and Bobby Indeglia. The center fielder, Cipolla, and the catcher, Enos, went back-to-back with their two-baggers knocking in the first run before any outs were recorded. Indeglia would then follow up with a two-out double over the head of Hawks right fielder Ryan Lukach.

Hartford answered with three runs in its half of the second, loading the bases with two outs and capitalizing on the efforts. Freshman Chris DelDebbio and Billy Walker got the offense started with back-to-back one out hits that left batters on second and third. Right fielder Ryan Lukach followed that up with a bunt attempt that wasn't handled cleanly by the Crusaders pitcher leaving the bases full. After Kono got a key strikeout, Dummar sent a line drive just over the infielder's heads and into right field allowing DelDebbio to score the first run. Stover, the one-hole hitter then drove a ball through the left side of the infield, which allowed Walker to score easily and Lukach to beat the throw from left sliding in for the go-ahead run.

Holy Cross tied the score in the top of the fourth again using back-to-back leadoff hits, a single from Stephen Wadsworth and a double down the left field line from Nick Lovullo. Lovullo's two-bagger, the fourth of the game for the Crusaders, dribbled into the corner, far enough for Wadsworth to score from 270 feet away. The Crusaders then found themselves with the bases loaded thanks to a pair of walks, before a third-straight walk issued to Andrew Barry gave the Crusaders their second lead of the afternoon. Designate Hitter Patrick Puentes then added to the three run fourth inning tally, sacrificing himself to left field, allowing short stop Alex Maldonado to score from third.

The Crusaders added four more in the fifth, increasing their streak to seven straight unanswered runs, taking a 9-3 advantage. All four runs came on back-to-back doubles from Evan Ocello and Andrew Barry, both of which registered their first hits. The pair drove in Enos and Lovullo who each reached on fielding errors at third.

Holy Cross would add its final run in the seventh, an unearned run for Hawk reliever Jacob Mellin. Ocello would begin the offense with a single to right field and advance 180 feet on a stolen base and the Hawks fourth error of the game, this one on the catcher. He then scored on a routine infield groundout off the bat of Barry.

 The Hawks continue a seven-game home stand with a three-game weekend series against the UMBC Retrievers. Hartford and UMBC will open the series with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m. The series finale will come on Sunday afternoon, also a noon start. The Hawks and Retrievers stand in a four-way tie (Albany, Stony Brook) for third place in the league standings.