WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford baseball team scored a pair of victories in a doubleheader with the UMBC Retrievers on Saturday afternoon winning the opening game 8-3 before a 16-inning 3-2 walk-off victory thanks to a single from freshman Adam Touhey. Hartford improves to 7-19 on the year and 6-5 in the America East while UMBC falls to 8-13 and 4-7 in league play. The Hawks and Retrievers will close out the three-game series on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m.

For the day, the Hawks were led by sophomore shortstop Trey Stover who finished with five hits in 11 at bats while driving in three runs and score two more. Two of his five hits went for two bases. Chris DelDebbio and Brady Sheetz each finished with three hits while Nick Dummar drove in a pair of runs for the Hawks.

On the hill, freshman Kyle Gauthier went the distance for his first collegiate victory finishing the seven inning first game allowing five hits and three runs, two of which were earned. Gauthier also struck out three and walked one. In the second game, reliever Alex Gouin picked up the victory, pitching two full innings without allowing a run and surrendering just one hit.

The Retrievers struck early in the first game scoring a single run in the top of the first. After a fielding error allowed for a bases loaded one out situation, Gauthier forced the next batter, Anthony Gatto into a line drive to right and right fielder Ryan Lukach successfully held the runners in place firing the ball in. Gauthier would then give up his first walk of the game to Ian Glassman which forced the first run across the plate.

Hartford responded with a single run in the bottom of the first thanks in part to a leadoff double down the right field line from Stover. Second baseman Brian Estevez followed that attempting to sacrifice himself to advance Stover, but reached safely as the throw to first pulled the fielder off the bag. After a popup registered the first out, designated hitter James Alfonso drove in Stover as he singled through the left side for his team leading 12th RBI.

The Retrievers continued a streak of single run half inning taking a one-run advantage in the top of the second after Rob McCabe was hit by a pitch with two outs. After he advanced 90 feet with his second stolen base of the season, McCabe was able to cross the plate on a single to center field off the bat of second baseman Vince Corbi.

The Hawks answered in the bottom of the third by taking their first lead of the afternoon with a pair of runs. Touhey began the inning with a leadoff single to left field, swinging at the first pitch. After Mac Gill recorded the first strike out of the game Dummar smacked the first three-bagger of the season driving Touhey home from 270 feet away. Dummar would become the second run when he was driven in thanks to a groundout from Stover.

UMBC capitalized on a pair of hits in the top of the third, tying the game at three, the first stalemate of the afternoon. Shortstop Kevin LaChance began the inning with a single up the middle and after advancing on a routine groundout was able to score on a single to right field from Glassman.

The Hawks were able to break open the first multi-run inning of the game with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 7-3 advantage. Hartford finished with four hits in the inning, knocking UMBC starter Gill out in the process. Alfonso began a string of three-straight hits with a double to centerfield. Lukach followed that with a single through the right side that left runners at the corners for DelDebbio who doubled to right field, scoring Alfonso and leaving him and Lukach in scoring position.

Touhey followed in the lineup and became the third runner on base when he reached on a throwing error charged to third baseman Mark Esposito. After recording the first out of the inning Gill would walk in the next run, presenting the free pass and the RBI to Dummar. Stover followed with an infield single that allowed the third run to score, his second RBI of the afternoon and also knocking Gill out as Jon Cohn came in to relieve the starter. Gill would get charged with one more run before the inning ended as Estevez knocked in the fourth run on a sacrifice to center field.

The Hawks added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth taking advantage of a lead off free pass to Alfonso as he was hit by a pitch. He would advance around the diamond on a groundout from Lukach and an infield single from DelDebbio before scoring on a wild pitch from Cohn.

The Hawks finished the opening game with 10 hits led by Stover who finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, which tied Dummar who also knocked in two runs while going 1-for-2 at the plate. Alfonso and DelDebbio each finished with two, while driving in one run each.

Gill suffered his first loss of the season for UMBC, pitching 2.1 innings and allowing seven of the Hawks runs, five of those runs earned. Gill gave up a total of eight hits and only struck out one batter while walking one.

In a pitchers battle in the second game neither team could muster much of a threat through the first four innings each laying down just one hit through that span. Hartford made the first threat in the bottom of the fifth with runners on the corners and one out before Retrievers starter Denis Mikush struck out Touhey and forced designated hitter Pat Knauth into an infield groundout to keep the game scoreless.

The Retrievers would be the first to break through in the top of the sixth with Corbi leading off the inning by working a walk, the second issued by starter Brian Hunter. LaChance would make that walk payoff for UMBC as she sent a line drive into left center field, rolling to the fence, allowing Corbi to score from first. The Retrievers added one more run after a fielding error at third came back to hurt the Hawks. Right fielder Jake Barnes benefited from the error and eventually became the second run when he scored two batters later on a single to center field from catcher Brandon Coluccio.

Hartford tied the score in the bottom of the eighth, scoring both runs with two outs. Touhey led off the inning working a walk off reliever Kevin Ladner. After being sacrificed to second by Estevez, Touhey advanced to third on a infield groundout from pinch hitter Joe Roberti. Stover followed that with his third RBI of the day driving a double down the right field line. Stover would then cross the plate as the game tying run thanks to a single up the middle from Brady Sheetz. That single came off of closer Mike Gomez.

After heading into extra innings, the Hawks threatened for a walk-off victory in the 11th after back-to-back singles from Estevez and Sheetz, the second of which was a bunt. Gomez, who had retired the previous seven batters including six-straight on strikeouts, then retired the next three on a strikeout and fly balls to left and right stranding runners on first and third.

The Hawks broke the stale mate in the 16th inning with Lukach, DelDebbio and Touhey combining for the game-winning walk-off. Lukach began the inning with a double off the fence in right field, knocking Gomez out of the game for Cam Maxey. DelDebbio, the first to face Maxey, sacrificed himself to move Lukach to third where he scored on the next at bat on a single that was just over the glove of a leaping LaChance at short stop.