STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The University of Hartford baseball team dropped a 4-2 decision to the Stony Brook Seawolves in the 2014 regular season finale on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks close out the regular season with a 30-21 overall record, the first 30 win season in school history, and will enter the 2014 America East Championship as the second seed. The tournament is scheduled to start on Thursday, May 22 at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass.

Leading the Hawks in Saturday series finale at Stony Brook was sophomore second baseman Aaron Wilson who finished with two of the Hawks four hits, in three at bats, with a run scored. Chris DelDebbio and Ryan Lukach each finished with one hit, while Lukach drove in one of the Hawks runs. Joining Lukach was rookie third baseman David MacKinnon who drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly.

Sophomore reliever Jacob Mellin suffered the loss, giving up a pair of runs in one-plus innings of work. The right hander gave up three total hits with just one of his runs earned. Sophomore Kyle Gauthier pitched six innings in a no decision start. He would be tagged with a pair of earned runs on four hits and two walks. Closer Jeremy Charles pitched one inning without allowing a hit.

Stony Brook struck first with its first two runs coming in the second and third innings. The first run came courtesy of back-to-back extra base hits, a one-out triple from Cole Peragine and a two-out double from Anthony Italiano. First baseman Kevin Krause provided the second run with one swing of the bat, a two-out home run down the left field line in the third.

After a pair of scoreless frames for both side, the Hawks struck with two runs in the top of the sixth inning, knotting the game. Wilson led off the inning with a single to centerfield, followed promptly by a single through the left side from DelDebbio. After two-hole hitter Adam Touhey sacrificed himself to get both runners in scoring position, the Seawolves changed pitchers with an 0-1 count on MacKinnon.

The third baseman didn't waste time on the new pitcher, right hander Bryan Tatelman, lifting a fly ball deep into right field which pushed Wilson across the plate to break the shutout. That play also allowed DelDebbio to advance 90 feet to third where he was able to score from thanks to a single to shallow left field off the bat of Lukach.

The Hawks would then strand runners aboard in the seventh and eighth before the Seawolves took advantage of an error to the leadoff batter in the bottom of the eighth which allowed Robert Chavarria to reach safely. That was followed by a double that hit off the base of the wall in center field from Kevin Krause with Chavarria racing around the bases to score the go-ahead run.

The Seawolves would add one more run in the bottom of the eighth, before the closer Cameron Stone, who had come on in the eighth, retired the Hawks in order in the top of the ninth securing the victory.

Hartford will battle either Binghamton or Maine in its first game in the America East Championship. First pitch for the Hawks first appearance in the tournament since 1996 is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 22.