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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Senior catcher James Alfonso drove in four runs and finished with a 1.000 slugging percentage as the University of Hartford baseball team completed a Saturday sweep of the UMBC Retrievers. Hartford improves to 26-17 overall and 12-4 in the America East, which places the Hawks in a tie with Stony Brook for first place in the league standings.

Alfonso was one of four players who finished with four hits on Saturday, joined by right fielder Ryan Lukach and shortstop Trey Stover, who led the team with a .667 batting average. Two of Alfonso's hits went for extra bases, including a lead-off home run, his team leading fourth of the year, in the second game.

Overall, the Hawks finished with 26 hits, 13 in each game, while UMBC finished with 10.  All nine Hawks who went the plate finished with at least one hit. In addition to the four from Alfonso, Lukach and Stover, three Hawks finished with three hits apiece; Brady Sheetz, Aaron Wilson and David MacKinnon.

The Hawks used just two pitchers on the day with both of Hartford's starters going the distance. In the opening game, junior lefty Sean Newcomb did not allow a run as he posted his team-leading fourth shutout with the 4-0 victory. Newcomb gave up just two hits over his nine innings of work, striking out nine batters, tying his season high, and walking a pair.

Senior Brian Hunter completed his team-leading sixth complete game, allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits in the 9-3 victory in game two. He would finish with four strikeouts, including a pair in the seventh inning before forcing an infield groundout to end the afternoon.

In the opening game the Hawks opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with the help of a Retriever error. Adam Touhey punched the first hit of the day up the middle and after a fielding error at shortstop found himself 90 feet from scoring with just one out. Lukach would then drive in his first of three RBI's on the day with his first hit, also a single up the middle.

Lukach would then drive in another run in the third and one more in the fifth, accounting for three of the Hawks four runs in the opening game. The final RBI came from Alfonso who drove in a second run in the fifth inning, knocking in MacKinnon who was originally hit by a pitch.

Defensively, the Hawks stranded four UMBC runners on base, all of which were in scoring position. The biggest threat for the Retrievers came in the ninth when the first two runners reached safely, but Newcomb retired the next three batters in order to secure his first complete game of the season.

In the second game, Hartford struck early and often, taking a 5-0 lead and extending that to 8-2 through the first three innings. Chris DelDebbio opened up the game with a single to left field, one of four hits in the inning. He and Adam Touhey would become the first runs of the game when they were driven in by Alfonso who sailed a two-out double to the wall in right center. Sheetz and Billy Walker would drive in the final two runs of the inning.

After the Hawks added a single run in the second, the Retrievers broke the shutout with back-to-back solo home runs, both with two outs, in the top of the third. Hartford responded with a leadoff home run in the third from Alfonso, the first of three runs as Sheetz, Walker, Stover and Wilson all followed Alfonso with hits to string together five-straight. Stover's hit, a single down the left field line, drove in the final two runs of the inning with Sheetz and Walker scoring on the play.

The Hawks final run came in the fifth inning as they took advantage of Sheetz being hit by a pitch leading off the inning. Wilson drove in the fifth inning run as he sailed his third hit of the game into shallow riht field allowing Sheetz to score from second.

Hartford and UMBC will close out the series on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. Prior to the game, the Hawks will honor six seniors; James Alfonso, Brian Estevez, Brian Hunter, Ryan Carter, Ryan Lukach and Alex Gouin.