WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Freshman third baseman Ben Bengtson finished with three hits, including a double to lead off the game for the Hawks, and three RBI as the University of Hartford baseball team dropped a 23-8 decision to the visiting Yale Bulldogs on Tuesday.

Bengtson was one of four Hawks who finished with a multi-hit outing, joined by left field classmate Nick Campana who finished 2-of-2 at the plate, extending his current team-high hitting streak to seven games. The two-hit outing for Campana is also his team-leading 10th multi-hit game of the season. Rounding out the leaders at the plate was sophomore second baseman Dalton Ruch and junior catcher Joe Roberti who each finished with two hits. The pair also drove in one run apiece, while Ruch scored three runs.

The  Hawks starter, freshman Anthony Rovasio, suffered his first collegiate loss, pitching one third of an inning and giving up four earned runs on two hits. Overall, the Hawks sent eight pitchers to the mound with freshman reliever Ben Brown leading the staff, pitching the only scoreless inning by a Hawk. Brown gave up one hit and walked one batter, but recorded all three outs in his only inning of work, the ninth inning, by way of strikeouts.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

·       Freshman third baseman Ben Bengtson led Hartford on the day as he finished 3-for-4 at the plate, while also driving in three runs. Bengtson opened up his afternoon with a double to left field in the leadoff position in the first inning. He would later hit singles in the fourth and sixth which each drove in runs, while sacrificing himself in the eighth for a Hawk run.

·       Classmate Nick Campana joined Bengtson in leading the Hawks as he finished with two hits in as many at bats, extending his current hit streak to seven games, the longest active streak on the team. Campana's two hits is also his 10th multi-hit game of the season, also the most on the team.

·       Also extending a hit streak on Tuesday was senior shortstop Trey Stover and junior catcher Joe Roberti. Stover finished with one hit against the Bulldogs which extends his current streak to six games, while Roberti finished with a pair of hits, including a double in the fourth inning that secured his fifth-straight game with at least one hit.

·       Sophomore second baseman Dalton Ruch joined Roberti, Bengtson and Campana in leading the Hawks at the plate as he finished with two hits in four at bats, while also driving in one run and scoring three times. One of Ruch's hits was also an extra base knock, a double that led off the fifth inning.

·       Freshman relief pitcher Ben Brown was the eighth pitcher to see action on Tuesday. Brown pitched the ninth inning in his second appearance of the season. The rookie right hander gave up one run and walked one batter but recorded all three outs in the inning by way of strikeouts. In two innings of work this season, the freshman has struck out four batters.

HOW THEY SCORED

·       Hartford opened up its scoring in the bottom of the first inning, cutting a five-run deficit down to two. Freshman Ben Bengtson opened up the inning with a double to left field, his fourth two-bagger of the season. After second hole hitter Nick Campana worked a walk, sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon drilled a double into right center that allowed Bengtson to score and Campana to advance to third. Campana would then during the next at bat courtesy of a wild pitch that also allowed MacKinnon to advance to 90 feet away, where he was driven home by redshirt senior Ryan Lukach whose infield groundout was on the right side of the field allowing the run to score easily.

·       The Hawks added two more runs in the fifth inning, all pair of a stretch of three-straight hits. A fielder's choice put sophomore Dalton Ruch on first base with one out where he was able to score from thanks to a double to left field from catcher Joe Roberti, securing his fifth-straight game with a hit. Roberti would have the favor returned on the next at bat, a second-straight hit for the Hawks which came from Bengtson, his first of three RBI in the game.

·       The final three runs for the Hawks came as single runs in the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings. In the sixth, a leadoff double from  Ruch would not be wasted by the Hawks as Bengtson again drove in the run, this time with a single to left field. Bengtson would record a third RBI in the eighth, again driving in Ruch as he sacrificed himself with a fly ball to right field. Ruch would then return the favor in the ninth, earning his lone RBI of the game, driving in Lukach who led off the inning with a walk.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·       Freshman Nick Campana extended his current team-high hitting streak to seven straight games, finishing 2-for-2 with a run scored against Yale. The rookie left fielder has finished with two hits in each of the last five games and six of the last seven. For the season, Campana has recorded 10 multi-hit games, all two-hitters, which leads the team.

·       Senior shortstop Trey Stover and junior catcher Joe Roberti also extended hitting streaks against the Bulldogs. Stover has now hit safely in six straight games after finishing with one hit, a single in the third inning. Fresh off a game which included his first collegiate home run, Roberti finished with two hits against Yale, his fifth straight game with a hit.

·       As a team, Hartford used eight pitchers in the midweek battler, with those eight hurlers combining for nine total strikeouts. Among the nine strikeouts was a career-high three for reliever Ben Brown who recorded all three outs in his one inning of work by way of a strikeout, two of which were looking.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·       Freshman third baseman Ben Bengtson led the Hawks at the plate with a career-high three hits and a career-best three RBI.

·       Freshman Nick Campana extended his streak of two-hit games to five straight and six of the last seven. He has 10 total two-hit games.

·       Senior Trey Stover and junior Joe Roberti also extended hitting streaks with Stover's at six straight and Roberti at five straight.

UP NEXT
The Hawks continue what has turned into an eight game homestand this weekend when they welcome the Maine Black Bears to Fiondella Field. Hartford and Maine are scheduled for a three-game series, which will be the conference opening weekend for Maine. The series will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday and conclude with a single game on Sunday afternoon. First pitch on both days is scheduled for 12 p.m.