WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford baseball team dropped its second-straight midweek game by a 7-3 decision against the Fairfield Stags on Wednesday afternoon at Fiondella Field. The 7-3 decision came in 10 innings, the first extra-inning game of the season for the Hawks. Hartford was led on the day by redshirt senior right fielder Ryan Lukach who finished 3-of-5 at the plate, his first three-hit game of the season.

Lukach was one of six Hawks who combined to scatter 10 hits over the 10 innings. Joining him with multi-hit outings was freshman Ben Bengtson and junior Chris DelDebbio who each finished with two. Lukach was also one of three Hawks who finished with an RBI, joined by middle infielders Trey Stover and Dalton Ruch. Stover also joined in with one hit on the afternoon, extending his hitting streak to nine games, currently the longest active streak.

Suffering the loss on the hill for the Hawks was closer John McGinty, his first decision of the season. In 1.2 innings of work, McGinty allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits while walking three batters and striking out three. Junior reliever Jeremy Charles posted the best outing among six Hawks pitchers as he threw three scoreless innings. Charles held the Stags to just one hit, while striking out three batters and not giving up a walk. Freshman reliever Ben Brown led the Hawks pitching staff with four strikeouts.  

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

·       Redshirt senior Ryan Lukach led the Hawks bats with three hits in five at bats, his first three-hit game of the season and his sixth multi-hit game of the year. Lukach also drove in a run, the first run scored by the Hawks which came in the bottom of the first. All three of Lukach's hits were singles as he was one of six different Hawks who all combined for 10 total hits.

·       Senior shortstop Trey Stover extended what is now a team-leading hitting streak to nine games as he finished with one hit, an RBI single in the sixth inning that provided a 3-2 lead for the Hawks at the time.

·       Freshman Ben Bengtson and junior Chris DelDebbio also compiled a multi-hit outing, each finishing with two hits. Both Bengtson and DelDebbio would also come around to score runs for the Hawks.

·       Junior relief pitcher Jeremy Charles led six Hawks hurlers who saw action against the Stags. Charles held Fairfield without a run over three innings of work as his offense provided him with a 3-2 lead he handed off in the ninth inning. Charles faced 11 batters total, giving up just one hit and struck out three batters.

·       Freshman reliever Ben Brown also had a strong showing in his third appearance of the season.  Brown threw a season-high 2.2 innings and allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out four batters, a staff-high against the Stags.

HOW THEY SCORED

·       Hartford manufactured its first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning, tying the score at one. Freshman third baseman Ben Bengtson opened up the Hawks offense with his first of two hits, running out an infield single to second base. After a fly ball out, he was able to take second thanks to second hit, this one up the middle from sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon. Both runners would advance thanks to a balk called on the Stags starter, Kyle Dube. With both in scoring position, Bengtson was able to score on an infield groundout with senior outfielder Ryan Lukach driving in his team-leading 18th RBI of the season.

·       The Hawks took their first lead of the afternoon in the second inning thanks to back-to-back singles and some on the ball base running. The first hit of the inning came with one out from junior designated hitter Chris DelDebbio as he drilled his first of two hits into right center. After a few checks from relief pitcher Gavin Wallace, DelDebbio got a great jump and swiped second base, his team leading fifth stolen base of the season. With DelDebbio in scoring position, sophomore second baseman Dalton Ruch continued a hot streak by drilling a ball up the middle that allowed DelDebbio to score from second uncontested.

·       Hartford final run, which provided a 3-2 lead, came in the sixth inning, thanks in part to a leadoff walk issued to MacKinnon. He would advance into scoring position on the next at bat, taking second on a bunt single off the bat of Lukach, but also taking third thanks to a throwing error by the first baseman that left runners on the corners. Senior shortstop Trey Stover came to the plate looking to extend an eight game hitting streak and did just that as he singled through the right side, providing MacKinnon an easy path home for the go ahead run.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·       Senior shortstop Trey Stover extended what is now a team-high hitting streak to nine games, finishing 1-for-5 and an RBI against Fairfield. Freshman leftfielder Nick Campana had his nine-game hit streak come to an end, finishing 0-for-5 at the plate.

·       In what is just his third appearance in a Hartford uniform, rookie reliever Ben Brown through an impressive 2.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits and three walks, while striking out a team-high and season-high four batters. Brown now has eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work.

·       Redshirt senior outfielder Ryan Lukach was one of three Hawks to drive in runs as he collected his team-leading 18th RBI of the season. The 18 RBI for Lukach is also second most in the America East.

·       Junior Chris DelDebbio showed off some impressive base running skills in the second inning, swiping his team-leading fifth base of the season. Just 18 games into the season, DelDebbio is already two stolen bases shy of his career high of seven set last season.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·       Senior Trey Stover extended what is now a team-high hitting streak to nine straight games with an RBI single in the sixth.

·       Freshman reliever Ben Brown struck out a career-high four batters in 2.2 innings of work. He now has eight K's on the season.

·       Senior outfielder Ryan Lukach was one of three Hawks to finish with an RBI, his team leading 18th of the year, second most in the league.

UP NEXT
The University of Hartford baseball team will remain at home for yet another weekend series as they will welcome the Bryant Bulldogs to Fiondella Field for three games. The Hawks and Bulldogs will open the three-game set, which was originally set to take place in Smithfield, R.I., with a doubleheader on Saturday at 12 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday with first pitch in the single game set for 2:30 p.m.