WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Freshman Nick Campana drove in the game-winning run on a two-out bases loaded single down the line in left to give the University Hartford baseball team a walk-off victory in the opening game. Overall, the Hawks and Binghamton Bearcats split a doubleheader with the 7-6 victory in favor of Hartford coming in 10 innings while the Bearcats won the nightcap 8-4.

For the day, Hartford was led by sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon who finished with five hits in in nine at bats for a .556 batting average over the two games. With three hits in the opening game and two in the nightcap, MacKinnon extended his team-leading hitting streak to eight straight games, a career-high. One of MacKinnon's five hits went for a triple, one of four total on the day for the Hawks.

Joining MacKinnon in leading the Hawks bats was freshman third baseman Ben Bengtson who collected four hits in nine at bats for a .444 average. Two of Bengtson's four hits went for extra bases, a double and a triple. Redshirt senior Ryan Lukach muscled his way to a four RBI day with three in the opening game and one on in the nightcap. IN the opener, Lukach finished with two hits, both of which went for extra bases, an RBI double and a two RBI triple.

Earning the victory in the opener was junior reliever Jeremy Charles, one of three relief pitchers who held the Bearcats without a run. Charles pitched one-and-a-third innings and gave up one hit but secured his third victor of the season, tied for the most on the team with classmate Sam McKay who suffered the loss in game two.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

·       Freshman left fielder Nick Campana sneaked a bases loaded single just over the third baseman's head and down the left field line allowing redshirt senior Ryan Lukach to score easily, opening up the doubleheader with a 7-6 extra-inning victory.

·       Lukach led the Hawks offensively in the opener as he finished with two hits in four at bats, while driving in three runs. Both of Lukach's hits went for extra bases, a double and a triple. His two-bagger came in the fourth inning as that hit drove in what at the time was a game-tying run. In the eighth inning, Lukach drilled a ball to the wall in left center that began a three-run rally by driving in David MacKinnon and Ben Bengtson who both started out the inning with singles.

·       MacKinnon and Bengtson would combine to lead the Hawks at the plate, both finishing with three hits in five at bats. Bengtson, the rookie third baseman, also added an RBI to his tally when he smacked a triple to the wall in left center that drove in MacKinnon as part of a two-run rally in the sixth.

·       Overall, Hartford finished with 10 hits, four of which were extra base hits. Among the four extra base knocks were three triples from Lukach, Bengtson and junior center fielder Aaron Wilson. The Hawks 10 hits all came from five different players with MacKinnon, Bengtson and Lukach all combining for eight of the 10.

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

·       As a team, Hartford combined for eight total hits led by freshman designated hitter Erik Ostberg who was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, all three of which were singles. Ostberg also drove in a run when she scored Ryan Lukach on a single to left in the third inning.

·       Sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon continued his hot hitting against the Bearcats as he finished with two hits in the second game, one of which was a triple.

·       Freshman corner infielder Ben Bengtson drove in one run, finishing with an RBI in each of the two games. His RBI came in the first inning as he drove in MacKinnon who reached on a single with a double to right center two first of two runs in the opening frame.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·       Redshirt senior Ryan Lukach drove in three runs in the opening game, extending his team-high to 26 total for the season after adding one in the second game. The three RBI in the opener is his team-leading fifth game of the season with three RBI, one of just two Hawks to drive in three runs in a game.

·       For the day, Hartford finished with seven extra base hits, a new team-high for a series for the Hawks. The previous most in a series for Hartford was six which happened twice; in a four-game series at BYU and in a three-game series at Albany.

·       Among the Hawks seven extra base hits were four triples, three of which came in the opening game. The four triple for Hartford more than doubled the season total, now seven total for the year. All four triples came from different player, with all four recording their first of the season.

·       The Hawks extra-inning game in the opener against the Bearcats was the third extra-inning game in the last four for Hartford. In that stretch, the Hawks are 2-1, while overall for the season, Hartford is 3-2 in extra frames, never needing more than one extra inning to determine a winner.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·       Sophomore David MacKinnon finished with five hits total for the day to lead the Hawks bats, hitting .556 for the day.

·       As a team, Hartford finished with seven extra base hits including four triples, more than doubling its season total.

·       Redshirt senior Ryan Lukach drove in four total runs, including three in the opening game, his fifth game of the year with three RBI.

·       Junior reliever Jeremy Charles earned his third victory of the season on the mound, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings for the win.

UP NEXT
Hartford and Binghamton will conclude its three-game conference series with a single game scheduled for a 12 p.m. start at Fionella Field on Sunday afternoon.