AMHERST, Mass. – Sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon extended his team-high hitting streak to 11 straight games as he led the University of Hartford baseball team with five hits in a 4-3 loss to UMass on Wednesday at Earl Lorden Field.

Overall, Hartford finished with five hits, the remaining three of which all came from different players. One of the Hawks five total hits went for extra bases, a double by senior shortstop Trey Stover which eventually led to one of the Hawks three runs.

All three of Hartford runs were unearned by the UMass pitching staff as the Hawks took advantage of two errors at second base and a wild pitch. Freshman third baseman Ben Bengtson finished without a hit in the game, but scored two of the Hawks runs, reaching base on a walk and an error. Stover also scored one of the Hawks runs.

On the hill, rookie reliever Ben Brown suffered the loss, his first decision of the season. In 1.1 innings of work, Brown was tagged with one run on one hit and three walks. That one run broke a 1-1 stalemate in the fifth inning before the Minutemen took a 4-1 lead in the seventh. Hartford would pull within one run with a two-run eighth inning but fall short of the comeback bid.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

·       Hartford finished with five total hits from four players, led by sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon who recorded two hits, both singles. The two hits for MacKinnon is his sixth straight game finishing with at least two hits, while he has hit safely in each of the last 11 games.

·       Joining MacKinnon with hits was seniors Trey Stover and Ryan Lukach along with junior catcher Joe Roberti. Stover's one hit was the only extra base hit for Hartford as he drilled a one out double to right field that eventually led to him scoring the first of two runs in the frame.

·       Rookie reliever Ben Brown suffered his first loss of the season, in his first decision, pitching 1.1 innings and allowing one earned run on one hit and three walks.

·       The lone Hartford hurler to not allow a UMass run was junior Justin Robarge who pitched the eighth inning and did not allow and held the Minutemen without a hit.

HOW THEY SCORED

·       Hartford got on the board in the top of the fourth inning thanks to some help from the Minutemen. With one out in the books, freshman Ben Bengtson worked a four pitch walk. After an infield groundout allowed him to get into scoring position, the rookie corner infielder raced home to score on a UMass error at second base on a ball hit by classmate Nick Campana.

·       The Hawks added two runs to its tally in the top of the eighth inning, again taking advantage of UMass miscues. The first run came by way of a second error at second base. Senior shortstop Trey Stover started the offense off with a double to right field. After a fly ball left the Hawks with one out remaining, Bengtson drilled a ball to second that was misplayed allowing the speedy Stover to score from second. Redshirt senior Ryan Lukach followed with a single up the middle that left runners on the corners with Bengtson able to cut the deficit to one, scoring on a wild pitch.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·       Sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon singled to left in his first at bat, extending his team-best hitting streak to 11 straight games.

·       The one-run loss by Hartford marks the seventh game this season that Hartford has had decided by one run, amassing a 3-4 record in those seven games.

·       Junior reliever Justin Robarge pitched the eighth inning without allowing a run, his fourth straight appearance holding the opponent scoreless, a total of 7.1 straight innings.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·       Sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon finished with two hits, his sixth-straight game with at least two hits.

·       Senior shortstop Trey Stover drilled the only extra base hit among the Hawks five total hits, a double to right field.

UP NEXT
Hartford returns to conference action with a three-game weekend series at Maine starting on Saturday, April 18. The Hawks and Black Bears were scheduled to meet for three games in last March, but that series was cut to just one game with the Hawks winning that match-up 10-5. The three-game series in Orono is scheduled to begin with a doubleheader on Saturday and conclude with a single game on Sunday. First pitch on both days is set for 1 p.m.