ALBANY, N.Y. – Redshirt senior right fielder Ryan Lukach led the Hawks bats with four hits, two in each end of a doubleheader with the Albany Great Danes as the University of Hartford baseball team split the day winning the opening game 4-3 in 10 innings before dropping a 5-0 decision in the seven-inning night cap. Following the doubleheader split, the Hawks are 4-2 in the America East with the series finale scheduled for Monday afternoon with a 12 p.m. start at Varsity Field.

Among Lukach's four hits was a double, one of four two-baggers total for Hartford on Saturday. Joining him in leading the Hawks bats was David MacKinnon who scattered three hits over seven at bats, with one of those hits also a double.

Leading the Hawks offense in the victory in the opening game was freshman left fielder Nick Campana who drove in two runs which finishing with two hits in four at bats. Joining Campana in driving in runs was classmate TJ Ward and junior Aaron Wilson who knocked in the game-winning run in the 10th inning, one of two hits in the frame.

Junior relief pitcher Jeremy Charles scored the victory in the opener as he closed out the game pitching the final four innings without allowing a Great Dane run and giving up just one hit. He also struck out two batters. Junior Kyle Gauthier, who started the first game of the day, led the Hawks pitching staff with five strikeouts in six innings.

Suffering the loss in the second game was the junior starter Sam McKay who gave up four runs, three earned, on nine hits in four innings. Junior relief pitcher Austin Barness led the Hawks staff in the second game as he pitched the last inning without allowing an Albany hit, facing just three batters and striking out two.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

·       Freshman left fielder Nick Campana was one of four Hawks to finish with two hits as he led Hartford at the plate going 2-for-4 while driving in two runs, which tied the game at three in the sixth inning. Campana's first hit of the game was a double to left field that drove in Ben Bengston and David MacKinnon who started off the inning with a walk and single to centerfield, respectively.

·       Junior centerfielder Aaron Wilson made three appearances at the plate with two walks a single, which came in the 10th inning and drove in the game-winning run. Wilson's hit in the top of the 10th was one of two in the frame as his allowed TJ Ward to score from second after leading off the inning with a single.

·       Joining Campana with a team-best two hits in the game was MacKinnon, Chris DelDebbio and Ryan Lukach, all part of 11 total hits, four more than the Great Danes.

·       Junior starter Kyle Gauthier pitched six innings in a no-decision outing. He was tagged with all three of the Great Danes runs, while he struck out a game-high five batters.

·       Reliever Jeremy Charles earned the victory on the mound, pitching the final four innings without allowing a run and giving up just one hit. He also struck out two.

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

·       Sophomore second baseman Dalton Ruch and senior right fielder Ryan Lukach both finished with two of the Hawks six hits to lead Hartford at the plate. Overall, Hartford's six hits were four shy of the Great Danes 10 total.

·       Junior starter Sam McKay suffered the loss on the hill, his third in six decisions. Over four innings of work, McKay gave up four of Albany's five runs, three of which were earned, on nine hits.

·       Senior reliever Austin Barnes was one of two Hawks to come out of the bullpen, as he pitched one inning and did not allow a hit, while striking out two batters. Freshman Ben Brown was the other Hawks reliever. He gave up one run on one hit and struck out one.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·       The extra inning needed to complete the opening game of the series on Saturday afternoon is the third time the Hawks have needed an extra frame to determine a winner. In the three extra innings games this season, Hartford is 2-1.

·       The two hits for freshman leftfielder Nick Campana represented his 1th multi-hit game of the season, the most among all Hawks hitters. His 11 multi-hit games is three more than any other player, with redshirt senior Ryan Lukach now with eight after finishing with two hits in both games of the doubleheader.

·       Despite leading the team with 28 hits, Campana's two RBI's in the opening game was the first time this season he has driven in more than one run. For the season, he has driven in nine runs, third most on the team.

·       Junior reliever Jeremy Charles who earned the victory in game two lowered his ERA by one half of a point to a new team-low 1.62. For the season, Charles has allowed just four run, three earned on six hits in 16.2 innings of work.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·       Junior Aaron Wilson drove in his fourth run of the season as he knocked in the game-winning run in the 10th inning of the opening game.

·       Freshman Nick Campana drove in two runs, going 2-for-4 at the plate, his 11th multi-hit game of the season, a team-high.

·       Junior reliever Jeremy Charles earned his second victory of the season as he pitched four scoreless innings in the day's opening game.

UP NEXT
Hartford and Albany will close out its three-game conference series with a single game scheduled for a 12 p.m. start at Varsity Field on Monday.