ALBANY, N.Y.  – In its final conference series, the University of Hartford dropped a pair of games at Albany on Friday afternoon. The Hawks first fell short of the Great Danes, 7-3, in the opening contest before suffering an 8-0, six-inning loss in the nightcap.

Hartford (3-42, 0-16 AE) and Albany (31-16, 12-6 AE) wrap up conference play on Saturday with a single game. First pitch from Albany Field is scheduled to be tossed at 12:30 p.m.

Pacing the Hawks on the afternoon was sophomore Danielle DeMarco, who recorded an RBI while scoring one run. Senior Peyton Fisher was the lone Hartford player to collect multi hits, as she finished 2-for-5 with a run. Going 3-for-7 at the plate with a double, triple and a home run, Maggie Cocks knocked in four runs and scored three times to lead Albany's offense. Vicky McFarland also had an impressive day at the plate as she scored twice and had three RBI on a 4-for-7 effort that included a two-bagger.

GAME ONE
Falling behind by a 7-0 count, Hartford closed its deficit to four runs in the top half of the sixth inning, but wouldn't come any closer as Albany held on for the victory. Going the distance, Erynn Sobieski struck out four batters and allowed three runs – one earned – on four hits. The rookie had a no-hitter going through five innings, until the Hawks broke through in the sixth and plated a trio of runs on three hits and a miscue by the Great Danes' infield.

Fisher, who went 2-for-3 in the contest, led off the frame with a base hit through the middle of the infield to get the Hawks' bats going before freshman Jamie Soles followed with a one-out rip through the left side of the field. With runners on the corners, DeMarco kept the bats going with a single to right center field, allowing Fisher to cruise home for her team's first run of the afternoon.

Following a ground out by Jackie Kelly for the second out of the frame, junior Sawyer Fried reached on a fielder's choice, and on the play, Soles and DeMarco would score as a result of a fielding error by Albany's second baseman.

Sobieski and the Great Danes would get out of the inning without any more damage, though, as they induced senior Margaret Betz into a ground out for the third and final out. In its final at-bats, a lead-off walk by Christina Gonzalez would not amount to a run as Albany would grab two quick outs on a double play in the next at-bat. With her team down to its final at-bats, Fisher provided one final spark with a single through the left side of the field, but she would be the final out moments later as she was nabbed in an attempt to steal second base.

McFarland and Alexa Toole each recorded three RBI for the Great Danes in the opening game, while Marlin Solano and Kelly Costello each crossed home twice. Toole provided a two-RBI double in the home half of the second that put the Great Danes on the scoreboard while McFarland kept the rally going in that frame with a base hit that allowed two runs to cross.

In the third, Maggie Cocks homered to push Albany's lead to 5-0 before Toole struck again, this time using an RBI single to plate Costello from second. McFarland rounded out the Great Danes' scoring when her patience at the plate with the bases juiced walked in her team's seventh run of the contest.

Taking the loss inside of the circle was freshman Kelsey Bird. In 1.0 innings, she conceded four earned runs on two hits. Sophomore Lexi Wilkerson provided five innings of work for the Hawks. Recording three strikeouts, she walked two batters and gave up three runs on six hits.

GAME TWO
In the nightcap, Toole, who earned a one-out walk in the bottom of the first, put Albany's first run on the scoreboard two batters later after stealing second base and coming home on an outfield single from Snow. The Great Danes went on to explode for a four-run second inning to push their lead to 5-0 before tacking on two more runs and taking a 7-0 advantage on four hits in the home half of the fifth.

Thompson, Albany's starting hurler, retired the first 13 Hawk batters she faced in order before Brittany Wallace broke through in the top of the fifth with a single to centerfield. She would advance to second on a wild pitch, but would prove to be the only Hartford base runner to get past first in the contest. Thompson, who improved to 6-3 with the win after fanning five batters, went on to retire the final five Hawks she faced on the afternoon.

In the home half of the sixth, Albany ended the game as McFarland, who led off the frame with a double, scored on a two-out single off the barrel of Snow to enforce the eight-run mercy rule. Bianca Ross took the loss for the Hawks, dropping to 0-15 after allowing four earned runs on four hits in 1.2 innings.