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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon was one of Hawks who finished with two or more hits leading the Hawks bats with a 3-for-5 effort at the plate, his fourth three-hit game of the season. MacKinnon's three hits led Hartford in an 8-5 loss to the visiting CCSU Blue Devils in the final home game of the season at Fiondella Field.

Joining in the multi-hit parade was freshman Sebastian DiMauro who finished with two hits, both doubles, for the first multiple hit game of his career. Rookie TJ Ward, senior Ryan Lukach and junior Billy Walker all joined DiMauro, finishing with two hits. DiMauro's two doubles were the only extra base hits of the game.

Suffering the loss on the hill was junior righty Justin Robarge, his second loss in as many decisions. Robarge pitched just shy of three complete middle innings in relief of rookie starter Kevin Tise. Both Tise and Robarge were tagged with allowing two runs, while the pair combined to allow 10 Blue Devil hits.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

·       Hartford combined for 12 total hits, led by sophomore first baseman David MacKinnon who finished 3-of-5 at the plate. His three hits tied with one Blue Devil for the most in the game. All three of MacKinnon's hits were singles, with his first in the first inning starting a string of three-straight hits that led to a three-run opening frame.

·       Senior Ryan Lukach and junior Billy Walker were both 2-for-2 to start the game, each completing the multi-hit outing with two base knocks apiece. The pair also finished with one RBI apiece, both of which came in the first inning rally. Lukach's RBI drove in the first run of the game allowing shortstop Trey Stover to score after reaching on a walk. Walker's RBI allowed Lukach to score the final run of that inning.

·       Stover and second baseman Aaron Wilson also knocked in runs against the Blue Devils. Stover's RBI came in the ninth inning as his single through the right side allowed freshman left fielder Sebastian DiMauro to score after reaching on a leadoff double down the left field line. Wilson's RBI came on an infield groundout in the sixth inning.

·       DiMauro's doubles down the line in the ninth was his second double of the game as he finished his first multi-hit outing with a pair of two-base hits. Rounding out the leaders at the plate was rookie TJ Ward who also finished with two hits.

·       Leading the Hawks on the hill was junior Jeremy Charles who pitched 2.1 innings of relief and gave up just one of the Blue Devils runs. Charles allowed four hits total and struck out two batters. Leading the Hawks in strikeouts was reliever Jacob Mellin who retired four of the 10 batters he faced on strikeouts.

HOW THEY SCORED

·       Hartford rallied right out of the game to take a 3-0 lead following the first inning. Senior shortstop Trey Stover led off the inning working a walk which later came back to haunt the Blue Devils. After the first out was recorded, the Hawks went on a three-hit rally with singles from David MacKinnon, Ryan Lukach and Billy Walker. The second of those hits resulted in RBI's with Lukach driving in Stover and Walked pushing Lukach across the plate. MacKinnon scored the second run of the frame on a double steal initiated by Lukach.

·       The Hawks added single runs in the sixth and ninth innings. In the sixth, a one-out bunt single from freshman third baseman TJ Ward eventually led to the run. Ward was able to advance a pair of bases thanks to classmate Sebastian DiMauro's first of two doubles in the game, while scoring on an infield groundout with junior Aaron Wilson earning the RBI.

·       DiMauro then sparked the single run in the ninth inning when he led off the frame driving a full-count pitch down the line and into the corner in left field for his second double of the game. A fly ball to right field allowed DiMauro to advance to third where he scored easily thanks to a single through the right side off the bat of Stover.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·       Freshman Sebastian DiMauro completed his first career multi-hit game with a pair of extra-base hits, both of which played a pair in the Hawks scoring runs. DiMauro's first double of the game was a line drive that touched down inside the right field line, while his second was a ball that skirted up the line past the third base bag and into the corner in left.

·       Five Hawks finished with a multi-hit game, led by sophomore David MacKinnon's third three-hit game of the season.

·       Reliever Jacob Mellin led the Hawks pitching staff with a staff-high four strikeouts. Overall, the Hawks struck out nine Blue Devil batters.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less)

·       Freshman Sebastian DiMauro knocked a pair of doubles for the first multi-hit game of his career.

·       Sophomore David MacKinnon finished with a team-high three hits, his fourth time this season with three base knocks.

·       Junior reliever Jacob Mellin struck out four batters out of the bullpen to lead the Hawks and tie his season-best for K's.

UP NEXT
Hartford will travel to Smithfield, R.I. on Wednesday afternoon to complete a three-game series against the Bryant Bulldogs. The original meeting was scheduled for March 28 but was cancelled due to weather. In the two meetings that were played that weekend, the Bulldogs took both by scores of 3-0 and 3-2. The final game of the series is scheduled for a 12 p.m. first pitch at Bryant's Conaty Park.