THE BASICS:

GAME 1 RESULT: UAlbany 9, Hartford 5
GAME 2 RESULT: Hartford 6, UAlbany 3
LOCATION: Fiondella Field (West Hartford, Conn.)
ATTENDANCE: 237
RECORDS: HARTFORD (9-5, 2-1 America East), ALBANY (7-10, 1-2)

THE LEAD:
David MacKinnon hit a two-run homer to lift the Hartford baseball team to a 6-3 win in game two for a doubleheader split with UAlbany on Saturday, taking two of three in the conference-opening series for both teams.
 
Brian Murphy picked up the win for the Hawks with five strong innings in game two, while Brendan Ryan collected a victory for the Great Danes with a strong performance out of the pen in game one.

GAME 1: UALBANY 9, HARTFORD 5
Chris Sullivan and Ashton Bardzell each drove in two runs, but UAlbany got two hits each from Kevin Donati, Kyle Sacks and Evan Harasta in a 9-5 victory. Harasta drove in three runs for the Great Danes, while Donati drove in two and scored twice.
 
Ryan picked up the win with 4 1/3 sterling innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit and one walk to close out the game. David Drouin was carded with the loss for the Hawks.

HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 1:
• Albany started the scoring with an RBI groundout in the top of the second.
• Harasta added to the lead with a two-run single in the top of the third to make it 3-0.
• Kevin Donati pushed the lead to 4-0 with an RBI single in the top of the fourth.
• Hartford got two back on a two-run single from Bardzell in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-2.
• The Great Danes got a two-run homer from Matt Codispoti to make it 6-2.
• Aaron Wilson scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth, then Sullivan drove home two more on a double to left center, cutting the lead to 6-5.
• UAlbany got two back in the top of the sixth on three hits.
• The Great Danes closed the scoring with an RBI double from Matt Hinchy in the top of the eighth.

GAME 2: HARTFORD 6, UALBANY 3
MacKinnon's first-inning homer gave the Hawks a lead they would not relinquish, while Dalton Ruch went 2-for-3 and scored a run in the win.
 
Murphy scattered five hits and two walks, allowing one run and striking out four in five innings to improve to 2-1 on the season. John LaRossa added a scoreless frame, while Sebastian DeMauro closed out the game, allowing two unearned runs in the final inning. Kenny McLean was credited with the loss for the Great Danes.
 
HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 2:
• UAlbany netted a run in the top of the first with Hinchy singling home Donati with two down.
• After Wilson walked to lead off the first, MacKinnon blasted his first longball of the year over the wall in left to take a 2-1 lead.
• With two outs in the fourth and Ruch on second and Chris DelDebbio on first, Ben Bengtson stroked a double to right center to score Ruch, and DelDebbio scampered in when the throw from the outfield caromed off Bengtson.
• The Hawks got two insurance runs in the sixth, the first on an RBI double from TJ Ward that scored Nick Campana to make it 5-1.
• Hartford pushed the lead to 6-1 when Billy Walker's sac fly scored Ward.
• UAlbany got two runs back in the top of the seventh on a hit and an error, but it wasn't enough as the Hawks emerged victorious.

UP NEXT:
Hartford hits the road for the next six games, beginning with a contest at Fairfield on Tuesday, March 22. Game time is set for 3 p.m against the Stags.