THE BASICS:

GAME 1 RESULT: Hartford 4, Georgia Tech 3
GAME 2 RESULT: Chattanooga 3, Hartford 2
LOCATION: Clearwater, Fla.
RECORDS: Hartford (3-20), Georgia Tech (10-16), Chattanooga (16-15)

THE LEAD:
Elizabeth Newkirk scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Hartford softball team to a 4-3 win over Georgia Tech in the first game of two on Saturday. Chattanooga was able to score the winning run in the bottom of the sixth in the second game to give the Hawks a split against a pair of strong foes at the USF-Under Armour Invitational.
 
Newkirk had two hits and two RBI along with her winning run, while Lexi Wilkerson and Jenice Aloyo each added two hits as well. Bianca Ross collected the Hawks' win in game one, scattering five hits and striking out three in a complete-game win.

GAME 1: HARTFORD 4, GEORGIA TECH 3
Six different Hawks delivered hits and Marisa Ferguson drove in a pair of runs to set up Newkirk's winning run for Hartford. Kylie Dazalla scored a run and drove one in as well. Katie Krzus went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored for the Yellow Jackets.
 
Ross struck out three and surrendered three runs in earning her first win of the season for Hartford. Emily Anderson was carded with the loss, allowing six hits and five walks while striking out four.

HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 1:
• Georgia Tech struck first, with an error and an RBI single each plating a run to give the Yellow Jackets a 2-0 lead.
• Hartford responded in the bottom of the first, with a single and two walks loading the bases before Ferguson drove in Dazalla and Aloyo with a single to left field.
• Both pitchers settled in at that juncture, with the score remaining 2-2 until the bottom of the fourth.
• The Hawks pulled ahead in the bottom of the fourth, with Dazalla singling home pinch-runner Dani Regina to take a 3-2 lead.
• Georgia Tech knotted the score at 3-3 with Krzus' solo home run.
• Newkirk led off the seventh with a single, moved to second on a Dazalla sacrifice, then scampered home when Aloyo hit a ball to second base and it was mishandled for a game-ending error.

GAME 2: CHATTANOOGA 3, HARTFORD 2
Newkirk drove in both of the Hawks' runs, but an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth lifted Chattanooga to a 3-2 victory. Alyssa Taylor and Criket Blanco each delivered two hits for the Mocs.
 
Kailey Palazzolo scattered five hits without a walk, striking out five in a complete-game win for the Mocs, while Lexi Wilkerson picked up the loss, allowing 10 hits and three walks in six innings of work.
 
HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 2:
• Both pitchers started strong in the circle, with no runs and a total of three hits between the two teams in the first three innings.
• Hartford cracked the scoreboard first in the fourth, with a Wilkerson single and a hit batsman setting up Newkirk, who brought home both runners with a single to right.
• Chattanooga countered with two runs on four hits in the fifth, with an Anyssa Robles single plating both runs.
• The Mocs netted the winning run in the bottom of the sixth, stringing together three straight singles to take a 3-2 lead.

UP NEXT:
Hartford will wrap up its trip to Florida against a Northern foe, taking on Marist on Sunday at 9 a.m. The Hawks will then be back at home next week, beginning with a Wednesday doubleheader against Brown at 3 p.m. at the Hartford Softball Field.