THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 6, Fairfield 3
LOCATION: Alumni Diamond (Fairfield, Conn.)
RECORDS: Hartford (10-5, 2-1 AE); Fairfield (4-12, 0-0 MAAC)

THE LEAD:
A pair of home runs from Aaron Wilson and David MacKinnon powered the Hartford baseball team to a 6-3 victory over in-state foe Fairfield on Tuesday afternoon.

MacKinnon totaled two hits and two RBIs, and Ben Bengtson drove in a pair of runs. Jack Gethings drove in a run on two hits and also scored a run for the Stags.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
·         Wilson, in impressive fashion, smoked the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to propel Hartford to a 1-0 lead to open up the game.
·         Justin Cashman responded on the mound in the bottom half of the first, setting the Stags down 1-2-3 on 11 pitches to cruise through the opening frame. The freshman would work out of second and third inning jams to keep the Stags off the board early.
·         Hartford stretched the lead to 2-0 after Bengtson ripped an RBI double to center, scoring Erik Ostberg, who singled to get on base.
·         Justin Robarge replaced Cashman on the mound in the fourth, but the Stags bought a run back on an RBI double to close the lead to 2-1.
·        The Hawks got the run right back after four straight walks by Fairfield hurlers chased home another run for Hartford. The Hawks used patience at the plate to push the lead to 3-1.
·        After a pair of runners got on in the fifth, Jacob Mellin came on to replace Robarge. Mellin secured two quick outs, but the Stags picked up an RBI single to bring the lead to 3-2.
·        The Stags put two more on base with no outs in the sixth, but the Hawks fought to keep the lead. A tremendous diving play by catcher Billy Walker, who snagged a popped up bunt attempt behind the plate, secured a much-needed out. But the Stags tied it with another RBI single, and Fairfield chased Mellin off the mound. Billy Devito came on to pitch and forced two quick outs to hold off a big rally from Fairfield.
·        With one swing of the bat, Hartford pulled right back in front, 4-3, on a solo shot from MacKinnon to deep left center. It was MacKinnon's second home run of the season, the third of his career.
·        Fairfield put a man on second with one down in the seventh, but Walker nailed the runner with a dart to third for the second out. Devito walked the next batter but then picked off the runner at first to end the inning.
·        The Hawks added some insurance on an RBI single from Sebastian DiMauro to stretch the lead to 5-3 after a TJ Ward single and a base-on-balls for Walker. MacKinnon plopped an RBI single into center field to push it to 6-3.
·        Collin Ferguson took over for Devito in the eighth and set the Stags down 1-2-3. The Stags wouldn't go quietly, though, loading the bases with one out in the ninth, but Ferguson kept battling and eventually retired the side to pick up the save, his second of the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
·         Wilson's lead-off solo shot in the opening inning was the first lead-off bomb for the Hawks since Trey Stover ripped a lead-off homer at Quinnipiac last season (Apr. 28, 2015).
·       MacKinnon crushed another clutch home run, this one a solo shot in the seventh inning, to give the Hawks a late 4-3 lead. MacKinnon now has two big flies on the season, surpassing his career total of one in just his last two games.
·       Devito secured his first career victory as a Hawk on the day. The freshman came through in a big way out of the bullpen this afternoon for Hartford, tossing 1 2/3 hitless innings.

NEXT UP:
Hartford laces back up tomorrow afternoon on a day trip to Bryant to take on the Bulldogs at 3 p.m. From there, the Hawks go on a three-day road trip to Philadelphia to take on Villanova. Live stats and a video link will be available on HartfordHawks.com. Be sure to check out @HartfordBASE on Twitter for in-game updates and for news about the program.