Win
Steve McLaughlin
9
Winner Univ. of Hartford HARTFORD 11-5
8
Bryant BRY 14-5
Winner
Univ. of Hartford HARTFORD
11-5
9
Final
8
Bryant BRY
14-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Univ. of Hartford HARTFORD 0 0 3 2 2 0 2 0 0 9 16 1
Bryant BRY 0 3 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 8 12 0

W: LaRossa, John (1-1) L: SNYDER (0-2) S: DiMauro, Sebastian (3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Hartford Athletics Communications

Bats Explode for 16 Hits En Route to 9-8 Win Over Bryant

THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 9, Bryant 8
LOCATION: Conaty Park (Smithfield, R.I.)
RECORDS: Hartford (11-5, 2-1 AE); Bryant (14-5, 4-0 NEC)

THE LEAD:
Four-hit games from David MacKinnon and TJ Ward boosted the Hartford baseball team to a wild 9-8 win at Bryant on Wednesday afternoon that featured high octane offense.

MacKinnon and Ward also drove in two runs each, including a clutch two-run shot from Ward in the fifth inning. Chris Sullivan also contributed two hits and an RBI for the Hawks. Matt Albanese and Zach Wood combined for four hits and four RBIs for Bryant.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
  • Bryant got off to a fast start on offense, pushing across three runs in the bottom of the second on back-to-back RBI singles to open up a 3-0 lead on the Hawks.
  • After a big inning by the Bulldogs, Hartford answered right back with three runs of its own in the third, led by a two-run single from David MacKinnon and an RBI single from Erik Ostberg.
  • Bryant pulled back ahead in the bottom of the third to regain the lead at 5-3.
  • The Hawks came right back to tie it at five in the next inning. Dalton Ruch slapped an RBI triple to right, and then Aaron Wilson hit a dribbler in front of home plate to score Ruch. MacKinnon secured another hit, but the Hawks rally would stop there.
  • The Bulldogs answered right back with an RBI triple in the bottom of the fourth to retake the lead at 6-5, and then an RBI single pushed the lead to 7-5.
  • In exciting fashion, the Hawks battled back yet again, this time on a two-run blast from Ward to tie the game up at seven after Ben Bengtson doubled with one out. Through five innings, both teams had already mustered ten hits each.
  • The theme of the game did not change, as Bryant used a sac fly in the bottom of the fifth to take an 8-7 lead.
  • The Hawks threatened again to score with two on and one out in the sixth, but Bryant got a 4-6-3 double to slow the rally. Hartford had scored in three straight innings before the double play ended the frame.
  • With men on at first and third with one away, Sullivan dropped down a perfectly placed bunt to score Bengtson and tie the game up at 8-8. Ashton Bardzell stepped up and drilled home a run with a single through the left side to give the Hawks their first lead of the day at 9-8.
  • John LaRossa had a real strong showing on the mound through two innings this afternoon, holding the Bulldogs hitless in the sixth and seventh, striking out two.
  • Sebastian DiMauro came on in the ninth inning to retire the side, and the Hawks emerged victorious over Bryant 9-8.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
  • Ward had the first four-hit game of his Hawks career this afternoon, including a clutch two-run homer to left to keep the Hawks in the game.
  • MacKinnon has been on a tear in the batter's box over the past five games, collecting seven hits in his last ten at bats, including two home runs. He is batting .700 over the last three games and added four more hits in today's affair, the first time he has whacked four hits in a game.
  • The Hawks fell behind in the run column on three separate occasions in this one, but battled back four times and eventually took a 9-8 lead they would not surrender.
  • The pitching trio of LaRossa, Pinkerton, and DiMauro completely shut down what had been a hot Bryant offense on the day in the late innings. The Bulldogs only managed one hit in the final four innings of the game, as Hartford closed it out in impressive fashion.

NEXT UP:
The Hawks jump right into a three-game series in Philadelphia to take on Villanova starting tomorrow afternoon at 3:15 p.m. Friday's game will begin at 3:30, and the finale will start at 1:15 on Saturday afternoon.

Villanova enters the series at 8-14 on the season, winning three of its last five games. The Wildcats most recently split a doubleheader with Sacred Heart at the Big Five Baseball Bash in Plymouth Meeting, Penn., last weekend. The two programs have met just once previously, with the Hawks dropping the contest 2-1 on the road on March 7, 2008.

Live stats will be available on HartfordHawks.com. Be sure to check out @HartfordBASE on Twitter for in-game updates and for news about the program.
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