THE BASICS:

GAME 1 RESULT: UAlbany 9, Hartford 1
GAME 2 RESULT: UAlbany 6, Hartford 2
LOCATION: Hartford Softball Field (West Hartford, Conn.)
RECORDS: UAlbany (15-8, 2-0 America East), Hartford (3-23, 0-2)

THE LEAD:
A solid pitching performance in the circle led UAlbany to a pair of wins in a doubleheader against the Hartford softball team on Saturday in the conference opener for both teams. The Great Danes limited the Hawks to three runs on 10 hits in the double dip.
Kylie Dazalla had three hits on the day and Lexi Wilkerson added two in the doubleheader. Mackenzie Cleary led all players with five hits on the afternoon.

GAME 1: UALBANY 9, HARTFORD 1
Dazalla went 2-for-2 and scored a run, but UAlbany plated runs in five different innings to take game one. Maggie Cocks had three RBI, including a two-run home run, for the Great Danes, while Lindsey Haskell had two hits and drove in two.
Devin Durando picked up the win to improve to 9-3 on the season, scattering two hits and three walks in six innings of work. Wilkerson was credited with the loss for Hartford.

HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 1:
• UAlbany plated a run in the first on a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead.
• The Great Danes added two more in the second on two walks and a hit to take a 3-0 advantage.
• UAlbany took advantage of a crucial error to plate three runs, one earned, in the top of the third to make it 6-0.
• The Hawks got on the board in the bottom of the third, with Dazalla leading off with a single, a sacrifice and an error moving her to third and a Danielle DeMarco sac fly plating her to make it 6-1.
• The Great Danes tacked on a run in the top of the sixth on three hits to make it a 7-1 advantage.
• Albany finished off the scoring with a two-run home run off the bat of Cocks in the top of the sixth.

GAME 2: UALBANY 6, HARTFORD 2
Wilkerson had two hits and seven different players recorded base knocks, but the Hawks couldn't overcome UAlbany's early hot start and fell to the Great Danes. UA scored three runs in the first and then held off a late Hawks charge, as Hartford came just a few feet short of a game-tying home run in the bottom of the sixth.
Celeste Verdolivo went the full seven innings, surrendering eight hits and two runs to earn the win. Bianca Ross was carded with the loss, giving up six runs, four earned, in seven frames of work.
 
HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 2:
• UAlbany plated three runs in the top of the first, using three hits and an error to take a 3-0 lead.
• The Great Danes plated another run on a sacrifice fly in the second to make it 4-0.
• Both pitchers settled in at that point, with the score remaining that way until the fifth, with Ross working around a couple well-placed singles.
• UAlbany added an unearned run in the top of the fifth to take a 5-0 lead.
• The Hawks got on the board when Peyton Fisher reached on an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice, and came home when Marisa Ferguson hit a slicing bloop that went off the diving pitcher's glove and into the dugout.
• Hartford made it 5-2 in the sixth on Ross' RBI single, and narrowly missed tying the game when Alex Saharek's fly was caught on the warning track.
• UAlbany added an insurance run on two singles and two hit batters in the top of the seventh. 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks return to the Hartford Softball Field on Wednesday, as they match up against Quinnipiac for a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. Admission is free for all spectators, and live stats will be available on HartfordHawks.com.