THE BASICS:
RESULT: Hartford 3, Radford 1
LOCATION: Radford Baseball Stadium (Radford, Va.)
RECORDS: Hartford (5-0); Radford (1-9)
THE LEAD:
Pitching again came through for the Hartford baseball team, as David Drouin, making his first start since 2014, threw six scoreless frames to earn the Hawks a 3-1 victory over Radford. Hartford picked up two of its three runs in the first inning and never looked back on the way to its fifth win of the season.
The offense all came from the middle third of the lineup. Erik Ostberg and TJ Ward each picked up a sac fly RBI in the game, with Ben Bengtson adding an RBI single in the first inning. Radford was held scoreless until a ninth inning home run by Adam Whitacre closed the gap, but it wasn't enough as Hartford came out victorious.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Hawks continued to swing the bats well to open the game, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the opening frame. David MacKinnon roped a single to left, which was followed by a double from Chris DelDebbio. With both men in scoring position, Ostberg hit a sac fly to left to drive in a run, and Bengtson stayed hot at the plate, ripping an RBI single to increase the lead.
Drouin got himself into a couple of jams in the opening pair of innings, but the righty managed to keep the Highlanders off the board. He would then start a string of eight batters retired in a row before letting two men get on with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Drouin worked his way out of the jam and continued to hold Radford scoreless. Some much needed insurance came for the Hawks in the top of the sixth when Ward drove in a run on a sac fly to center, bringing in DelDebbio, who singled to get on. The Hawks could not push across another run, and the lead would remain at 3-0.
John LaRossa, who replaced Drouin, provided a quality hold out of the bullpen, going two innings and striking out two.
Sebastian DiMauro took the mound in the ninth to go for the save, but Radford did not go quietly. Whitacre smacked a home run to right field to chalk up a run for the Highlanders, shrinking Hartford's lead to two. DiMauro would shut the door, however, retiring the side and finishing the effort. Hartford moved to 5-0 on the season with today's win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
The Hawks, despite only scoring three runs in today's game, have consistently stepped up and plated runs with two outs. By adding another two-out run this afternoon, Hartford has scored 23 of its 28 runs on the year with two away in the frame.
Ward has been a consistent producer on offense for Hartford, as the sophomore third baseman has registered at least one RBI in four of five games this season and at least one hit in all five performances. He came up with a much-needed insurance run on a sacrifice fly in today's game to extend the Hawks' lead.
Drouin joined what has been a strong pitching staff for the Hawks early in the get-go. After nearly blanking Radford again in today's game, the Hawks pitching staff has surrendered 21 runs through its first five games, with nine coming in one game against North Florida last weekend.
The Hawks currently hold a plus-8 run differential, outscoring opponents 29-21 through five games. NEXT UP:
The Hawks will wrap up their three-game weekend series in Virginia with an afternoon matchup at 1 p.m. on Sunday. RHP Brian Murphy will make his second start of the season, and Radford will march out LHP Mitchell MacKeith to the mound. Follow along with live stats on HartfordHawks.com and on Twitter @HartfordBASE.
