Fiondella Field
Steve McLaughlin
3
Hartford HARTFORD 0-1
4
Winner Mercer MER 5-0
Hartford HARTFORD
0-1
3
Final
4
Mercer MER
5-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Hartford HARTFORD 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 12 0
Mercer MER 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 6 1

W: Nick Spear (3-0) L: Pinkerton, Seth (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Hartford Athletics Communications

Hawks Drop Opener, 4-3, In Extras

THE BASICS:
 
RESULT:  Mercer 4, Hartford 3
LOCATION: OrthoGeorgia Park (Macon, Ga.)
RECORDS: Mercer (5-0, 0-0 SoCon), Hartford (0-1, 0-0 America East)
WP: Nick Spear (3-0) LP: Seth Pinkerton (0-1)

THE LEAD: 
The University of Hartford baseball team fell, 4-3, in extra innings in its season opener at Mercer on Friday. The Hawks outhit the Bears, 11-6, and held two leads in the game, but, after trying the game in the sixth inning, Mercer was able to manufacture a run in the 10th to steal the first game of a three-game set.
 
Hartford pitcher Seth Pinkerton walked Ryan Hagan to open the final frame and the Bears pushed Hagan to third with a sac bunt and a fielder's choice. That set the stage for some two-out walk-off heroics from Mercer senior Danny Edgeworth, who brought Hagan home with a single to right.
 
Senior captain TJ Ward, senior first baseman David MacKinnon and sophomore Ashton Bardzell each recorded multi-hit games for the Hawks. Sophomore left fielder Chris Sullivan (two RBIs) and junior Nick Campana. Hartford starting pitcher Billy Devito tossed five innings of one-hit ball, allowing two runs in the no decision.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
  • Hartford jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when MacKinnon, Ben Bengtson and Ward each singled to load the bases, before Sullivan drove in MacKinnon and Bengtson with another single to left center.
  • Devito got into trouble in the third, walking Hunter Bening and Jackson Ware, and allowed his first run of the season on a wild pitch that plated Ware. Hagan evened things up at 2-2 for Mercer later in the inning when he drove in Bening on a single up the middle.
  • Sullivan gave Hartford a 3-2 edge in the fourth when he reached on an error and scored from second on a single by Campana.
  • Mercer knotted things up at 3-3 with a solo home run off the bat of Trey Truitt in the bottom of the sixth inning.
  • The score remained knotted into the bottom of the 10th, when the Bears' broke through with some small ball. Hagan's leadoff walk proved costly for Hartford, as he advanced to third on a sacrifice and fielder's choice, before scoring on a single to left by Edgeworth.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
  • The Hawks hit Mercer starter Ryan Askew hard early on, tallying three quick runs, and managed nine hits off Askew in the game. However, Hartford left 12 runners on base.
  • Redshirt sophomore Jake Regula, who didn't pitch for the Hawks in 2016, returned to the mound and allowed one run on two hits in two innings of work.
  • Pinkerton was solid in relief, tossing two shutout innings before hitting a rough patch with a pair of walks in the 10th.
  • Five of the game's seven total runs came in two-out situations.

 
NEXT UP:
The Hawks will play game two of their series against the Bears on Saturday, starting at 2 p.m. Sophomore right-hander John Mormile will take the hill for Hartford, while Mercer freshman righty Sawyer Gipson-Long is scheduled to get the start for the Bears.  Mormile made 17 appearances for the Hawks in 2016, with four starts, and finished the year with a 3.86 ERA in 35 innings. Live stats will be available on MercerBears.com, along with updates on Twitter from @HartfordBASE.
 
 
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