Ostberg QU
Steve McLaughlin
6
Hartford HARTFORD 0-3
15
Winner Mercer MER 7-0
Hartford HARTFORD
0-3
6
Final
15
Mercer MER
7-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Hartford HARTFORD 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 6 9 1
Mercer MER 5 5 0 0 1 1 0 3 X 15 13 3

W: Kevin Coulter (1-0) L: Lewis, Connor (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Hartford Athletics Communications

Bears Take Finale, Sweep Hawks

THE BASICS:
 
RESULT:  Mercer 15, Hartford 6
LOCATION: OrthoGeorgia Park (Macon, Ga.)
RECORDS: Mercer (7-0, 0-0 SoCon), Hartford (0-3, 0-0 America East)
WP: Kevin Coulter (1-0) LP: Connor Lewis (0-1)

THE LEAD: 
Mercer built an early lead and held on for a 15-6 victory against the University of Hartford baseball team on Sunday, sweeping the Hawks' season-opening series. Kevin Coulter picked up the win for the Bears, who improved to 7-0  with the victory. Connor Lewis started for Hartford and took the loss.
 
The Bears' offense exploded for 39 runs during the three-game set. Mercer recorded 13 hits on Sunday, with catcher Charlie Madden leading the way with three. The Hawks piled up nine hits of their own, led by a 3-for-4 day from junior right fielder Nick Campana. Center fielder Ashton Bardzell and catcher Erik Ostberg also had multi-hit games for Hartford.
 
Ostberg is batting .455 (5-for-11) to lead the team after the first weekend, while Bardzell (7-for-16) is close behind at .438.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
  • The Hawks struck first when Bardzell connected for a leadoff single, advanced to third on a single by catcher Ostberg and scored on a fielder's choice from shortstop Ben Bengtson.
  • Mercer responded with five runs in the bottom of the first. The Bears' power came on the strength of a solo home run by Charlie Madden and a two-run double from Howard Joe.
  • Hartford took advantage of two Bears' errors in the second, scoring a pair of runs, to cut the deficit to 5-3.
  • Mercer flexed its muscle again during its half of the second. Madden smacked a two-run double to the gap in left-center, followed immediately by a two-run shot from Danny Edeworth to right. The Bears added another run in the frame to extend their lead to 10-3.
  • Back-to-back doubles from David MacKinnon and Ostberg plated the Hawks' lone run in the top of the third.
  • Hartford added an unearned run in the top of the fourth when MacKinnon reached on an error and Campana, who singled to lead off the inning, came around to score with two outs to make it 10-5.
  • The Bears manufactured a run in the bottom of the fifth, making the score 11-5 on a sac fly from Ryan Hagan.
  • Campana led off the top of the sixth with a home run to right field, cutting Mercer's lead to 11-6.
  • Alex Crotty opened the bottom of the sixth with a single for the Bears and came around to score, making it 12-6, on a double-play ball.
  • Mercer added three in the eighth with a two-run single from Conrad Cornell and an RBI double by Hunter Bening.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
  • Ostberg is leading the team in batting average (.455), extra-base hits (three) slugging (.909), on-base percentage (.600).
  • Campana's home run was the first of his career.
  • Campana and Chris Sullivan are tied for the team lead with 5 RBIs.
  • The Hawks averaged 11 hits and 7.6 runs per game at Mercer, but allowed 13 runs per game.
 
NEXT UP:
Hartford will be back in action on Friday, March 3, when the Hawks take on Butler in a tournament at Davidson College, in Davidson, N.C. The Hawks have never faced Butler before. Twitter updates will be available from @HartfordBASE.
 
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