THE BASICS:
 
RESULT:  No. 9 Arizona 21, Hartford 5
LOCATION: Corbett Field (Tucson, Ariz.)
RECORDS:  Arizona (11-2, 0-0 Pac-12), Hartford (1-7, 0-0 America East)
WP: JC Cloney (4-0) LP: Billy DeVito (1-1) S: Luke Soroko (1)

THE LEAD: 
The weekend got off to a bumpy start for the University of Hartford baseball team (1-7, 0-0 AE) as the Hawks dropped a 21-5 decision to the No. 9 Arizona Wildcats at Corbett Field on Friday night. The Wildcats, the 2016 College World Series runners-up, stacked up 19 hits in the game.
 
Things got off to a promising start for the Hawks in the first inning when first baseman David MacKinnon singled and catcher Erik Ostberg homered off Arizona starter JC Cloney to give Hartford a quick 2-0 edge. Ostberg's home run, his team-leading third of the season, also represented the first runs that Cloney had allowed following 22 shutout innings to begin the season.
 
It was all Wildcats from there, though. Arizona scored five in the first, two in the second and five more in the third off Hartford starter Billy DeVito (1-0). Senior Brian Stepniak came up big out of the Hawks' bullpen, allowing just two unearned runs in three innings.
 
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• MacKinnon singled and Ostberg followed with a one-out homer to center to put the Hawks up 2-0 in the top of the first.
• With two runners on, JJ Matijevic laced an RBI double to right and a Hartford error proved costly, leading to four more unearned runs in the inning.
• The Wildcats tacked on two more in the second inning when Matijevic worked a bases-loaded walk and Nick Quintana lifted a sac fly to right field, pushing Arizona's lead to 7-2.
• Ostberg opened up the third inning with a double and came around to score on an RBI single to right from third baseman TJ Ward, making it 7-3.
• Arizona answered with five more in the bottom of the inning to go up 12-3. The Wildcats strung together five hits, with a two-run single from Jared Oliva and an RBI triple from Michael Morimoto doing most of the damage.
• Hartford plated an unearned run in the fourth, making it 12-4 when Ashton Bardzell reached on a fielder's choice and came all the way around to score following a throwing error.
• Alfonso Rivas connected for a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to extend the Wildcats' lead to 14-4.
• Bardzell reached on an error and shortstop Ben Bengtson doubled him home in the seventh to trim the Hawks' deficit to 14-5.
• Arizona scored another seven runs in the eighth, though five of those were unearned on account of two Hartford errors that extended the inning. The Wildcats had just three hits in the frame.

 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ostberg opened the game 2-for-2 with a home run and a double. His average now stands at a team-best .484 (16-for-33) this season.
• Freshman Bryce Ramsay made his first career start, as the Hawks designated hitter, and came through with his first career double in the second inning.
• Stepniak came out of the bullpen to put the brakes on Arizona's offense. He allowed just three hits in three innings, and both runs charged to Stepniak were unearned.
• Cloney hadn't allowed a run and had given up just 10 hits through 22 innings before Friday. The Hawks got to Cloney for four runs on seven hits.

 
 
NEXT UP:
The Hawks and Wildcats will be back at it today at 4 p.m. at Corbett Field. Game two of the weekend series will feature Hartford junior David Drouin (0-1, 7.71 ERA) going up against Arizona sophomore right-hander Michael Flynn (1-0, 1.26 ERA).
 
Drouin has made two starts this season, going 3.1 innings against Mercer on opening weekend and 3.2 innings at Davidson last week. He has allowed eight hits and struck out eight.  Flynn has made three appearances this season, allowing six hits and striking out 13 in 14.1 innings of work.