THE BASICS:
 
RESULT:  No. 9 Arizona 17, Hartford 13
LOCATION: Corbett Field (Tucson, Ariz.)
RECORDS:  Arizona (13-2, 0-0 Pac-12), Hartford (1-9, 0-0 America East)
WP: Landon Faulkner (2-0) LP: John LaRossa (0-1)
 

THE LEAD: 
Hartford's offense broke loose, but the Hawks' baseball team couldn't quite close out Sunday's finale at Arizona as the No. 9 Wildcats came away with a 17-13 victory. Relief pitcher Landon Faulkner improved to 2-0 on the season and helped Arizona close out the series sweep. Senior reliever John LaRossa took the loss for the Hawks.
 
Shortstop Ben Bengtson was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate and six runs batted in to lead Hartford's offense, which nearly matched its season best in run production. First baseman David MacKinnon, catcher Erik Ostberg and center fielder Nick Campana all tallied three hits for the Hawks.
 
Four Wildcats recorded multi-hit games, with Jared Oliva leading the attack with six RBIs. 
 
Hartford led 6-0 in the second inning and 7-5 in the fourth, before Oliva lifted a grand slam to left to put the Wildcats in front, 9-7. The Hawks tied it in the fifth on an inside-the-park home run by Ostberg, but Arizona scored three more in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Hawks got off to a quick start as Campana and MacKinnon opened the games with back-to-back singles and Ostberg lifted a sacrifice fly to center field. Bengtson followed up with a two-run shot to left, giving the Hawks a 3-0 edge and chasing Arizona starter Rio Gomez from the mound.
• Hartford added three more runs in the second. MacKinnon ripped an RBI double to left, scoring second baseman Dalton Ruch, before Bengtson drove in MacKinnon and Campana with a single through the left side.
• The Wildcats scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning. Cal Stevenson doubled with the bases loaded to cut Arizona's deficit to 6-2 and Alfonso Rivas followed up with two-run single to right.
• Arizona's Nicholas Quintana scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-5 in the third.
• MacKinnon extended the Hawks' lead to 7-5 in the top of the fourth when he scored on an error.
• A bunt single, walk and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Arizona in the seventh, before Oliva cleared them with a grand slam to left to give the Wildcats their first lead of the day at 9-7.
• Ostberg flashed his speed on the basepaths in the fifth when he scored on a two-run inside-the-park home run, tying the game at 9-9.
• Arizona scored three runs on two hits in the fifth, with Rivas making it 12-9 on the strength of a two-run double to left.
• Campana led off the seventh with a single and Ostberg doubled, setting the stage for Bengtson's two-run single to center in the seventh to make it 12-11.
• Kyle Lewis opened the bottom of the seventh with a triple to right-center and scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat. A two-run, two-out single from Jared Oliva gave the Wildcats a 15-11 edge.
• Campana and MacKinnon both came through with RBI singles in the eighth, pulling the Hawks back within two at 15-13.
• Hartford nearly escaped the eighth unscathed, before the Wildcats scored a pair of runs with two outs.

 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The first four batters in Hartford's lineup (Campana, MacKinnon, Ostberg and Bengtson) combined to go 13-for-17 (.767) with 10 runs scored and 12 driven in.
• It was Bengtson's second multi-hit game of the weekend and his first four-hit game since going 4-for-5 against Binghamton on April 12, 2015.
• Bengtson's six RBIs were the most by a Hawk since he drove in eight against UMass Lowell on May 14, 2016.
• Ostberg leads the team in home runs (four), batting average (.537), runs (15) and is tied for the team lead with 11 RBIs.
• Sunday marked MacKinnon's first multi-hit game since the season opener and his first three-hit outing of the year. His four runs scored were the most by a Hawk this season.
• Relief pitcher Seth Pinkerton had a strong outing, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings before giving up a pair of runs with two outs in the eighth.

 
 
NEXT UP:
After 10 consecutive road games to open the season, the Hawks will host their home opener on Wednesday, March 15, against Northeastern University. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Fiondella Field. Live stats will be available at HartfordHawks.com, with Twitter updates provided by @HartfordBASE.
 
Hartford is 32-45 (.416) all-time against the Huskies but the Hawks have won the last two matchups held in West Hartford.