THE BASICS:
 
RESULT:  Game 1 —Hartford 8, Stony Brook 7; Game 2 – Stony Brook 10, Hartford 5
LOCATION: Joe Nathan Field (Stony Brook, N.Y.)
RECORDS:  Hartford (3-10, 1-1 America East), Stony Brook (7-13, 1-1 AE)
GAME 1 — WP: Connor Lewis (1-1) LP: Aaron Pinto (2-3) S: Jake Regula (1)
GAME 2 — WP: Kevin Kernan (1-0) LP: John LaRossa (1-2)
 

THE LEAD: 
The University of Hartford baseball team split its first America East Conference doubleheader on Friday, taking winning its conference opener 8-7 before falling 10-5 in game two.
 
The Hawks (3-10, 1-1 AE) came from behind with a three-run, two-out rally in the ninth inning of game one but couldn't hold a 5-1 lead in game two. Sophomore Connor Lewis earned his first career win for Hartford, with Jake Regula picking up his first save of the season. John LaRossa came out of the bullpen to take the loss for the Hawks in the second game of the afternoon.
 
Center fielder Ashton Bardzell, right fielder Nick Campana and first baseman David MacKinnon each had three hits on the day for the Hawks. Bardzell finished 3-for-6 with two runs and six RBIs, including a three run home run in game two.
 
 
GAME 1: Hartford 8, Stony Brook 7
The Hawks erased a 7-2 deficit in game one, using a three-run, two-out rally in the top of the ninth to claim an 8-7 win. Nick Campana picked up an RBI double and scored the tying run on a single by first baseman David MacKinnon. Shortstop Ben Bengtson came through with the game winning hit, plating MacKinnon with a single to center.
 
Stony Brook threatened in the bottom of the ninth, putting the tying run on first with one out before sophomore reliever Jake Regula came out of Hartford's bullpen to pick up the save. It was Regula's second career save and first of the season for the Hawks. Connor Lewis (1-1) also picked up his first win of the year.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1):

• Following three consecutive walks, Stony Brook scored its first run of the afternoon when center fielder Toby Handley came in on a fielder's choice by shortstop Nick Grande.
• The Seawolves added an unearned run in the second inning when right fielder Chris Hamilton walked and eventually came around to score on an error by Hartford second baseman Zachary Ardito.
• Stony Brook plated three more runs in the third.  Handley doubled to left to lead off the inning, with second baseman Brandon Janofsky and Hamilton recording back-to-back two-out RBI singles to put the Seawolves up 5-0.
• Hartford broke through with a pair of runs in the fourth inning when center fielder Ashton Bardzell laced a two-run single to center, scoring catcher Erik Ostberg and Campana.
• Inheriting a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, Lewis hit the first batter he faced and walked the second, forcing in two runs for Stony Brook and giving the Seawolves a 7-2 edge, before striking out Hamilton on three straight pitches.
• Hawks first baseman David MacKinnon led off the sixth with a double to left-center and immediately came home on an RBI single to right by Ostberg. Bardzell kept the inning going with a one-out triple to center, scoring Ostberg, and Bardzell came home on an RBI groundout by left fielder Chris Sullivan that cut Hartford's deficit to 7-5.
• The Hawks rallied for three runs all with two outs in the top of the ninth. Ardito got things going with a walk, advanced to third on a double by Campana and scored on a wild pitch. MacKinnon drove in Campana with a single up the middle and shortstop Ben Bengtson gave Hartford its first lead of the day, 8-7, when he drove in MacKinnon with a single to center. 
• With the go-ahead run on first for the Seawolves, Regula came out of Hartford's bullpen to pick up his first save of the season. Regula got back-to-back groundouts to end the threat and secure the win for the Hawks.

 
 
GAME 2: Stony Brook 10, Hartford 5
The Seawolves got revenge in game two, rallying from a 5-1 deficit to claim a 10-5 victory. Hartford scored a pair of unearned runs in the first and Bardzell pushed the Hawks' lead to 5-1 in the third when he blasted a three-run homer over the left field wall.
 
Stony Brook pushed across two runs in the third, making it 5-3, and tied the game in the fifth when Regula hit a rough patch and tossed three wild pitches. Stony Brook broke the game open in the fifth though, with most of the damage coming on a three-run home run from third baseman Jeremy Giles.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2):

• The Hawks picked up right where they left off in the second game of the afternoon, jumping ahead with a pair of runs in the top of the first. Sullivan drove in the game's first run, plating MacKinnon with an infield single, and Ostberg scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to make it 2-0.
• Stony Brook cut it to 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning when first baseman Casey Baker punched an RBI single to right field.
• Bardzell connected for his third home run of the year in the top of the third, blasting a three-run shot to left that scored Ostberg and Bengtson to push Hartford's advantage to 5-1.
• The Seawolves got two runs back in the third, with Baker figuring in both. He brought in Janofsky with a triple to right-center and came around to score on a wild pitch, cutting the Hawks' lead to 5-3.
• Stony Brook tied the game at 5-5 in the fourth off LaRossa. The Seawolves took advantage of three wild pitches, scoring both runs on just two hits in the inning.
• SBU took a 6-5 lead in the fifth when catcher Sean Buckhout singled to right-center, scoring Andruw Gazzo. Giles also lifted a three-run shot to left in the frame.

 
 
NEXT UP:
The Hawks and Seawolves are scheduled to close out the series tomorrow at noon.
John Mormile (0-0, 9.53 ERA) will get the start for Hartford against Seawolves righty Brian Herrmann (1-2, 2.25 ERA).