THE BASICS:
 
RESULT:  Hartford 18, Marist 16
LOCATION: Fiondella Field (West Hartford, Conn.)
RECORDS:  Hartford (10-16, 2-4 America East), Marist (15-13, 5-4 MAAC)
W: Jake Regula (1-1) L: Brandon Bonomo (0-1) S: Seth Pinkerton (2)
 

THE LEAD: 
The University of Hartford baseball team (10-16, 2-4 America East) picked up its third straight win, outslugging Marist 18-16 at Fiondella Field on Wednesday afternoon. The Hawks pounded out a season-best 18 runs on a season-best 19 hits, with right fielder Nick Campana and first baseman David MacKinnon leading the way with four hits apiece.
 
Hartford got production up and down its lineup as top five spots in the Hawks' batting order combined to go 14-for-27 (.519) with 12 RBI and 14 runs scored. The team also set a new season-high as seven players notched multi-hit games, including center fielder Ashton Bardzell, shortstop Ben Bengtson, third baseman TJ Ward, designated hitter Bryce Walker and second baseman Dalton Ruch, who each had two hits. Marist first baseman Tyler Kapuscinski went 4-for-5 to lead the Red Foxes.
 
Sophomore right-hander Jake Regula (1-1) picked up his first win for the Hawks, picking up the final out of the fifth inning on a hard-hit line drive by Marist's Greg Kocinski. Hartford's offense exploded for four runs on five hits in the bottom of the fifth, putting the Hawks ahead for good. Closer Seth Pinkerton earned his second save of the season, striking out two and allowing one hit over the final two innings.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Red Foxes scored a pair of unearned runs on four hits in the first inning. Third baseman Andrew Rouse hit an RBI single to left and designated hitter Greg Kocinski had an RBI single through the right side.
• Hartford answered immediately with four runs in the bottom of the first. Right fielder Nick Campana doubled and scored on a single by center fielder Ashton Bardzell, and Bardzell tied the game at 2-2 on an RBI double by shortstop Ben Bengtson. Third baseman TJ Ward followed up with a two-run blast over the fence in left field.
• The Hawks scored two more in the second inning with back-to-back RBI singles from Campana and first baseman David MacKinnon, pulling ahead 6-2.
• Marist responded with six runs in the third inning to take an 8-6 lead. Kocinski hit a two-run single to left-center, right fielder Tyler Kirkpatrick lifted a two-run triple to the wall in center and shortstop Randy Taveras connected for an RBI double to left-center in the frame.
• Left fielder Chris Sullivan doubled and came in to score on a double-play ball, cutting the Hawks' deficit to 8-7 in the third.
• Hartford scored four runs in the fourth. Ward picked up an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, tying the score at 8-8, the Hawks' added two runs on a Marist error and freshman Bryce Walker made it 11-8 with an RBI groundout.
• The Red Foxes tied the game with three runs in the fifth on a two-run double by second baseman Anthony Lazar and an RBI double by first baseman Tyler Kapuscinski, before Regula came in for the final out of the inning.
• Second baseman Dalton Ruch led off Hartford's fifth with a bunt single, before Campana hammered a two-run homer to left to make it 13-11. Ward and Walker also picked up RBI base hits.
• Marist scored twice in the sixth, on a sacrifice fly from second baseman Anthony Lazar and on a bases-loaded walk by Kapuscinski.
• Leading 15-13, the Hawks scored their final three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Campana registered an RBI double and scored on a triple from Bardzell, who came home on a groundout by Bengtson to make it 18-13.
• Catcher Chris Tracz whittled away at Hartford's lead with an RBI single in the seventh and Lazar followed up with a two-run double for the Marist's final runs of the game.
• Pinkerton took over in the eighth and, after surrendering a leadoff double, didn't allow a hit the rest of the way.

 
 
BY THE NUMBERS:

• Hartford's seven doubles set a new season high, beating the previous high of four.
• MacKinnon's four-hit day, his first of the season, helped raise his batting average from .318 to .336. Campana's average also jumped 23 points, from .257 to .280.
• Campana's four runs were a new career best.
• Ward set season bests in runs (three) and RBI (four).
• Hartford's 18 runs were the most the team has scored since beating UMass Lowell, 23-6, on May 15, 2016.
• Marist's 16 runs tied the Hawks' program record for the most runs scored by an opponent in a Hartford victory. CW Post also scored 16 runs in a 21-16 Hartford win on April 16, 1997.

 
 
NEXT UP:
Hartford will jump back into America East play on Friday, April 14 when the Hawks host conference foe UMBC (9-14, 3-3 AE), for a doubleheader scheduled for a noon start. Hartford is 27-28 all-time against the Retrievers and UMBC has won three of the past four meetings.
 
Hartford enters this weekend's series on a hot streak, though. The Hawks have won five of their past seven games, including their last three in a row, where their offense has hammered out 34 runs.