THE BASICS:
 
RESULT:  Game 1 —UMass Lowell 20, Hartford 1; Game 2 — Hartford 5, UMass Lowell 1
LOCATION: LeLacheur Park (Lowell, Mass.)
RECORDS:  Hartford (16-20, 7-7 America East), UMass Lowell (21-18, 9-7 AE)
GAME 1 — W:  Andrew Ryan (5-2) L: Brian Stepniak (2-3)
GAME 2 — W:  Nathan Florence (1-2) L: Collin Duffley (5-3) S: Seth Pinkerton (4)
 
 
 
THE LEAD: 
The University of Hartford baseball team (16-20, 7-7 America East) opened its weekend series at UMass Lowell with a doubleheader split on Saturday at Lowell's LeLacheur Park. The River Hawks (21-18, 9-7) claimed a 20-1 victory in the opener, before Hartford bounced back with a momentum-changing 5-1 win in game two.
 
The Hawks got it done with a strong performance from freshman right-hander Nathan Florence, who earned his first career victory in the second game of the doubleheader. Florence held UML to just two hits in 4.2 innings, before turning it over to Hartford's bullpen. Sophomore Billy DeVito tossed two scoreless innings and closer Seth Pinkerton came on in the seventh, striking out the only batter he faced to earn his fourth save of the season.
 
Shortstop Ben Bengtson, designated hitter Jackson Olson and second baseman Dalton Ruch each contributed two hits during Hartford's victory, while pinch hitter Zachary Ardito came through with a clutch RBI double in the seventh that sparked a three-run rally, sealing the win for the Hawks.
 
 
GAME 1
The River Hawks came out swinging in the opener, plating a season-high 20 runs in the first five innings. UMass Lowell got to Hartford starter Brian Stepniak for 10 earned runs on nine hits in 1.1 innings, before notching eight more runs off reliever Thomas Feehan. UML finished the game with a season-high 22 hits.
 
Hartford's offense, which had been hot entering the weekend series, couldn't seem to figure out UML starter Andrew Ryan, who stymied the Hawks for just three hits in eight innings. It wasn't until Lowell brought in reliever Tim Fallon, in the ninth inning, that Hartford plated its lone run of the game on an RBI single by junior third baseman TJ Ward.
 
 
GAME 1 — HOW IT HAPPENED:

• UML scored one run in the first inning, before erupting for nine runs on eight hits in the second.
• The River Hawks added another five runs to make it 15-0 in the third, with freshman Cam Climo's three-run home run doing the most damage.
• Lowell scored once in the fourth and tacked on four more in the fifth, with another three-run homer from sophomore Steve Passatempo.
• Ward drove in Ardito with a two-out single in the ninth to tally Hartford's only run.

 
 
GAME 2
Florence picked up the Hawks when they needed it most, throwing 4.2 innings of one-run ball to earn his first collegiate victory. Pinkerton fanned the only he batter he faced in the seventh, adding his fourth save of the year.
 
The Hawks did just enough to get to UML starter Collin Duffley, the hard-luck loser who allowed just two runs (one earned) in six innings. Hartford tacked on three more runs against River Hawks reliever Luke Tomczyk to break the game open in the seventh.
 
Hartford out-hit UML 9-5 in the game and the Hawks left 12 runners stranded on base. Second baseman Ben Prada was the only River Hawk to notch multiple hits, and recorded the only RBI for UML. Left fielder Bryce Walker, centerfielder Ashton Bardzell, Ardito, Olson and Ruch accounted for Hartford's five RBI.
 
 
GAME 2 — HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Bengtson singled and came around to score the game's first run on an RBI single by Olson in the fourth.
• Ruch made it 2-0 in the fifth when he scored on a wild pitch.
• Prada cut Hartford's lead in half in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single to right.
• Ardito made it 3-1 in the seventh with a pinch-hit RBI double to right, scoring Bardzell, and Ruch drove in another run with a bases loaded walk. Walker also worked a bases loaded walk to drive in Hartford's last run.

 
 
NEXT UP:
The Hawks and River Hawks will conclude the weekend series on Sunday at noon. The finale will pit Hartford sophomore right-hander Connor Lewis  (2-2, 6.19 ERA) against Lowell's Nick Kuzia (2-3, 3.92). Lewis went 5.1 innings in his last outing, allowing five runs on seven hits during a no-decision against Stony Brook on April 23.