THE BASICS:

GAME 1 RESULT: Army West Point 5, Hartford 1
GAME 2 RESULT: Army West Point 3, Hartford 0
LOCATION: Softball Complex (West Point, N.Y.)
RECORDS: Army West Point (24-11); Hartford (3-26)

THE LEAD:
Army West Point continued its strong pitching performance in knocking off the Hartford softball team in a pair of close contests on Wednesday.

GAME 1: ARMY WEST POINT 5, HARTFORD 1
Danielle DeMarco delivered an RBI single, but Army scored in four different innings to take a 5-1 win in game one.
 
Emily Ballesteros went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Emily Gray had a 2-for-3 day as well. Izzy Gates drove in a pair of runs against Bianca Ross, who allowed seven hits and five runs in six innings.
 
Elizabeth Newkirk went 1-for-3 with a run in the loss, as Renee Poirier allowed just three hits and three walks in going for a complete-game win.

HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 1:
• Gates brought in a pair of runs in the bottom of the second, as her two-out groundout plated two runs with the Black Knights being aggressive on the bases.
• Army West Point made the lead 3-0 on Ballesteros' solo home run.
• The Hawks got on the board in the top of the fourth, with Newkirk leading off with a single and stealing second, then coming in on DeMarco's RBI single.
• The Black Knights plated a run in the bottom of the fifth to push the lead to 4-1.
• Army completed the scoring in the bottom of the sixth with a Lacey Swafford RBI single.
 
GAME 2: ARMY WEST POINT 3, HARTFORD 0
Melissa Pereira scattered just six hits in six innings, but she was outdueled by Army's Macey Newbary as the Black Knights earned a shutout victory in game two. Newbary went the full seven innings in allowing just five hits for the win.
 
Swafford went 2-for-3, as did Katie Ontiveros for Army. Five different Hawks registered hits, with Madison Hilimire's double the only extra-base knock.
 
HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 2:
• The home squad got the scoring underway on the basepaths, with Swafford coming in on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead.
• The Black Knights doubled their advantage when Swafford delivered an infield single to score Tyler McKinney to make it 2-0.
• Army delivered its final tally on a double steal, with Michaela Hoover scoring to make it 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth.
 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks return home to take on Maine this weekend for a series at the Hartford Softball Field. The series, which was originally scheduled to take place in Orono, will feature a noon doubleheader on Saturday and a noon single game on Sunday. Live stats will be available on HartfordHawks.com.