THE BASICS:
RESULTS: Game 1 — Hartford 3, Army 2;
Game 2 —Army 10, Hartford 0
LOCATION: Doubleday Field (West Point, N.Y.)
RECORDS: Hartford (19-22, 7-8 America East), Army (25-29, 10-10 Patriot)
Game 1 — W: Brian Stepniak (3-3)
L: Jacob Carte (2-2)
S: Jake Regula (2)
Game 2 — W: Nathan Florence (1-3)
L: Tyler Giovinco (5-5)
THE LEAD:
The University of Hartford baseball team (19-22, 7-8 America East) split Saturday's doubleheader at Army. The Hawks won game one, 3-2, before dropping a 10-0 decision to the Black Knights (25-29, 10-10).
Senior starting pitcher
Brian Stepniak went six innings and earned the win for Hartford in game one, allowing two runs on six hits. The Hawks trailed 1-0 into the fourth inning, when sophomore left fielder
Chris Sullivan blasted a three-run home run to right field. Sophomore reliever
Jake Regula came out of the bullpen in the sixth and tossed four shutout innings to earn the save.
The Hawks' offense never got going in game two against Army starter Tyler Giovinco. The Black Knights scored one run in the third, two in the fifth, three in the sixth and four in the eighth for the 10-0 victory. Both teams had seven hits in the second game and right fielder
Nick Campana led the Hawks with three hits on the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1):
- Army jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on three consecutive singles. Right fielder Matt Hudgins, who started the two-out rally with a single to right field, eventually came around to score on an RBI single up the middle by first baseman Alex Dickerson.
- Hartford did its damage with one swing of the bat in the top of the fourth. With two men on, left fielder Chris Sullivan connected for a three-run homer to right to put the Hawks on top, 3-1.
- The Black Knights cut Hartford's lead to 3-2 in the fourth on a two-out RBI triple from Josh White.
- Regula shut the door for Hartford, throwing four innings of one-hit shutout ball, striking out four without surrendering a walk.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2):
- The Black Knights got on the board in the third when center fielder Jacob Hurtubise scored on a wild pitch.
- Army tacked on two more runs in the fifth on back-to-back RBI singles from catcher Jon Rosoff and left fielder John McCarthy, making it 3-0.
- Hurtubise drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth, pushing Army's lead to 4-0, and the Black Knights plated another pair on a two-out, two-run single from Rosoff.
- Army added four more runs in the eighth, with John McCarthy's three-run homer doing the most damage.
NEXT UP:
The Hawks will wrap up their non-conference series when they host Army at Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford on Sunday. Sophomore right-hander
Connor Lewis is slated to take the mound for Hartford. The Black Knights have not announced a starter.
Lewis is 2-2 with a 5.31 ERA this season. He ranks second on the staff in innings pitched (39.0), with 28 strikeouts and 17 walks. He was sharp in his last start, at UMass Lowell, throwing seven innings of one-run ball, while allowing just four hits and striking out five.
Dunkin' Donuts Park is the home of the Hartford Yard Goats, the AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. First pitch is set for 1 p.m., with doors opening at noon. All general admission tickets are $5 in advance and will be $10 on the day of the game. Advance tickets may be purchased by visiting
HartfordHawks.com/DDParkBaseball or by calling the Yard Goats ticket office at 860-246-GOAT (4628).
Dunkin Donuts' Park concession stands will be open during the game, and beer and wine will be sold.
The Hawks helped open Dunkin' Donuts Park on April 11, claiming the first win in park history with a 6-4 victory against Quinnipiac.
Live stats for Sunday's finale will be available
HERE, with Twitter updates provided by @HartfordBASE.
