THE BASICS:
 
RESULTS:  Hartford 6, Army 2
LOCATION:  Dunkin' Donuts Park (Hartford, Conn.)
RECORDS:  Hartford (19-22, 7-8 America East), Army (25-29, 10-10 Patriot)
W:  Connor Lewis (3-2) L: Blake Walters (0-1)
 
 
THE LEAD: 
Sophomore pitcher Connor Lewis continued to cement his place atop the Hawks' rotation, helping lead the University of Hartford baseball team (19-22, 7-8 America East) to a 6-2 victory against Army (25-29, 10-10 Patriot) at Dunkin' Donuts Park on Saturday. Lewis went seven complete innings for the second consecutive start, striking out five and allowing just four hits. In his past two starts Lewis has dropped his earned run average by more than a point and now leads Hartford's starters with a 4.89 ERA.
 
All of the scoring occurred in two innings, as the Black Knights took a 2-0 lead in the second and the Hawks scored all six of their runs in the fourth. Third baseman Trey Martin had two hits and drove in both of Army's runs on a double down the left field line.
 
Sophomore center fielder Ashton Bardzell remained hot for the Hawks, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Shortstop Ben Bengtson supplied a pair of hits and drove in one, with right fielder Nick Campana and second baseman Dalton Ruch also driving in runs for Hartford.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Matt Hudgins Hudgins walked, Alex Dickerson singled and both advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Kris Lindner. Martin followed up with a double to left that plated Army's only runs of the day and put the Black Knights ahead, 2-0, in the second inning.
• Hartford rallied for six runs with two outs in the fourth. Ruch drove in the Hawks' first run with a single down the right field line and Campana tied the game at 2-2 with a soft single to shallow right field.
• After first baseman David MacKinnon walked to load the bases, Bardzell ripped a bases-clearing triple to right field to give Hartford a 5-2 advantage. Bengtson tacked on the final run with an RBI single to left.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Bardzell's triple was his fifth of the year, moving him into a five-way tie for second place on Hartford's single-season list. Former Hawk Aaron Wilson set the program's single-season mark, with six, in 2016.
• Only two Hartford starters have pitched seven innings in a game this season. Senior Brian Stepniak has done it twice and Lewis has now accomplished the feat three times, including both of his past two outings.
• With two more hits Sunday Bengtson improved his average to .327 on the year. He raised it more than 75 points in the past month and his current average is the highest it has been since mid-March.
• With the win the Hawks improved to 2-0 at Dunkin' Donuts Park. Hartford won the first game ever played at the park, defeating Quinnipiac, 6-4, on April 11.
• Prior to the game the Hawks honored longtime coach Roger Wickman, who passed away in April. Wickman coached from 1961-'80 and is Hartford baseball's all-time wins leader, with 146 victories. Members of Wickman's family took the field for a pregame tribute to the former Hawks coach.

 
 
 
NEXT UP:
The Hawks will not play a mid-week game before hosting UAlbany for a three-game set next weekend. The Great Danes hold a slim 33-32 edge in the all-time series, but Hartford has won three in a row and eight of the past 11. UAlbany (19-22, 6-11 America East) currently sits in sixth place in the conference standings, one place behind the Hawks.
 
The teams will meet for a doubleheader on Saturday, May 13, beginning at noon. Sunday's finale, which will be Senior Day for Hartford, is also scheduled for a noon first pitch.
 
Live stats for the series against the Great Danes will be available HERE, with Twitter updates provided by @HartfordBASE.