THE BASICS:

SERIES INFORMATION: Hartford Hawks (1-10, 0-0 AE) at UMBC Retrievers (3-9, 0-0 AE)
TIME:  Saturday, March 17 (Doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.) and Sunday, March 18 at 3 p.m.
LOCATION: Alumni Field (Baltimore, Md.)
COVERAGE: Live Stats | Twitter: @HartfordBASE
 
FIRST PITCH
The University of Hartford baseball team opens up America East play with a trip to Baltimore to take on UMBC in a three-game set this weekend.

All-TIME vs. UMBC
The Retrievers hold a slight, 30-28 advantage in the all-time series against the Hawks, however, Hartford took the season series last year, 2-1.
           
SCOUTING UMBC                                                                       
The reigning America East Champions, the Retrievers have opened 2018 3-9. They have victories over Penn State, Mount St. Mary's and Towson.         
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Hawks went 0-3 in their recent road trip to Dayton, Ohio last weekend, falling to Wright state 11-2 and 13-4, while falling to Dayton 7-4.
 
THE THRASHER
Freshman John Thrasher has made an immediate impact of the Hawks, recording four RBIs, five runs, a pair of extra base hits and a home run in his first ten games in a Hawks Uniform.
 
BARDZELL BOMB
Bardzell tied a career-high two homeruns and four RBIs in the Hawks 13-11 win over Fairfield on February 28th. Bardzell lead the Hawks in Home runs (3), runs scored (6) and RBIs (7).
 
HOT BAT
Senior Nick Campana has opened the season with an impressive .424 batting average, scoring on five occasions and driving in four runs.
 
LAST SEASON
The Hawks finished last season 20-30 overall and 8-13 in the America East before falling to Maine in the America East Tournament. Then-senior first baseman David MacKinnon, junior shortstop Ben Bengtson and Bardzell were all named to the America East All-Conference First Team. It marked the second consecutive First Team selection for MacKinnon and Bengtson, and the first for Bardzell.
 
TRIO OF CAPTAINS
In the fall, the team voted senior third baseman TJ Ward, redshirt-junior pitcher Jake Regula and Bardzell as the Hawks' team captains for the 2018 season. Ward, who will be serving his second season as team captain, started 38 games as a junior, ranking third on the team in RBI (32) and fifth in home runs (5). Regula appeared in 19 games on the hill for the Hawks this past season, making three starts and recording a pair of saves. Bardzell started 49 games in his sophomore campaign, leading the America East in RBIs (43), batting average (.343) and slugging percentage (.619), while lead the team in doubles (13), triples (5) and home runs (9) on his way to earning America East First Team All-Conference honors.
 
THE SHOW
A trio of Hawks were selected in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft in June. Hawks catcher Erik Ostberg was taken by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 13th round, while shortstop Ben Bengtson went to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 23rd round and first baseman David MacKinnon was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 32nd round. Hartford now has 17 players drafted in program history and seven during head coach Justin Blood's tenure.
 
HE'S A WINNER
Entering his seventh season at the helm of the Hawks, Blood's 145 wins place him second in all-time wins for a Hartford head coach, one behind Roger Wickman's leading mark of 146 victories.
 
STAFF STRUCTURE
The majority Blood's coaching staff remains the same for the 2018 campaign, but the group has had some minor adjustments since last season. Associate head coach Steve Malinowski, who has been on Blood's staff since his arrival in Hartford, returns for his seventh season while assistant coach Elliot Glynn returns for his fourth season in the Hartford dugout.
 
Joining the staff this season is volunteer assistant coach Ethan Newton, who comes to Hartford from Allegany College where he served at the associate head coach for two seasons. Dr. David Miller also joins the Hawks this season as the Director of Baseball Analytics.
 
DUNKIN' DONUTS PARK   
The Hawks will play two games inside of Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford this season. Hartford will host UMass on Tuesday, May 1, before taking on local foe Central Connecticut on Wednesday, May 16. CLICK HERE to buy tickets.
 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks return to action with a 2:30 p.m. tilt on Monday, in a postponed game at Northeastern.