THE BASICS:
RESULTS: Hartford 5 Maine 3
RECORDS: Hartford (3-14, 2-2 AE) Maine (4-18, 0-1 AE)
LOCATION: West Hartford, Conn. (Fiondella Field)
THE LEAD:
The University of Hartford baseball team scored five unanswered runs to defeat Maine, 5-3 in West Hartford on Friday afternoon.
With the victory, Head Coach
Justin Blood becomes the programs all-time leader in wins with 147, passing the late Roger Wickman.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Maine's Jeremy Pena led off the game with a triple, later scoring on a Jonathan Bennett single. Following a walk and a fielder's choice, Hernan Sardinas plated two on a double down the left field line to give Maine an early 3-0 lead.
- Starting pitcher Billy DeVito settled in and did not give up another run, finishing with five innings of work, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks. Redshirt-junior Jake Regula and junior Seth Pinkerton combined to only give up 4 hits and 1 walk over the final four innings.
- In the fifth, sophomore Zachary Ardito walked and stole second before being driven home by an RBI single from senior Nick Campana to cut the Maine lead to 3-1.
- The Hawks exploded for four runs in the seventh inning. Sophomore Robert Carmody lead off the bottom of the seventh with a single and advanced to second on a Maine fielding error. Carmody advanced to third on a passed ball before Campana drove him in off a groundout to bring them within one.
- After sophomore Bryce Walker forced a one-out walk, junior Ashton Bardzell singled putting both in scoring position. TJ Ward ripped a single through the right side, bringing in Walker and sending Bardzell to third base. A single from sophomore Jackson Olson single plated Ward and Bardzell to give the Hawks a 5-3 lead.
- The Hawks fought off a late rally by the Black Bears, who had the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth. Pinkerton struck out the final out of the game, giving the Hawks the 5-3 decision.
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks return to the diamond on Saturday for a doubleheader against Maine. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 12:00 pm.