THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: No. 1 Hartford 4, No. 2 UMass Lowell 3
RECORDS: Hartford (25-29, 16-8 AE) UMass Lowell (25-28, 13-11 AE)
LOCATION: Mahaney Diamond (Orono, Maine)
 
THE LEAD:
Behind a pair of clutch hits from freshman Drew DeMartino, the top-seeded and America East Regular-Season Champion University of Hartford baseball team defeated UMass Lowell, 4-3, in walk-off fashion on Friday afternoon to punch its ticket to the title game of the America East Tournament for the first time in program history. 
 
After pulling the Hawks out of a 3-1 hole on his first career home run — a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh — DeMartino piloted Hartford to the walk-off victory with a bases-loaded RBI single in his team's final at-bat. Nicholas Dombkowski, the America East Rookie of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, had another stellar outing on the mound, recording seven strikeouts. He did not surrender an earned run in eight innings of action.    
 

DEMARTINO DOES IT AGAIN!!! A line drive down the third base line brings home TJ Ward and we advance to tomorrow's championship game! Final score 4-3! #CapitalCityTeam pic.twitter.com/4Js6TOgJEj

— Hartford Baseball (@HartfordBASE) May 25, 2018

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After two quiet innings from both squads, UMass Lowell struck was the first team to strike in the third inning. Putting runners on the corners with one out, the River Hawks plated the first run of the game on a passed ball to take a 1-0 lead.
• Hartford quickly earned the run back in the bottom of the frame, though. Junior catcher Drew Holtgrieve led off the inning by ripping a single up the middle and worked his way to second off a groundout from DeMartino. In the next at-bat, freshman John Thrasher laced a base hit to right, driving in Holtgrieve from second to knot the game up at one.
• Following two more scoreless frames, the River Hawks retook the lead in the sixth, scoring on a two-run single from Cam Climo to give them a 3-1 lead.
• One swing of the bat would tie the game back up in the home half of the seventh. After sophomore Jackson Olson led off the frame with a double to right field, DeMartino blasted his first career long ball to right to draw the Hawks even at three.
• The River Hawks threatened in the ninth, putting runners on second and third with two outs, but sophomore reliever Drew Farkas forced a pop up to Olson to get the Hawks out of the jam and end the inning.
• The Hawks came out swinging in the ninth, loading the bases on a pair of singles from TJ Ward and Olson along with a Holtgrieve walk. DeMartino came up big once again, ripping an RBI single down the third base line, scoring Ward and giving the Hawks the 4-3 decision walk-off.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Dombkowski, who threw eight innings for the third time this season, recorded his most strikeouts (seven) since the Hawks defeated UMass Lowell, 6-2, on April 28.
• DeMartino recorded his fifth multi-hit game of the season and his first multi-RBI game of this career.
• DeMartino, who finished the afternoon 2-for-4 at the plate, drove in three of the Hawks' four runs.

 
NEXT ON TAP:
The Hawks will look to capture their first #AEBase Tournament Championship tomorrow at 1 p.m. against #4 Stony Brook. The Hawks and Seawolves have split the season series, two games apiece. The last meeting came on Thursday, a 2-0 victory for Hartford in the America East Quarterfinals.