THE BASICS:
 
GAME INFORMATION: Hartford Hawks (26-29) at Stetson Hatters (45-11)
DATE/TIME: Friday, June 1 (7 p.m.)
LOCATION: Melching Field (DeLand, Fla.)
WATCH: ESPN3 (Mike Keith & Rusty Ensor)
LIVE STATS: GoHatters.com
 
FIRST PITCH
The University of Hartford baseball team is set to make its College World Series debut this weekend when it opens up play at Stetson. The No. 4 seed in the DeLand Regional, the Hawks and Hatters are set for a 7 p.m. first pitch from Melching Field. This weekend's action will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
HOW WE GOT HERE
The Hawks' first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance came by way of a three-game sweep in the America East Championships last weekend. Defeating Stony Brook, 2-0, in the tournament's opening game, the Hawks beat UMass Lowell in walk-off fashion on Friday (4-3) to punch their first-ever ticket to the Championship Game on Saturday. Holding an early 2-0 lead, Hartford used a five-run seventh inning to cruise past Stony Brook, 9-4, to win its first America East Tournament Championship.  
  
STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM
The expectations were low for seventh-year head coach Justin Blood and his Hawks coming into the 2018 season. In a preseason poll of the America East's head coaches, Hartford was picked dead last among the seven-team conference. That result only added fuel to the fire for the Hawks. Tearing through the America East slate by winning a program-best 16 games, Hartford was crowned the America East Regular-Season Champion for the first time in program history last weekend in Orono, Maine.   
 
HARTFORD AGAINST THE FIELD
Hartford and Stetson will be meeting for the first time in both programs' Division I histories on Friday. A meeting with second-seeded South Florida would end a 31-year hiatus between the two squads, as the Bulls won a pair of games back in 1987. If Hartford and Oklahoma State were to meet, it would be the fifth contest between the Hawks and Cowboys. Oklahoma State holds the advantage in that series, taking three of four games in Stillwater in 2007.
 
STETSON QUICK HITS
Under the direction of former Eastern Connecticut standout Steve Trimper, who spent 11 years at the helm of the Maine Black Bears, Stetson went 45-11 overall, including a 15-3 mark in the Atlantic Sun. The A-Sun Tournament Champion The Hatters own the longest active win streak in the nation (15 games) and lead the NCAA in ERA (2.58).
 
USF QUICK HITS
Despite getting knocked out in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament, South Florida earned its 13th NCAA Tournament berth, and its third in the past four seasons. Under second-year head coach Billy Mohl, the Bulls are ranked No. 18 in the nation in batting average (.299) and have smacked the most doubles in NCAA Division I with 2.54 per game.
 
OKLAHOMA STATE QUICK HITS
The Cowboys, who finished second in the Big 12, are making their 44th NCAA Tournament appearance, including their sixth-straight. Colin Simpson has launched 18 home runs this season, marking the 12th-most in the nation, for Oklahoma State, which is coached by Josh Holliday.
 
ON DECK
With a win on Friday against Stetson, the Hawks will advance to face the winner of the first-round matchup between second-seeded South Florida and third-seeded Oklahoma State on Saturday at 7 p.m. An opening-round loss in the double-elimination bracket would pit the Hawks against the USF/OSU loser on Saturday at 1 p.m. Those games will also be available via ESPN3.
 
FRESHMAN TO THE RESCUE
Freshman Drew DeMartino broke through in a big way for the Hawks in the America East Tournament last week. With his team facing a 3-1 deficit to second-seeded UMass Lowell, he tied up the game after blasting his first career home run in the bottom of the seventh. But DeMartino's heroics didn't end there, as his bases-loaded, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth led the Hawks to the walk-off victory and the program's first-ever championship game appearance. He was later named the Most Outstanding Player of the America East Championship.
 
HOT BAT
Campana has brought his game to a whole new level as a senior this season. Hitting .307 last year, the outfielder has ripped the diamond apart in 2018. Currently ranked atop the America East with a sizzling .389 batting average, Campana boasts the 17th highest batting average in NCAA Division I. In addition, he ranks in the top-five in multiple program single-season records, as he is second in hits (77), second in doubles (17), third in total bases (124) and first in stolen bases (21).
 
20-20 VISION
The Hawks' 7-0 shutout win at Stony Brook on May 12 secured the team's 20th win of the 2018 season. With that victory, Hartford extended its rally of 20-plus-win seasons to five, dating back to the 2014 campaign when the Hawks collected a program-best 31 triumphs. Prior to this recent string of success, Hartford's longest rally of consecutive 20-win seasons came from 1992-1994, when the Hawks won 27 games in 1992, 20 in 1993 and 22 in 1994.
 
SM-ASHTON BARDZELL
A junior outfielder, Ashton Bardzell has also had a season at the plate for the Hawks this season. He has smashed 10 home runs this season to tie Campana for the team lead and rank third in the America East. In addition, Bardzell's 40 RBI are fourth-most in the conference.
 
POWERFUL PITCHING
Highlighted by America East Pitcher and Rookie of the Year Nick Dombkowski, Hartford's pitching staff has been a force to be reckoned with this season. Tossing a team-best 85.2 innings, the West Springfield, Mass., native boasts a 2.73 ERA to go along with 67 strikeouts. Sophomore Nathan Florence has also been solid on the hill, as he leads the conference in strikeouts (87), while junior Drew Farkas leads the league with seven wins. As a staff, Hartford's pitchers have fanned 383 batters, marking a single-season program record.
 
SAVING PINKERTON
Junior closer Seth Pinkerton has been lights out on the mound for the Hawks. He has 11 saves on the year, marking the most in a single season in program history. Boosting his career number to 15 saves, he is the program's all-time leader in the category.
 
ALL-TIME WINNER
With a 5-3 victory against Maine on Friday, March 23, head coach Justin Blood became the all-time winningest coach in Hartford history, passing the late Roger Wickman (1961-1980), who had 147 victories at the helm.  
 
CLEAN SWEEP
Hartford cleaned up shop at the annual America East Awards Banquet last week, sweeping all four major awards for the first time in program history. In addition to Dombkowski's pair of awards (Pitcher of the Year; Rookie of the Year), Campana was named the America East Player of the Year and Blood was unanimously tabbed the America East Coach of the Year. It marked the first time since 2012 that any America East school swept each of the major awards.
 
MORE FOR THE HISTORY BOOK
Prior to this season's four major award winners, David MacKinnon (2016 Player of the Year) and Sean Newcomb (2014 Pitcher of the Year) were the only Hawks to earn major awards from the league. In addition, Dombkowski, who was a unanimous selection for Rookie of the Year and the league's Pitcher of the Year, became the first student-athlete in league history to be named Rookie of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in the same season.  
 
MORE POSTSEASON HARDWARE
A total of nine Hartford baseball players took home awards from the America East at last week's Annual Banquet. In addition to Dombkowski winning the two major awards, he joined senior TJ Ward, Bardzell and junior Chris Sullivan on the All-Conference First Team. Three sophomores (Nathan Florence, Bryce Walker and Zachary Ardito) were placed on the All-Conference Second Team while freshman John Thrasher joined Dombkowski on the All-Rookie Team. Rounding out Hartford's honorees was sophomore Jackson Olson, Florence and Ward, who each earned All-Academic Team distinction.
 
BILLY THE KID
Junior Billy DeVito could not have found a better time to put together his most brilliant performance on the mound at Hartford in Saturday's Championshp Game against Stony Brook. In a career-best seven innings, the righty was lights out, allowing the Hawks to take a 2-0 lead by tossing seven scoreless innings. DeVito's day ended with no outs in the top of the eighth, but his line was still impressive, as he allowed just two runs on five hits while recording four strikeouts. He was later named to the America East All-Tournament Team for his performance.
 
STREAKING HAWKS
Following their America East Championship run, a pair of Hawks enter the NCAA Regionals with hitting streaks on the line. Leading the way is Ward, who has recorded at least one hit in each of his past eight games. Going 13-for-30 during that stretch, the rally is a season-best for the first baseban. Also looking to keep a streak intact is Jackson Olson, who has hit safely in each of his last five games. A sophomore, Olson has gone 10-for-18 during his current hit streak.
 
TRIO OF CAPTAINS
In the fall, the team voted Ward, redshirt-junior pitcher Jake Regula and Bardzell as the' team captains for the 2018 season. Ward, who will be serving his second season as 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.