THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: No. 2 South Florida 9, No. 4 Hartford 4
RECORDS: Hartford (26-31); USF (36-21-1)
LOCATION: Melching Field (DeLand, Fla.)
 
THE BASICS:
 
The University of Hartford baseball team's historic season came to an end on Saturday afternoon, as the Hawks dropped a 9-4 extra-inning affair to second-seeded South Florida — the No. 24 team in the nation — in the elimination game of the DeLand Regional. The Hawks were on the Bulls' heels in a game that took six hours to complete due in part to a rain delay and two extra innings, but USF plated five runs in the top of the 11th to come away with the victory.
 
Senior Nick Campana scored three runs and went 3-for-5 at the plate, while classmate TJ Ward drove in a pair of runs for the Hawks, who brought home the America East Regular-Season and Tournament Championships for the first time in program history,
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• USF got the game going with a bang as Coco Montes led off with a blast over the wall in left center field. But Hartford starting pitcher Nathan Florence quickly settled in, retiring the next three batters he faced.
• The Bulls' lead was short-lived, though, as Hartford tied up the game on a two-out RBI line drive to left center that brought in leadoff hitter Campana, who was struck by a pitch on a 1-2 count, from second.
• The game did not stay tied for long, as the Bulls got the run back in the top part of the second. Drawing a walk with one out, Kyle Phillips, who advanced to second on a bunt single before taking third on a ground out to short, scored on a wild pitch to put USF back in front, 2-1.
• USF, which held Hartford off the scoreboard for the next three innings despite the Hawks loading up the bases in the third, tacked on one more run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth to push its lead to 3-1.
• Loading the bases three times in the fifth, the Hawks managed to get one run to pull within one run. Ardito, who drew a walk to lead off the frame, came home on a Ward sacrifice fly. But USF would again get the run back in its next at-bat when Chris Chatfield, who knocked a base hit and worked his way to third on a balk by relief pitcher Sebastian DiMauro and a ground out, easily scored on a standing double off the bat of Kyle Phillips.
• But the Hawks returned the favor yet again in the bottom of the sixth, pulling within one with two outs in the frame. Launching a one-out single to left and stealing second, Campana moved to third on a groundout by Zachary Ardito. After junior Ashton Bardzell drew a walk, he was caught in an attempt to steal second, but not before Campana crossed home to make it a 4-3 game.
• With one out in the seventh inning, a rain delay halted play between the two squads for one hour and 50 minutes. That stoppage didn't disrupt the rhythm of Seth Pinkerton, who came in with one out in the previous inning, as he retired five of the next six Bulls he faced to keep the Hawks in the game.
• Behind solid pitching from Billy DeVito in the ninth, Hartford came back to tie up the game in the bottom part of the inning. Campana continued his hot hitting by roping a single down the middle before a sac bunt by Ardito would move him into scoring position in the next at-bat.
• Down to the final out due to an infield popup, junior Chris Sullivan grounded to third on a 3-2 count, but a throwing error by the Bull's infield allowing the game-tying run in Campana to come home and keep Hartford's season alive by forcing extra innings.
• DeVito put in another impressive frame in the 10th, but in the 11th, a pair of leadoff walks and a hit batter allowed two runs to cross on a Villa double to centerfield. One batter later, Genord cleared the bases with a homer down the left field line, making it a 9-4 lead for USF.
• Hartford didn't go down without a fight though, staying alive with back-to-back two-out singles from Bardzell and Sullivan. But it wasn't enough to mount a rally as Bulls' pitcher Andrew Perez induced a popup to end the game.

 
NEWS AND NOTES:

• Posting the program's fifth-straight 20-plus win season (26-31), Hartford had a historic season, winning the program's first-ever America East Regular-Season and Tournament Championship.
• The Hawks lose five seniors to graduation: Bardzell, Cam Belliveau, Collin Ferguson, DiMauro and Ward.