ORONO, Maine – The Hartford baseball team dropped its series opener against Maine, 6-2, on Friday. With the result, the Hawks drop to 2-26 overall, while the Black Bears improve to 19-12 on the year.
MAINE 6, HARTFORD 2
Maine would strike first, taking a 2-0 lead after the first inning, but starting pitcher
Alec Couture would respond in the bottom of the second, striking out the side. The Hawks offense pulled one run back in the top of the third, cutting the gap in half after
Devin Kellogg lifted a sacrifice fly out to center field to drive home
Jackson Ciccone from third base. Ciccone reached base earlier in the inning with a lead-off single through the middle of the infield.
The Black Bears would extend their lead to 5-1 heading into the seventh inning after plating two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth. Hartford would quickly respond in the top of the seventh to cut the deficit to 5-2. After
JJ Romatzick led off the inning by drawing a walk, he would be moved over to third base on a single through the right side of the infield from Ciccone. With no outs,
Martin Chavarria stepped up to the plate and lifted a fly ball out to center field, driving home Romatzick on the play. However, Maine would score one more in the seventh and strand two Hartford runners on base in the top of the ninth to take home a 6-2 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES
- Noah Rivera had an outstanding day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double and a walk.
- Couture (1-6) got the start on the mound and took the loss after allowing five runs with six strikeouts over 6.0 innings of work.
- Luke Rier struck out one batter with 2.0 innings of relief for the Hawks.
NEXT ON TAP
Hartford continues its three-game weekend series against Maine on Saturday. First pitch between the Hawks and Black Bears is set for 1 p.m., at Mahaney Diamond.
