NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Hawks opened up their trip down to Virginia on Friday splitting a doubleheader with #12 Christopher Newport University. Hartford would drop the first game by a 8-6 final before winning against the Captains by a 10-3 margin in game two. 

  Rapid Recap Game 1 (L 8-6):

• Freshman Justin Gouin (North Haven, Conn.) got the ball to start game one, going four strong innings, all whilst allowing only one hit and punching out five batters. 
• Hartford would jump on the Captains early as junior Patrick Joseph (Pormona, N.Y.) lined a single to left field to plate junior Jackson Ciccone (Danbury, Conn.) in the first. Sophomore JJ Romatzick (Stratford, Conn.) singled to right to notch the second run in the fourth inning as the Hawks led 2-0. 
• Christopher Newport would answer back with a five run fifth inning on four hits to lead by a 5-2 margin. The Hawks would mount a comeback in the top of the seventh answering with four runs of their own, Joseph started things off with a RBI single to score junior Ben Schulz (Berlin, Conn.). Sophomore Tyler Shannon (Madison, N.J.) followed with a huge two RBI double to even the score at 5-5. Junior Cam Boardman (Bradford, Vt.) gave the Hawks the lead with a fielder's  choice to score the sixth run of the game. 
• The Captains stormed back with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning before registering another in the eighth. Hartford's bats stayed silent in the eighth and ninth as Christopher Newport won the first game by the 8-6 score.

On the Mound:

1. Gouin was cruising through his four innings of work, carrying a no hitter into his last inning. His final line was four innings pitched, allowing one hit, with no runs and five strikeouts. Senior Luke Rier (Miami, Fla.) followed allowing five runs getting two outs. Freshman Evan Gentile (Berlin, Conn.) also put together a strong outing in relief going 1.1 innings with two strikeouts. Sophomore Tyler Blumetti (Southington, Conn.) got a pair of outs as the next person in relief allowing two runs and getting the loss. Sophomore Sam Smith (Branford, Conn.) was the final pitcher of the day going 1.1  innings with two punch outs, while allowing a run.

At the Plate:

• Shannon led the offense in game one going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and RBIs, Joseph added a 2-for-5 day with a run scored and two ribbys. Romatzick added a 1-for-3 day with a run scored, two stolen bags and a RBI. 

Rapid Recap Game 2 (W 10-3):

• Similar to game one, the Hawks would score first and jump out to an early 2-0, as freshman Evin Curtiss (Simsbury, Conn.) doubled to left plating the first run in the second. Romatzick followed things up with an RBI single to score Curtiss. The Captains would tally their first run of the second game in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 2-1 after three. 
• Romatzick added another run in the top of the fourth for the Hawks hitting home junior Ryan Knight (Peabody, Mass.) who reached on a wild pitch. Freshman Ryan Sheehy (Shelton, Conn.) was dealing finishing off the first five innings with a single run allowed.
• In the top of the sixth the Hawks got some insurance as junior Joshua Kaplan (Suffern, N.Y.) singled home the fourth run for the visitors. Junior Jackson Ciccone (Danbury, Conn.) added more runs with a moon shot over the wall for a three-run blast to give Hartford a 7-1 lead. The Captains would plate two runs in the bottom of the frame as we headed to the final three innings with the Hawks leading 7-3. 
• Hartford would get a sacrifice fly by sophomore Jon Melarzcik (Carmel, N.Y.) in the seventh before getting two more runs in the ninth to pull away and win 10-3. 

On the Mound:

• Sheehy improved to 2-1 on the year throwing six strong innings with six punch outs and allowing only three runs on four hits. Junior Jeremy Mangiameli (Middlefield, Conn.) followed going a single inning of work without allowing a run. Sophomore Julian Rondon (Bardonia, N.Y.) came in to slam the door going two innings, striking out the side in the eighth and the ninth to close the game out for Hartford.

At the Plate:

• Ciccone spearheaded the Hawks offense going 4-for-6 in the second game with the homer and three RBIs. Romatzick produced a 2-for-5 outing with three ribbys of his own and two stolen bags. Curtiss added a 1-for-2  game with two runs scored and a double.

Post Game Press:
"Coming into the game against a ranked team I knew I had to show up for the team", said freshman Ryan Sheehy (Shelton, Conn.). "I knew they would have my back with the run support we needed feels good to pick up another win."

Up Next:
Hartford is set to finish up their trip in Newport News, Virginia with two match ups against #19 Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday Mar. 8th and Sunday Mar. 9th. First pitch for both games is slated at 10:30 and 11:00 AM respectively. 

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