WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -  The Hartford softball team picked up a huge Conference of New England (CNE) victory on Wednesday defeating Western New England University on a walk off. Game two was deemed a tie due to darkness. 

Rapid Recap Game 1 (W, 5-3):

• Hawks sophomore Alexis Sealey (Pleasant Hill, Calif) got the start for the Hawks, pitching seven innings as the Hawks played their second doubleheader in two days. Sealey started off quick with a 1-2-3 first inning, before Western New England scored the first run on the game in inning number two, as Ava Barnhart sent a double to right center field, giving WNE a 1-0 lead.
• In the third inning, Sealey recorded the Hawks' first hit of the afternoon, driving a solo shot out to center field to tie the game at 1-1.
  Catcher and Hartford Sophomore Adelie Beebe (Sacramento, Calif) gave the Hawks the lead in the fourth inning, doubling to left center field and scoring senior Olivia Wolk (Sugarloaf, Penn.) to give Hartford a 2-1 lead.
• Despite facing runners on the corners in the fifth inning, Sealey caught a popped-up bunt and threw out the runner at third base, halting the Golden Bears momentum for the moment.  Facing their final three outs, WNE's Marley Rodriguez reached first base on a bunt, but a throwing error allowed the runner on second base to score, tying the game at 2-2. 
• Despite having runners on in the bottom of the 7^th, the Hawks failed to score the winning run, forcing extra innings. Starting the 8^th inning with a ghost runner on second base, a lead off bunt single gave WNE runners on the corners with nobody out. A fielder's choice from Nicolina Salanto scored the runner from third, giving WNE a 3-2 lead. A drag bunt for Wolk advanced the ghost runner to third, and with no Golden Bear covering second base, Wolk took second base, putting two in scoring position with nobody out. Beebe swung at the first pitch, hitting a three-run walk off home run to left field, giving Hartford a 5-3 win in Game 1 of the doubleheader

In the Circle:

• Sealey pitched her second game in two days, going seven innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits and striking out one. Sophomore Gracie Hopkins (El Dorado Hills, Calif), entered the game in relief, giving up an unearned run, but earning her 4th win of the season.

At The Plate:

• Beebe played the hero, recording three ribbys on 2-for-3 hitting, with the homer.  Sealey hit her first home run of the season, finishing the day 1-for-3 with the solo shot. Matz finished the day 2-for-3, recording the Hawks second RBI. 

Post Game Press:
"Picking up such a huge conference win felt amazing and even though I had the walk off we all came together as a team and was able to fight as a team to secure the win", said sophomore Adelie Beebe (Sacramento, Calif.). 

Rapid Recap Game 2 (T, 5-5):

• Freshmen Ella Zobel (Clarence, N.Y.) made the start for the Hawks in game two, facing trouble early in the first inning, as a Gracie Hemstock single gave Western New England a 1-0 lead. Hartford failed to respond in the bottom of the first inning. The Golden Bears doubled their lead in the second inning, as an error allowed the runner to score, giving the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead. The Hawks got their first hit of the game in the third inning, as junior Anita Farkash (Seaford, N.Y.) poked a single up the middle, before being pinch ran for freshman Liv Shulman (Pasadena, Md.). Freshmen Lucy Lembo (Albany, N.Y.) followed up with a single of her own, moving Shulman to third and putting runners on the corners with nobody out.
• Following a heads up play by the freshmen base runners that moved Lembo to second, Senior Sarah Serrano (Windsor, Conn.) ripped a double into the gap, scoring both runners and tying the game at 2-2. A lead-off triple for Western New England and a Marley Rodriguez single gave the Golden Bears a 3-2 lead, ending Zobel's afternoon in the fourth inning. Junior Carly Mayhood (Andover, N.J.) entered the game in relief, shutting the door on the Golden Bears in the fourth. Batting in the bottom of the 4^th, Zobel did damage with the bat, hitting a home run to tie the game at 3-3. Wolk reached first base on an error, before advancing to third on a stolen base followed by a fielder's choice. Farkash recorded a sacrifice fly, scoring Wolk and giving Hartford a 4-3 lead, their first lead of the afternoon. The Golden Bears responded in the top of the fifth inning, as three reached base, with Shea McDaniel hitting an RBI single to tie the game at 4-4.
• Western New England starting pitcher Riley Kane helped her own cause in the top of the sixth inning, hitting a solo home run to give the Golden Bears a 5-4 lead. The Hawks tied the game again in the bottom of the 6^th inning, as Ella Zobel doubled to right center, driving in junior Gia Miccio (Bellemore, N.Y.) to tie the game at 5-5. Mayhood silenced Western New England in the top of the 7^th, setting up the Hawks for a potential second walk-off of the afternoon.A lead off walk for Lucy Lembo put a runner on, and Lembo would advance all the way to third base, but the run would not come into score before the end of the seventh inning. Despite the Hawks taking the field for an eighth inning, the game was called at a 5-5 draw due to darkness.

In the Circle:

• Zobel finished the day pitching three innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on 8 hits, striking out 3, and not factoring in the decision. Mayhood entered the game in the fourth inning, pitching the final four innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits, striking out four, and earning a no-decision in the process.

  At The Plate:

• Serrano woke up the offense for Hartford in game two, going 1-for-2 with a two-run double. Zobel batted 2-for-3 on the afternoon, finishing with a home run, a double, and two runs batted in.

Up Next:
The Hawks record improves to 13-11-1, and the team will be back in action on Friday to take on the Nichols College Bison in Dudley, Massachusetts. Game one will start at 12:00 P.M. with Game two expected to begin at 3:00 P.M. 

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