Baseball take one out of three at UMBC

The University of Hartford baseball team traveled to UMBC Saturday, April 20 for an America East weekend series.  After splitting a double header Saturday, the Hawks lost to the Retrievers in their final matchup. The Hawks wasted little time jumping out to an advantage in game one, scoring the first run of the series in the top of the first. Junior Zachary Ardito came home on a deep double down the right field line, courtesy of senior Chris Sullivan. The Hawks kept adding to their lead, pushing the score to 2-0 by the end of the second inning. The third inning was a similar story as the innings prior, as a home run by Ashton Bardzell on a 3-2 pitch extended the Hawks’ lead to 3-0. However, UMBC would come back with a fury as they outscored the Hawks 10-1 over the next five frames, and took a commanding 10-4 lead going into the final inning. The Hawks put up a mighty last ditch effort as they were able to score four runs in the last inning, but fell short as the Retrievers garnered three outs to secure the win 10-8.

Game two started off with the Hawks falling behind 4-0 in the first inning. Hartford wouldn’t let that stop them though, as a RBI double by Sullivan scored Ardito closing the deficit to three. A grand slam by Devin Kellogg, which was also his first career home run, put the Hawks ahead 5-4. There was no slowing down for Hartford, as a home run by Bardzell, his second of the day, put Hartford up 7-4.  This lead would hold until the end of the game, ending in a victory for the Hawks.

Game three, which took place on Sunday, April 21, was not a pretty one for Hartford with them only scoring two runs on six hits. Hartford scored the first run of the game after a double by Zachary Ardito. After a wild pitch advanced Ardito to third, a ground out to first scored him, as the Hawks took a 1-0 lead. UMBC tacked on the runs after the first inning, taking a 5-1 lead. A bases loaded situation in the fourth for Hartford, unfortunately only lead to one run on a wild pitch. The Retrievers would put on three more runs to take the 8-2 victory. The Hawks are now 13-22 overall, and 7-5 in American East play. The Retrievers are 19-18 on the year and 5-10 in American East play. Hartford will go on the road to play Binghamton on Saturday, April 27. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.