Baseball Sweeps Albany on Senior Day

The Hartford Baseball team swept their Saturday doubleheader against the University of Albany Great Danes. Both teams squared off at Dunkin Donuts Park, home of the Hartford Yard Goats. Before the day of games started, Hartford honored their seniors with a pre-game ceremony for all of their hard work and achievements during their careers.

Both teams took the field and game one was underway. After the first two went scoreless, Albany got on the board first with a three-run third inning. Hartford responded rather quickly with three runs of their own, courtesy of a two-run double by John Thrasher, to cut the lead to 3-1. Zachary Ardito followed with an infield single to score Drew DeMartino from first, then an RBI groundout from Devin Kellog scored Thrasher to tie up the game at 3.

Albany struck paydirt once more, retaking the lead 4-3. The Hawks rebounded in the bottom of the fourth, Rob Carmody hit into a sacrifice fly, scoring Tremayne Cobb Jr. from third to tie the game up once more at four apiece. The Great Danes refused to let the Hawks take the lead as they put up three runs in the fifth to retake the lead 7-3. The Hawks saw themselves down, but they are never out.

Hartford came out swinging in the sixth, as they plated two runs to trim the deficit to just one. Still trailing to start the bottom of the seventh, Thrasher was hit by a pitch, stole second, and later scored via an Ardito double to left field. The game was knotted up at seven, which means more free baseball.

Tremayne Cobb Jr. led off the bottom of the tenth with a double ripped down the left-field line. The Hawks had the winning run on base, waiting for the moment to capitalize. Just two batters later, Donnie Cohoon queued the music as he knocked an RBI single. Cobb Jr. scored from second as Hartford walked it off by a score of 8-7.

After a 45-minute wait period, both teams took the field once more and game two was underway. The Hawks, still running on high from the walk-off, jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first inning. The five runs were highlighted by a pair of RBI singles from Bryce Ramsay and Kyle Hawes. The team looked to carry this momentum throughout the game. The Hawks held Albany scoreless through the first three innings, but the Great Danes got their bats going. Albany plated two in the fourth to trim the Hartford lead 5-2. To Albany’s surprise, the Hawks kept their foot on the gas pedal. Hartford plated three runs in the fourth, powered by a two-run single by Thrasher to push the lead out to 8-2. The deficit proved to be too much as the Hawks would hold on to win by a score of 12-6.

The Hawks are back in action this weekend with a 4-game set against UMass Lowell with a doubleheader. Start times for both doubleheaders are set for noon.