the Informer

Though the weekend started with a promising win, it soon became a long and frustrating two days.

The Hawks won the first game Saturday, 8-7, in extra innings. However, they dropped each of the next three against the Bulldogs, 12-7 in Saturday’s nightcap, then 10-0 and 17-5 in the two games Sunday.

The Hawks, who started the season with back-to-back wins, the first time the team has done that since 2004, have won just one of their last seven games. They currently sit at 3-6 for the season.

With the three weekend victories, the Bulldogs moved to 9-4-1.

Through the first nine frames of Saturday’s first game, both teams were average offensively. Each had three runs on seven hits. However, the Yale bats woke up in a hurry in the tenth.

Bulldogs first baseman Trygg Larsson-Danforth got things going with a one-out single to center. He moved to second when Ryan Brenner drew a walk. The game took a drastic turn when the next batter, Andrew Moore homered to left center. The three-run blast put Yale up, 6-3.

The Bulldogs added an insurance run when Zach Tobolosky scored from first on a triple by Cam Squires, putting the Hawks in a 7-3 hole.

The Hawks though, had three more outs to work with. Junior Andy Drexel led off with a double and was replaced by a pinch runner, Mark Sargente. Sargente scored on a Jared Canney single to right, moving the score to 7-4.

After pitcher Greg Lyons walked Rodger Wilmot, he was replaced by Matthew Smith. Smith’s luck was no better. He walked his first batter to load the bases. He then surrendered a run by issuing a free pass to Victor Santana.
Two batters later, the Hawks walked off when sophomore Andrew Siano hit a bases-clearing triple. That hit, and the three runs it drove in, erased the four-run deficit the Hawks faced at the start of the inning and gave Hartford the win.
In game two on Saturday, both teams’ bats stayed hot. However, Yale was hotter. Despite plating seven runs, the Hawks could not sweep the day, giving up12 runs in the loss.

While the Hawks out-hit the Bulldogs, Yale was far more efficient with its base runners. The Bulldogs stranded just one runner during the contest, compared to the Hawks’ nine runners left on base.

Yale also benefited from Larsson-Danforth and his two homeruns and six RBI. Moore added another homerun for the visitors.
Sunday brought more disappointment for the Hawks. This time, however, the games were dominated both offensively and defensively by the Bulldogs. Both outings resulted in double-digit victories for Yale.

In two games, the Hawks were outscored 27-5. The Hawks had only five hits for the day. Hawk pitchers surrendered 31. The Hawks’ staff also gave up 14 walks on the day.

In game one, a 10-0 Yale win, pitcher Brook Hart tossed a gem. The junior surrendered just two hits in a complete-game shutout. The game went just seven innings, due to the double header.

Game two was similarly lopsided. The Hawks mustered five runs on three hits. However, they gave up 17 to the hot Yale offense. 15 of those runs were earned.

Hartford starting pitcher Anthony Mannuccia, a freshman, lasted just three innings, giving up eight runs on eight hits, seven of them earned.

The bright spot in the Hawks’ lineup was Drexel. The right fielder went 1-for-1 with a walk and two RBI. He also scored a run.