the Informer

Hartford Sports Information

The Hawks baseball team had a rough time this week, losing four straight, and dropping to 8-24 on the season and 2-8 in the conference.

The week started when Hartford traveled to Marist to play them in a single-day game. The game ended up an uneven one, as Marist poured in the runs en route to a 10-1 victory. The Hawks were held to just three hits by Marist pitching, which had starter Brendan Chapin pitch three innings, only allowing three walks, but he also struck out three.

With the win, Chapin improves to 3-4 on the season. The loss broke a two-game win streak for the Hawks, and set them on a road of disappointment. Hawks starter Bobby Gorski didn’t have the best of luck, as Marist jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, and wouldn’t look back.

Marist added their fifth run in the fifth inning and five more in the seventh. The Hawks were finally able to get on the board in the ninth, thanks to a Matt Walker RBI double, but at that point, the game was too far out of reach.

Just three days later, the Hawks were on the road again, this time heading to Maine for a two-day trip. The first day was a doubleheader for Hartford, who ended up falling in the first game, 7-14.

Hartford got off to a quick start, scoring two in the first and three in the second to give themselves a 5-2 lead, but it would not hold, as Maine would manage to score in every inning of the game. The Hawks would then give up 12 runs over the next four innings, and the bats had gone silent. The Hawks struck for two more in the top of the sixth, but it was too-little-too-late as Maine went on to take game one 14-7.

Game two was a much different story, but had the same result with Maine pulling out a 4-1 victory. This game was much more of a pitcher’s duel, as Hawks’ starter Mike Thatcher gave them a strong performance with a seven-inning outing, only allowing four runs. But the Hawks’ bats were silent this time around, with the only run of the game coming off the bat of a Victor Santana RBI single to right. The doubleheader sweep of the Hawks dropped them to a 2-7 record in the America East.

The following day, Hartford found themselves playing the final game of the three-game series, and even though this game was the closest, the same result followed. Hartford starter Chris Greiner pitched extremely well, going seven innings only allowing six hits, and four runs, all of which were earned. He also recorded six strikeouts on the day.

Maine took the lead early on in the third, scoring two quick runs. Hartford finally answered in the sixth with an Andy Drexel sacrifice fly, and would eventually tie the game in the seventh after an error by the Maine pitcher set up a Bobby Gorski RBI groundout to tie the game at two.

Hartford would continue their scoring streak, taking a brief 3-2 lead in the eighth on a Mike Aldrich grounder that was bobbled, allowing catcher Mike Amendola score. Finally, the Black Bears bats woke up, and Greiner was hit hard, allowing two runs in the top of ninth and letting the lead escape once again. Maine would hold on in the ninth to close out the 4-3 Maine victory, the Hawks fourth loss in a row.

The Hawks will continue their season with an upcoming series vs. Binghamton University on May 1 and May 2. Both games are scheduled to start at noon.