Hartford Hawks secured their first victory of the baseball season with a 12-1 win against the University of Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins at Fordham University.
The game began quietly, with both teams scoreless in the first inning. The Hawks took an early lead in the second inning when senior Jeremy Mangiameli drove in junior Alek Popovich with a sacrifice fly. Pitcher Joe Dooley held the Dolphins without a run for three innings, allowing only four hits and recording three strikeouts.
Hartford extended its lead in the fifth inning as junior JJ Romatzick scored on a wild pitch. The sixth inning saw Hartford’s offense break out, scoring five runs across four batters. In the seventh, two more runs were added: one on a bases-loaded walk by senior Jackson Ciccone and another on a groundout by Popovich. The eighth inning brought three additional runs for Hartford, including another bases-loaded walk drawn by Romatzick and a hit-by-pitch that allowed Ciccone to drive in a run.
The Dolphins managed to avoid a shutout with Zach Turko’s triple in the ninth inning, making the final score 12-1.
On the pitching side, Dooley started and pitched three scoreless innings. Junior Anthony Bubba relieved him for another three innings, allowing just two base runners and striking out two batters. Senior captain Michael Featherstone closed out the game, striking out three while allowing two hits and one run.
At bat, Romatzick reached base three times, scored three runs, and had one RBI. Senior captain Ryan Knight went two-for-four with an RBI. Popovich was also on base three times and drove in one run. Ciccone contributed two RBIs.
“It was great to finally get back on the field today and get a good team win,” said senior Ryan Knight (Peabody, Mass.). “I thought our pitchers did great keeping us in the game until our offense was able to break it open. It felt good to contribute to the offense’s success tonight.”
Hartford will play its next game at home against Eastern Connecticut State on Tuesday, March 10th at Fiondella Field.
