The University of Hartford took advantage of the error-prone University of Maine over the weekend to rally for a pair of wins in their three-game series in West Hartford, Connecticut.
The Hawks scored three unearned runs in the seventh inning of Sunday’s finale to erase a 1-0 deficit and post a 3-1 victory after scoring the game-winning run on an error in the ninth inning of Saturday’s second game, capping a three-run rally that produced a 5-4 triumph.
UMaine outslugged Hartford 11-10 in Saturday’s doubleheader opener.
Defending America East tournament champion Hartford is now 11-10 in America East and 19-29 overall, while UMaine fell to 10-10 and 14-29, respectively.
UMaine will play a non-conference game at Boston College at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday before hosting Binghamton for a three-game America East finale at noon Friday (doubleheader) and at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Hartford finishes with three at Albany this weekend.
In Sunday morning’s game under rainy conditions, former UMaine freshman All-American Justin Courtney, who underwent Tommy John surgery 13 months ago and was making his first start in five weeks, tossed six innings of two-hit shutout baseball before being replaced by Peter Kemble to start the seventh.
Kemble walked Bryce Ramsay to open the seventh, and Robert Carmody sacrificed him to second.
John Thrasher walked and Kemble then struck out Jackson Olson.
But UMaine left fielder Colin Ridley dropped Chris Sullivan’s shallow fly ball, allowing two runs to score, and Sullivan eventually scored an insurance run on third baseman Cody Pasic’s throwing error.
UMaine had scored in the first inning when Danny Casals walked, stole second and rode home on Joe Bramanti’s base hit.
Drew DeMartino collected two of Hartford’s three hits, a pair of singles. Five Hartford pitchers combined on a five-hitter with Joe Grassett garnering the win and Jason Johndrow collecting the save.
Bramanti had three singles for UMaine.
On Saturday, the Black Bears came one out away from posting a sweep but Olson’s third hit of the nightcap, a two-out triple to center field, tied it in the bottom of the ninth and he scored the game-winning run on an error by UMaine shortstop Jeffrey Omohundro.
UMaine had taken a 4-2 lead in the top of the ninth of the seven-inning affair on Ridley’s two-run double following two-out singles by Casals and Bramanti.
Donnie Cahoon drew a lead-off walk off Matt Pushard to start the Hartford rally in the ninth and UMaine closer Trevor DeLaite came on and walked Ramsay. Carmody moved them over with a sacrifice and Thrasher’s sacrifice fly made it a one-run game before Olson’s triple and the error.
RBI singles in the first and fourth by Bramanti and Ryan Turenne supplied UMaine with a pair of one-run leads but Hartford answered with runs in the second and fourth on Ramsay’s RBI groundout following a Cohoon’s double and wild pitch and a Devin Kellogg sacrifice fly after an Ashton Bardzell triple.
Will Nowak allowed two runs and four hits in three innings of relief but picked up the win. Sebastian DiMauro tossed six innings of seven-hit, two-run ball.
Bramanti, Turenne and Ridley each had a pair of hits for UMaine. Cody Laweryson threw seven innings of five-hit two-run ball before being relieved by Pushard and DeLaite. The two runs off DeLaite were the first runs he had allowed over his last eight outings.
In the wild opener, DeLaite registered the victory with two innings of hitless, scoreless relief and Casals’ two-run double capped a four-run sixth-inning rally that supplied the Black Bears with a 10-6 lead after they had squandered a 5-0 lead.
Kevin Doody opened the sixth inning with a base hit and Omohundro followed with another one before Hernen Sardinas walked. An error by second baseman Kellogg allowed the first two runs to score before Casals doubled down the left-field line.
Hartford answered with three in the bottom of the sixth on Kellogg’s two-run single and Cohoon’s RBI base hit but Matt Geoffrion worked his way out of further trouble.
UMaine scored what proved to be the winning run in the seventh on Turenne’s double and Omohundro’s RBI single.
DeLaite came on in relief in the bottom of the seventh after Geoffrion walked a batted and hit another.
Following a double steal, DeMartino hit a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game. But DeLaite induced a groundout and liner to center to end the inning and retired all three hitters in the ninth.
Omohundro paced UMaine’s 15-hit attack with three singles. Caleb Kerbs belted a two-run homer and also had a single, Ridley and Turenne each doubled and singled, Sardinas singled twice and Casals doubled and drove in three.