Hartford softball has found its groove heading into the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Brian Izzo | The Informer
For the first time since the 2007 season, the University of Hartford softball team is bound for the America East championships after a three-game sweep of conference opponents UMBC over the weekend in Maryland.
Outstanding pitching was the story of the series, as Hartford (12-29, 8-7 AE) held UMBC to a total of one run over a 23-inning span, with the lone run coming in the fourth inning of the second game of the series.
In a game that went extra innings on Sunday, both teams were held without a run in the first seven innings before senior shortstop Kate Wacyk stepped to the plate in the eighth and became the catalyst for the Hartford offense.
After hits from Erica Phelps and Amber Andrews put runners in scoring position, Jenice Aloyo struck out, which put Wacyk in a position to do what no Hartford player had been able to do all day, send a runner across home plate.
Wacyk did just enough as she grounded into a fielder’s choice to the shortstop, which allowed Phelps to score from third and finally tally a run on the board for Hartford as pitching had dominated all afternoon. Andrews would score on a wild pitch from third with two outs in the top of the eighth to make it 2-0 going into the bottom half of extra frames where Zuzana Kudernatschova would retire the side in order to clinch a bid in the upcoming conference tournament.
On the afternoon, Kudernatschova allowed only a single hit as she pitched the entire game to improve her record on the season to 12-12, but has been the ace of the staff as far as consistency goes.
On Saturday, Hartford was able to cruise past the Golden Retrievers 6-0 in the first game and 2-1 in the second game. The Hawks never trailed against UMBC all weekend as timely hitting and dominating pitching performances summed up the Hawks’ success, as well as their season as a whole.
Turning the most double plays in the conference on defense, Hartford has been able to manufacture wins within the conference in an impressive manner while keeping games close enough to where at any moment, their offense could click, putting any opponent on their heels.
With five games left in the regular season, two against Marist and three against conference opponent Maine, Hartford’s seed in the tournament can only improve as they current rank fourth in the America East with an 8-7 conference record. What’s unique about this Hartford softball squad is that they haven’t performed well in their out-of-conference games, sitting at an 11-22 mark, but they’re taking care of business within the conference, which is all that counts.
Hartford has yet to play Maine (7-37, 3-12 AE) this season, but riding momentum into the conference tournament will be crucial for the Hawks as they look to make a splash against higher seeded opponents.
The Hawks take on Marist for their double-header on Thursday, May 2 starting at 2:30p.m. in New York, then head up north to Maine in their season finale games against Maine this weekend.
America East conference play begins on Thursday, May 9 with the teams and locations to be determined, but all we know is that the Hartford Hawks have risen into the tournament itself.