WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- The UMass Lowell baseball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader against Hartford on Sunday afternoon at Fiondella Field. The Hawks narrowly took the first game 9-8 before notching an 11-4 win in the second contest.
 
Freshman Jimmy Sullivan (East Hampton, Conn.) stayed consistent at the plate, going 6-for-9 (.667) with a .778 slugging percentage. Sophomore catcher Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) and senior Vinnie Martin (Lodi, N.J.) each chipped in with .500 batting averages for the day, including two RBI for Proto. Redshirt-senior Cam Climo (Billerica, Mass.), who logged his seventh homer of the season, paced the team with a 1.000 slugging percentage.
 
Sullivan put the River Hawks on the board in the first inning of game one thanks to a RBI single to left, bringing in Martin who had previously walked. Both sides went three-up and three-down in the second, but UMass Lowell extended its margin to 4-0 in the third with the help of a hard-hit ball down to left by Climo and a 2 RBI double into center by Proto.
 
Responding in the home half, the Hawks would get their first run of the day on an RBI double, as well. However, the visitors would deepen the deficit in their next trip to the plate as Climo sent one yard over the left field wall for a three-run homer to give his squad the 7-1 scoring advantage.
 
Martin looked to extend UMass Lowell's margin in the fifth when he capitalized on an off target throw by the Hartford centerfielder to advance all the way to third, although the Hawks staunch pitching would extinguish any chances in the next at-bat.
 
Changing the momentum, the Hawks would put together an explosive sixth inning. Hartford would piece together eight runs on four hits, backed by a three-run long ball from Derek Tenney and the go-ahead two-run single from Tyler Cobb Jr., to pull ahead 9-7. The River Hawks would threaten in their last trip to the plate after they loaded the bases and sophomore Keagan Calero (Rochester, N.Y.) walked, however the Hartford defense would hang tough for the 9-8 victory.
 
The Hawks jumped in front, 1-0, in the first inning of game two with the help of a solo home run by John Thrasher. The hosts would then add one to their margin in the second thanks to their third bulls' eye of the day and two more runs in the fourth on a stolen base attempt and RBI single up the middle for a 4-0 advantage. Proto and sophomore Cedric Rose (Pittsfield, Mass.) logged one hit apiece for the River Hawks in the second and fourth innings, respectively.
 
Lowell was able to finally connect in the fifth, when senior Joey Castellanos (Nutley, N.J.) sent a sac fly out to left, plating freshman Roddy Hernandez (Jersey City, N.J.) after he led off with a walk, however the Hawks would produce the same situation in the bottom half to add one more to the deficit, 5-1.
 
Chipping away in the seventh, the River Hawks would collect one run after Castellanos pushed a single up the middle followed by a Climo double to bring him home. Retiring the Hartford lineup in order, UMass Lowell would carry their momentum into the eighth on an RBI single in the right field gap from Hernandez and a sac fly to left from Calero, cutting the difference 5-4.
 
Although, that would be as close as the River Hawks could get, as Hartford would piece together six runs on two hits in the bottom half to seal the deal, 11-4.
 
UMass Lowell wraps up their road run next weekend as they head to Orono, Maine for a battle with the Black Bears. First pitch is slated for 12 p.m.