QUINCY, Ill. - The Hawks got their home stand started with a bang, taking game one over the Colorado School of Mines 20-4 on Friday afternoon (Feb. 28).

Quincy wasted zero time getting the offense going, as they found themselves with a two-run lead three batters into the game courtesy of a big fly to center field from David Broughton. The Hawks added two more after run-scoring singles from Isaiah Fudge and Carson Moreno. A five-run bottom of the first was capped off with an RBI fielders choice from Jake Vitale.

A quick top half of the second from the Hawks starter Kade Ruffner put the Hawks back up to the plate. Fudge singled up the middle for his second RBI hit in as many innings to make it 6-0 Quincy. One batter later, Moreno ripped a line drive to right field for two more RBIs, as the Hawks had a commanding 8-0 lead after two innings. 

The Orediggers scored their first run of the game in the top of the third with an RBI single, but the Hawks responded with another five spot in the home half. Matt Mateo drove in the first run of the inning with a single to right field with the bases loaded. Broughton earned his third RBI the painful way, driving in a run with a hit-by-pitch. Two more runs were scored for the Hawks after a fielder's choice, and aggressive baserunning in a first and third situation made it 13-1 after three. 

For the fourth straight inning, the Hawks found themselves in the scoring column, putting up their third five spot of the game. Mateo drove in his second and third RBI of the game with a single to left field. A few batters later, Joe Huffman got a hold of one and sent it into the jet stream for a three-run homer over the right field wall for his first home run of the season.

Ruffner surrendered his second run scoring single in the top of the fifth, but continued to limit the Mines offense. His day eventually came to a close after struggling to find the strike zone in the sixth. Ruffner finished the afternoon with 5.1 innings pitched, giving up three runs on five hits, five walks, and striking out three.

Heading to the bottom of the sixth, Huffman added on to a fantastic day at the plate, depositing another ball over the right field wall for his second home run of the day to cap off the offensive field day for the Hawks. Huffman finished the game with three hits and six runs driven in.

CSOM added one more run in the top of the seventh, but it was not enough to keep the game from coming to a close after seven innings with a final of 20-4. Eight of the nine starters for the Hawks found the hit column, including five players with multi-hit days. Ruffner earned his first win of the young season, moving his record to 1-1. 

The Hawks will have doubleheader action tomorrow against the Orediggers, with the first pitch of game one scheduled for 12:00 PM.