April 13, 2010
Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 2)
UMass Lowell Head Coach Sean Cotter picked up his 300th career victory, as the River Hawks (13-19, 6-8 Northeast-10) split a doubleheader at Saint Michael’s (8-16, 3-11 NE-10) this afternoon in conference action in Colchester, VT. UMass Lowell earned a decisive, 9-1, victory in the first game of the afternoon before falling to the Purple Knights 6-2 in the second tilt of the day.
Sophomore P Elyssa Boris (Gardner, MA), who was named to this week’s NE-10 Weekly Honor Roll, continued her strong play of late and improved to 6-6 on the year after the first game. The River Hawks took care of the Purple Knights in just five innings, as Boris threw the complete game. She allowed just two hits and one run in the victory, also striking out three batters.
The River Hawks converted 13 hits to nine runs and did not commit an error in the early game, breaking the tilt open 4-0 in the third inning, thanks to solid offense by two freshmen. Both 3B Bri Mahoney (Billerica, MA) and C Katie Mazure (Burlington, MA) notched doubles for the River Hawks, as Mahoney tallied one RBI and Mazure knocked in two. Mahoney finished the day 2-3, while Mazure went 1-2.
In the fourth inning, Alyssa Bryan (Stoneham, MA) hit her seventh homerun of the season out of the park, while her three-run blast was part of a five-run inning for the River Hawks. Senior CF Katelyn Hebert (Lowell, MA) also picked up an RBI, while 2B Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, MA), who went 2-3 in the game, knocked in a run as well.
Saint Michael’s Steph Frank fell to 5-8 on the year after pitching 3 1/3 innings, allowing all nine River Hawk runs on 11 hits. She struck out three and did not walk any batters.
In the second game of the afternoon, the Purple Knights jumped to a 2-0 lead to start the contest and the River Hawks did not tie the game until the top of the fifth inning. The lone UMass Lowell offense came from a two-run Bryan triple in the inning, but the Purple Knights answered back with four runs in the bottom of the frame to go up 6-2. They held onto the lead through the final two innings, earning their eighth victory of the year.
Bryan pitched 5 1/3 innings of the game, allowing two runs and three hits, striking out four. She was relieved by Boris, who pitched just 2/3 of an inning and allowing four runs on five hits, taking her sixth loss of the year. Purple Knights pitcher Kelly Egan picked up her third victory of the year with the complete game performance.
Cotter is in his first year at the helm of the UMass Lowell program and had previously amassed a career record of 287-186 in his first 11 years of coaching at Plattsburgh State and Post University. The River Hawks' 13th victory of the season marked the impressive 300-win benchmark for the coach.
Following their six-game road stretch, the River Hawks are returning home for seven contests beginning with a doubleheader against Assumption on Thursday at 3/5:00 p.m. on River View Field.
