April 21, 2010

Box Score Game 1 | Box Score Game 2

The UMass Lowell River Hawks (17-20, 9-9 Northeast-10) swept the Bentley Falcons (11-15, 8-10 NE-10) in conference action on Wednesday afternoon on River View Field. Senior Heather Ross (Waltham, MA) hit a walkoff double in the bottom of the seventh in the first game to give the River Hawks the 9-8 victory, while Elyssa Boris’ (Gardner, MA) three-run homerun in the third inning of the second game marked her ninth of the year, tying the school record.

Freshman P Alyssa Bryan (Stoneham, MA) earned a pair of victories on the mound during the doubleheader, including a personal-best nine strikeouts in the second game. Classmate Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, MA) finished the day 4-7 with five runs and four RBI and fellow rookie Brianna Mahoney (Billerica, MA) went 5-8 with three runs and pair of RBI on the day.

In the first game, senior Katie Hebert (Lowell, MA) led off with a triple off the wall in right center and freshman MacKenzie followed up with a sacrifice fly to left field that brought home the centerfielder to give the River Hawks the 1-0 lead early on. Fellow freshman Mahoney singled immediately after and was brought home by a Boris double to right field, as the River Hawks finished the first with the two-run advantage.

The Falcons caught up to UMass Lowell, tying the game at two apiece in the top of the third, but the River Hawks answered back as Bryan hit a single through the right side that was misread by the rightfielder. Her hit brought home MacKenzie and thanks to heads up baserunning, Bryan scored on the play, as well. Sophomore C Lindsi Panarelli (Shrewsbury, MA) singled through the left side and stole second before senior Heather Ross (Waltham, MA) brought her home with a double down the left field line to bring home the catcher and finish the inning with the 5-2 lead. MacKenzie was stellar defensively for UMass Lowell, as well, making a pair of diving saves in the top of the fourth to help keep the ball in the infield and the Falcons off the bases.

Bentley could not do the same in the bottom of the inning, as the River Hawks tallied three more runs in the fourth. UMass Lowell capitalized on multiple miscues by Bentley, as sophomore SS Meagan Guy (Berlin, CT) reached on an error and Hebert singled through the right side and advanced to second on the throw. MacKenzie stepped up to the plate, singled and advanced on the Bentley throw, bringing home Guy and Hebert in the process. Designated player Bryan singled up the middle and stole second before advancing to third on a wild pitch, which scored MacKenzie and put the River Hawks up 8-2 before inning’s end.

The Falcons fought back in the top of the fifth, however, tallying three runs to bring the game back within three down the stretch and then again enjoying a late-game rally with three more runs in the top of the seventh.

With the game tied at eight in the final frame, Boris singled through the left side and Ashley Daniels (Medford, MA) pinch ran for her. Panarelli reached on a fielder’s choice, while Stephanie Rollo (Dracut, MA) also pinch ran in the inning. Senior 1B Ross stepped to the plate and doubled to right center, advancing to third on the throw and scoring Rollo for the River Hawks’ 16th win of the year.

Sophomore P Boris started the early game, going 6.1 innings before being relieved by Bryan when the Falcons tied the game at eight apiece in the top of the seventh. Boris allowed 10 hits in the game and eight runs (six earned), while Bryan threw a perfect 2/3 of an inning, stopping the Bentley comeback in its tracks. Bentley’s Tara Fogarty started the game for the Falcons and pitched 3.1 innings before Ashley Messina relieved her in the fourth. Fogarty allowed 11 hits and eight runs, while Messina let up just one run, the game-winner, in the seventh. With the loss, Messina fell to 2-5 on the year.

In the second game, the River Hawks fell 3-0 in the first, before retaliating with a four-run third inning. MacKenzie started the inning with a single, before Mahoney did the same. Bryan reached on a Bentley error, scoring MacKenzie and advancing Mahoney. Then Boris came to the plate and blasted hit her ninth homer of the year, a three-run dinger, to put her squad back on top and tie her with Stacey Lajoie (2009) for most homeruns by a River Hawk in a single season, which Lajoie set in 2006.

Not finished yet, UMass Lowell tacked on another run in the fourth as Boris picked up another RBI with a double to score MacKenzie and finish the inning with a 5-3 lead.

Again in the fifth, the River Hawks’ bats came alive, as they strung together a five-run inning. Hebert tallied an RBI on a single to center, while a fielder’s choice by MacKenzie scored Guy. Mahoney blasted a base-clearing, two-run double, as well and classmate Bryan’s single to third eventually brought her home to cap the big inning.

Bryan was strong on the mound for the River Hawks, allowing just two hits after the first inning and striking out nine in the contest. She picked up her second victory of the day and eighth of the year after allowing just three runs and four hits in the complete game effort in the second tilt. Bentley’s Carly Taitz fell to 4-3 on the year with the loss. She pitched 3.2 innings and allowed five runs on ten hits in the game. She was relieved by Messina, who allowed five runs on five hits in 2.1 innings of work.

Next up for the River Hawks will complete their homestand with a doubleheader against American International, rescheduled from last Saturday, beginning at 3:00 p.m. They will then head to New York this weekend for games at Saint Rose and Le Moyne on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.