May 2, 2010
Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 2)
Photo Gallery: 2010 UMass Lowell Softball Senior Day
Despite falling to the Adelphi Panthers (30-22, 18-12 Northeast-10) by scores of 9-1 and 10-3 on Sunday afternoon at home, the UMass Lowell River Hawks (23-26, 15-15 NE-10) will compete in the 2010 NE-10 Conference Tournament beginning Tuesday afternoon.
As the final home games of the regular season, he squad celebrated the achievements of senior Katie Hebert (Lowell, MA) and longtime head coach and current Associate Head Coach Harry Sauter in a pregame ceremony.
In the first game of the afternoon, a 9-1 loss in six innings, UMass Lowell took a 1-0 lead when sophomore P Elyssa Boris (Gardner, MA) blasted her 12th homerun of the year to left center in the second. The River Hawks stranded a runner in the third and had a runner called out at home, leaving their advantage at one.
In the top of the fourth, the Panthers pieced together a one-run inning, after stranding two baserunners. They tallied another run in the fifth, finishing the inning with a 2-1 lead, while the River Hawks helped stifle Adelphi's offense by holding a runner on third to finish the inning.
The top of the sixth was the inning that did the River Hawks in, however, as the Panthers capitalized on several UMass Lowell miscues and racked up seven runs in the frame. Adelphi finished the top half of the inning with an eight-run, 9-1 advantage.
Boris pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed eight runs - none of them earned - on five hits. She struck out two batters and walked one. With the loss, she falls to 10-11 on the year. Adelphi's Christine Robinson picked up her 12th victory of the year after allowing just one run and three hits in six innings of work.
In the second game of the day, the Panthers jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but freshman P Alyssa Bryan (Stoneham, MA) prevented any further damage by striking striking out the final two batters of the inning.
The Panthers again came up with a big third inning, piecing together five runs before Bryan was relieved by Marissa Fiorentino (Tewksbury, MA) with two outs. Fiorentino closed out the inning without allowing a run, striking out the second Adelphi batter she faced.
The River Hawks then retaliated in the bottom of the inning, as Meagan Guy (Berlin, CT) reached on an illegal pitch and Hebert followed up with a walk. Freshman Brianna Mahoney (Billerica, MA) singled to centerfield, bringing home Guy and advancing to second on the throw, while Hebert settled on third. Boris stepped up to the plate, singling up the middle to bring home Mahoney and Hebert before the inning came to a close and the River Hawks were back within two.
Adelphi came back with a three run fourth inning, spreading the lead back to five runs (8-3), but the squad stranded three runners, as Boris came in mid-inning to eventually retire the side and freeze the rally. The Panthers finally settled on a 10-3 victory after two runs in the top of the seventh.
The entire River Hawk pitching staff contributed in the game, but Bryan picked up the loss to fall to 11-10 on the year. Adelphi's Leighann Bell pitched the complete game, allowing three runs on seven hits. Rachel Schafler (Floral Park, NY) pitched 2/3 of an inning, allowing one hit and no runs, striking out a pair of batters.
Hebert finished the game 1-3 with a run scored and a walk, while Heather Ross (Waltham, MA) went 2-3 in the second game.
With the pair of losses, the River Hawks finish the regular season at 23-26 overall with an even 15-15 mark in NE-10 Conference action. They will begin the conference tournament on Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. as they take on the Greyhounds of Assumption College in Worcester.
