March 13, 2011

Box Score

Blanking opponents with a combined score of 16-0, the UMass Lowell softball team collected a pair of wins over Wilmington (Del.) (6-0) and Philadelphia (10-0) to begin their 12-game stay in Florida on Sunday morning. With the victories, the River Hawks improve to 5-3 on the year.

The squad began the morning with a 6-0 win over Wilmington, as junior pitcher Elyssa Boris (Gardner, Mass.) pitched the complete game shutout of the Wildcats, picking up her third victory of the year. The hurler struck out six and walked two in the win.

Sophomore Brianna Mahoney (Billerica, Mass.) went 2-4 in the game with a single and a triple, while senior Hilary Hopkins (San Diego, Calif.) also went 2-4 with a pair of singles.

The squad tallied three runs in the second inning and never looked back, finishing strong with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to cap the 6-0 victory over the Wildcats.

Boris started the second game, a 10-0 win over Philadelphia, and was relieved by senior Rachel Schafler (Floral Park, N.Y.) in the fourth. Schafler came in to pitch two scoreless innings. Boris threw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one, while Schafler pitched two unblemised innings with three strikeouts and one hit.

In the second set, the UMass Lowell offense exploded, tying a program-best with three homeruns in the clash. Boris, senior Heather Ross (Waltham, Mass.) and junior Caelyn Ford (Dracut, Mass.) all blasted homers to lift the River Hawks to their decisive fifth win of the year. The last time the River Hawk power-hitters had such a strong showing was on April 7, 2010 against Southern New Hampshire, while this marks the fifth time in program history the squad has combined for three longballs in a single game.

The River Hawks started steadily with their first run in the bottom of the first, breaking the game wide open with a five-run third and following up with another four runs in the fourth.

Ross finished the game 3-3 with two singles in addition to her homerun, while Ford went 2-2, adding a single to her homerun.  Ford finished the game with three RBI, as did Mahoney.

The squad will continue its quest in the Sunshine State with a doubleheader against Molloy beginning at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

vs. Wilmington:

                           1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E

UMass Lowell      0   3   0   0   0   2   1    6   6   1

Wilmington         0   0   0   0   0   0   0    0   2   4

 

vs. Philadelphia

                           1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E

Philadelphia        0   0   0   0   0   X   X    0   2   0

UMass Lowell      1   0   5   4   X   X   X   10  12  1