March 13, 2011

Box Score

UMass Lowell swept a split double-header on Sunday afternoon in Lantana, FL. The River Hawks held off St. Michael's, 2-1, and then outlasted Philadelphia in 12 innings for a 5-1 victory.

In the midst of a seven-game winning streak, tying last year's season-high, UMass Lowell has improved to 7-1 on the young season. The team is also 3-0 on its annual Florida trip. The Purple Knights fall to 0-1 following their season opener and the Rams drop to 0-8 on their campaign.

"We're riding a seven-game winning streak and we really haven't found our stride at the plate yet," said head coach Ken Harring. "When we start swinging the bats this team could be really good and I hope that our four-run 12th inning can spark that change for us."

In day's first game against St. Michael's, the River Hawks jumped out to an early lead on a James Katsiroubas (Milton, Mass.) solo home run to left-center in the fourth. The deep ball was Katsiroubas' first in a UMass Lowell uniform--he would finish the game 2-for-3 while also being hit with a pitch.

St. Michael's got the run back in the sixth, scoring on a sacrifice fly from Nick Nelson (Spofford, N.H.).

Outfielder Matt Jacobs (Hudson, Mass.) gave the River Hawks a jolt in the eighth after he connected on a lead-off double. Jacobs was moved over to third on a ground out by Sean Burns (Colchester, Vt.), then brought home on a sacrifice fly by Cam Kneeland (Rowley, Mass.). The RBI marked the second consecutive day that Kneeland knocked in the game-winning run.

Mike Sloban (Merrimac, Mass.) started on the mound for the River Hawks, pitching into the six inning while allowing one run and striking out seven.

Taylor Robinson (Haverhill, Mass.) took over, earning his first win of the season with three innings of scoreless ball, while Bryant Guilmette (Hopkinton, Mass.) notched his first save.

In the nightcap, the game turned into a 1-1 stalemate after UMass Lowell nabbed its only run on a bases loaded walk by Jacobs in the second inning.

Starter Dustin Ramey (Kingston, N.H.) threw eight innings before handing the ball off to Tyler Toyfair (Agawam, Mass.) for the next three. Toyfair picked up the victory and let closer Dallas Nunes (Easton, Mass.) shut the door in a non-save situation.

After 11 innings of frustration at the plate, the River Hawks exploded in the top of the 12th. Jacobs, in similar fashion to the day's opener, put the offense in motion with a triple, followed by an RBI single from Burns. Kneeland kept pace with an RBI triple, only to be brought home on a single from Katsiroubas. The scoring outburst ended with an RBI double from Mark Sanborn (Hopkinton, Mass.).

UMass Lowell puts its win streak on the line tomorrow in another split double-header. The River Hawks battle Nyack at 11:30 p.m., then clash with Caldwell at 3 p.m.