April 16, 2011
Box Score
Box Score Game 1 | Box Score Game 2
The UMass Lowell softball team picked up its 20th win of the year in an 8-0 victory over the American International Yellow Jackets on Saturday morning in Springfield. The River Hawks went on to drop a 4-1 decision in the afternoon game of the conference doubleheader.
UMass Lowell currently stands at 20-16 on the year and 6-8 in Northeast-10 play, while the Yellow Jackets own a 14-16 record overall and 10-6 conference clip.
The first game was decided in six innings, after both teams remained scoreless through the first two frames. The River Hawks then steadily built their offense, beginning with two runs in the third on a two-run single from junior C Lindsi Panarelli (Shrewsbury, Mass.).
In the fourth, sophomore 2B Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, Mass.) brought home CF Ashley Daniels (Medford, Mass.) on a single, while 1B Heather Ross (Waltham, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice to score Meagan Guy (Berlin, Conn.) to make it a 4-0 UMass Lowell lead.
They followed up with one run in the fifth as Guy hit a sacrifice fly to score junior Caelyn Ford (Dracut, Mass.).
Three runs in the sixth, part of the constant flow of runs, were all the River Hawks needed to end the game early with an eight-run advantage. Ford stepped up to the plate with bases loaded, doubling up the middle to clear the bases and bring home junior P Elyssa Boris (Gardner, Mass.), sophomore RF Katie Mazure (Burlington, Mass.) and Panarelli.
Boris started, earning her 14th win of the year after pitching two innings and allowing two hits. She was relieved by senior P Rachel Schafler (Floral Park, N.Y.), who pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. AIC's Elizabeth Habib fell to 5-5 on the year with the loss.
The River Hawks' fate would not be the same in the second game, though, as they were unable to muster as much offense against the Yellow Jackets.
American International went up 2-0 in the bottom of the third, but UMass Lowell cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth when Guy blasted another sacrifice fly to score Ford and put UMass Lowell on the board.
The Yellow Jackets answered back with another two runs in the bottom of the inning, though, and UMass Lowell was unable to score again before the game was over.
Boris and Schafler again split pitching duties, each allowing two runs in three innings of work apiece. Boris fell to 14-13 on the year with the loss, while AIC's Kristen Dolan picked up the win.
MacKenzie went 4-7 on the afternoon with a run and an RBI, while Ford went 3-6 with three RBI and two runs scored.
The River Hawks will head to Worcester, Mass. tomorrow for a doubleheader against the Greyhounds beginning at noon. They will continue with their third consecutive day of games on Monday, when they play a non-conference tilt against the Tufts Jumbos at 11 a.m. in Medford, Mass.
