April 18, 2011
Box Score Game 1 | Box Score Game 2
After suffering an early 6-2 loss to the Assumption Greyhounds in Northeast-10 softball action on Monday, the UMass Lowell River Hawks bounced back with a resounding 9-1 victory in the later game of the afternoon. Sophomore 2B Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, Mass.) blasted a pair of home runs, one in each game, en route to going 4-7 from the plate with two RBI and three runs on the day.
With the split, UMass Lowell improves to 21-17 on the year with a 7-9 mark in conference play. Assumption now stands at 18-11 overall with a 12-6 clip in NE-10 action.
In the early game, a late-game surge by the Greyhounds lifted Assumption over UMass Lowell. The squads were tied at two apiece entering the bottom of the sixth, but a four-run frame by the Greyhounds was too much for UMass Lowell to overcome.
Greyhound P Jennifer Lowrey allowed just two runs in the complete game effort. She struck out nine on the day, while River Hawk 2B MacKenzie was most successful against her. The sophomore went 2-4 from the plate with an RBI and a run scored.
UMass Lowell pitching duties were split between Rachel Schafler (Floral Park, N.Y.) and Elyssa Boris (Gardner, Mass.), who picked up the loss and fell to 14-14 on the year. Schafler went 3 1/3, allowing two runs on six hits, while Boris threw 2 2/3, allowing four runs - two earned - on five hits.
Assumption struck first, scoring in the bottom of the first, but UMass Lowell tied the game at one apiece in the third on a solo home run by MacKenzie. Assumption came back with another run in the bottom of the frame and the River Hawks once again tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Ashley Daniels (Medford, Mass.) before the Greyhounds came up with their four-run bottom of the inning for the win.
UMass Lowell came back, determined and defiant in the second game, going on to earn the decisive 9-1 victory over the Greyhounds. Schafler threw the complete game, improving to 7-2 on the year, allowing just one run on eight hits. She struck out five in the game. Assumption's Chelsea Durso earned the loss.
The River Hawks wasted no time, getting on board with four runs in the top of the first. MacKenzie led off with her second home run of the day, followed by an RBI single from junior Caelyn Ford (Dracut, Mass.). Freshman Ali Ferraro (Kingston, N.Y.) stepped up next and knocked in two runs with a single to center field.
The game quieted down until the sixth, when senior Heather Ross (Waltham, Mass.) brought home Meagan Guy (Berlin, Conn.) on a single to center and Boris notched an RBI on a double to right center. Assumption came back with one run in the bottom of the stanza, but that was all the offense they were able to muster in the game.
The River Hawks put an exclamation point on their victory with a three-run seventh, as Daniels hit a two-run single to right and Guy brought Ferraro home on a sacrifice bunt.
The River Hawks will continue their road stretch with a pair of games at Bentley tomorrow afternoon. They will face the Falcons for a conference doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. before returning to River View Field for their final three road games of the regular season beginning on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Saint Rose.
