April 22, 2011
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Freshman 3B Ali Ferraro (Kingston, N.Y.) went 3-3 with three RBI on two home runs in the River Hawks' 6-2 win over the Saint Rose Golden Knights in the first game of a conference doubleheader on Friday afternoon on River View Field. The squad went on to defeat Saint Rose in game two by a 6-1 score behind five RBI from senior 1B Heather Ross (Waltham, Mass.).
With the sweep, UMass Lowell improves to 24-18 on the year with an even 10-10 mark in conference play. The 24-win plateau surpasses last year's 23-win benchmark by season's end. Saint Rose falls to 7-24 overall with a 3-17 clip in Northeast-10 action.
The River Hawks got on the board early on an RBI double from Elyssa Boris (Gardner, Mass.) with no outs in the first, putting her squad up 1-0.
Saint Rose had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the third, but UMass Lowell held the Golden Knights to two runs in the frame.
Junior C Lindsi Panarelli (Shrewsbury, Mass.) came back with a quick home run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game back at two apiece.
Ferraro put UMass Lowell back on top 3-2 after leading off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run, her second of the year.
With the game-tying run on third and go-ahead at first, Ferraro made a hustling infield play to get the Golden Knights' batter out at first and preserve the 3-2 River Hawk lead entering the bottom of the sixth inning.
Ferraro came back with her second longball of the afternoon, a two-run shot that also scored junior Caelyn Ford (Dracut, Mass.), giving the River Hawks a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Ashley Daniels (Medford, Mass.) went on to score on a fielder's choice by Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, Mass.) to add more insurance for the River Hawks and they closed the inning up 6-2.
Senior Rachel Schafler (Floral Park, N.Y.) picked up the win, her ninth of the year. She threw five innings and allowed two runs, none earned, on five hits. She was relieved by Boris, who picked up her third save of the year. Saint Rose's Sarah Arbogast fell to 1-8 on the year with the loss.
After a 0-0 stalemate through the first two innings, Ross hit a two-run single through the right side to put UMass Lowell up 2-0 in the bottom of the third.
Ross came back the following frame to knock in a pair with a two-run triple to right field, making it 4-0 in favor of the River Hawks by the end of the fourth.
MacKenzie and Ross each added another RBI in the bottom of the sixth to cushion the River Hawk lead and make it a 6-0 ballgame.
Saint Rose came back with a run in the top of the seventh, but were unable to rally any more, as the River Hawks picked up their 24th victory of the year.
Schafler and Boris split pitching duties, combining for a four-hit masterpiece. Boris picked up the win, her 15th of the year, while Saint Rose's Mikayla Wells earned the loss.
The River Hawks are set to host the LeMoyne Dolphins tomorrow morning for a doubleheader on River View Field beginning at 8:30 a.m. The games, originally scheduled for noon, have been pushed up because of inclement weather forecast for the afternoon. They will go on to honor the four-member senior class prior to Monday's doubleheader against Saint Anselm, the final home contest of the regular season.
