May 1, 2011
Box Score
Junior P/DH Elyssa Boris (Gardner, Mass.) batted 3 for 8 with five RBI while sophomore 2B Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, Mass.) went 4 for 9 with four runs and two RBI to lead UMass Lowell to a sweep of Adelphi, 5-2 and 10-3, Sunday in a Northeast-10 softball twin bill in Garden City, N.Y.
With the sweep, UMass Lowell improved to 33-18 overall and 19-10 in the Conference (fifth place) and will host No. 8 Southern New Hampshire (19-25 overall, 17-13 NE-10) Tuesday at 4:00 in the NE-10 Tournament first round.
Adelphi (27-23, 19-11 NE-10) earned the No. 6 seed and will host No. 7 Le Moyne (18-20-1, 16-10-1 NE-10) Tuesday.
The winners of Tuesday's games move on to the NE-10 double elimination round Friday through Sunday at No. 1 Assumption College (27-16, 21-9 NE-10). Assumption, No. 2 Southern Connecticut (27-18, 20-10 NE-10), No. 3 Merrimack (25-18, 20-10 NE-10) and No. 4 New Haven (32-15, 20-10) each received a bye into the elimination rounds.
The victories were the 11th and 12th straight for UMass Lowell, which needed both wins to secure home field advantage for the NE-10 Tournament. The seeding is all the more remarkable considering the River Hawks suffered through a 10-31-1 season just two years ago.
Since slipping to an 18-15 record on Apr. 12 following losses to Southern Connecticut and Saint Michael's, UMass Lowell has gone 15-3 since.
"We're doing all the little things we need to," said UML Head Coach Sean Cotter, in his second year. "I think our kids were looking too far ahead to the point where we might not have anything to look forward to. When we were 7-10 in the Conference, I asked the kids to just totally buy into the system, and they've done that. We are taking care of the little details.
"I think the sky is the limit for us at the moment," Cotter added. "We're certainly playing our best ball right now at the end of the season. As a coach, that's when you want to be playing your best ball."
In the opener, UMass Lowell scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back en route to the win. Boris highlighted the inning with a two-run double and later reached home on an error.
The Panthers pulled back two runs, an RBI single by sophomore LF Amy Ogden in the third and a run by sophomore CF Emily Dorko, who had singled and reached home on an error.
The River Hawks, however, added two more in the seventh behind another two-run double from Boris, who batted 2 for 4 with four RBI, two doubles and a run. Senior 1B Heather Ross (Waltham, Mass.) hit 2 for 3 with a run.
Senior Rachel Schafler (Floral Park, N.Y.) improved to 12-3 as she surrendered eight hits, one earned run and a walk. Boris earned the save as she closed the seventh inning.
Dorko led Adelphi, hitting 3 for 4 with two runs while Ogden and senior 3B Shay Craig each batted 2 for 4. Senior P Leighann Bell took the loss and slipped to 14-13.
In the rematch, UMass Lowell erupted for nine runs in the third inning, highlighted by a two-run double by MacKenzie and RBI singles by sophomore CF Ashley Daniels (Medford, Mass.) and Boris.
Adelphi scored one run in the fourth behind an RBI single by senior C Deanna Leo and two more in the fifth behind sophomore SS Jeanine Leo.
MacKenzie led UMass Lowell, hitting 3 for 5 with three runs and two RBI while junior C Lindsi Panarelli (Shrewsbury, Mass.) went 2 for 4 with two RBI and a run. Daniels also went 2 for 4 with one run and one RBI.
Boris improved to 21-14 with the win as she scattered four hits, no walks, no earned runs and two strikeouts over four innings. Schafler went the final three innings and allowed four hits, two earned runs and a walk while striking out one.
Deanna Leo batted 2 for 4 with two RBI while Jeanine Leo hit 2 for 3 with one RBI. Bell suffered the loss and slipped to 14-14 as she allowed six hits, six earned runs and no walks while strikeout four over 2.2 innings.
