Box Score Senior pitcher Tyler Toyfair (Agawam, Mass.) led the River Hawks past Adelphi, 4-2, in a non-conference clash at the Santaluces Sports Complex in Lantana, FL on Friday afternoon.
UMass Lowell improved to 9-6 on the 2012 season, running its current win streak to four games. The Panthers dropped to 6-4 on the year. The two clubs will rematch tomorrow at 12 p.m. in UMass Lowell's final game of its annual Florida trip.
The River Hawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Matt Jacobs (Hudson, Mass.) led off with a single, eventually coming home on an error by the first baseman.
Adelphi countered with a run in the bottom half of the first, scoring Anthony Zarrella (Holbrook, N.Y.) on a wild pitch.
UMass Lowell eventually reclaimed the lead in the fourth, carrying the advantage to the end. James Katsiroubas (Milton, Mass.) and Mark Sanborn (Hopkinton, Mass.) knocked a pair of one-out hits. Freshman Jimmy Ricoy (Lowell, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Katsiroubas and sophomore James Hamilton (Harwich, Mass.) singled home Sanborn.
The River Hawks pushed the lead to 4-1 in the fifth as senior Bryan Deuel (Webster, N.Y.) scored on an error by the first baseman.
Adelphi made a small rally in the seventh, scoring the game's final run on a fielder's choice by Chad Houghton (Plymouth, Mass.), bringing home Jacob Beard (Perth, Australia).
Toyfair (2-0) was spectacular on the mound, throwing 6.1 innings in the win. He allowed five hits, two runs, two walks and struck out eight batters. Classmate Dallas Nunes (Easton, Mass.) picked up his third save of the year in relief, rendering Adelphi hitless in 2.2 innings of work and striking out one batter.
UMass Lowell recorded just six hits, but made them count. Hamilton finished 1-for-4 with an RBI, while Ricoy went 0-for-3 with an RBI.