Box Score    Junior James Katsiroubas (Milton, Mass.) slugged four RBI to lead the UMass Lowell baseball team past Stonehill College, 14-6, in its 2012 home opener on Wednesday afternoon at LeLacheur Park.
    The River Hawks improved to 13-7-1 overall with the win, 3-1-1 in the Northeast-10 and 1-0 in the Northeast Division. The Skyhawks drop to 14-9 on the year, 2-3 in the conference and 0-1 in the division.
    Starter Dallas Nunes (Easton, Mass.) got the game off on the right start, striking out the side in the first with a combination of speed and finesse that kept the Skyhawks off balance.
    The River Hawks responded by working the Stonehill starter, Kyle Shepard (Boxford, Mass.), for a 41-pitch first inning and one run. Junior James Katsiroubas (Milton, Mass.) ripped a two-out single into center to score senior Cam Kneeland (Rowley, Mass.) from second base.
Katsiroubas broke the game open in the third inning, bringing home a pair of runners with a two RBI single into left-center. A few batters later Pat Devlin (Tewksbury, Mass.) singled and a run came home on an error in left field. Matthew Sanchez (Sunrise, Fla.) followed with an RBI single and Jacob O'Keefe (Wellington, Fla.) added a two-run single to extend the lead to 7-0.
    The Skyhawks responded in the top of the fourth, tallying an RBI double off the bat of Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Mass.) and a RBI single from Billy Karalis (Pawtucket, R.I.).
    UMass Lowell added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a RBI single from senior Mark Sanborn (Hopkinton, Mass.) and an RBI double from rookie Jimmy Ricoy (Lowell, Mass.).
    Katsiroubas extended the lead to 11-2 in the seventh with an RBI single to the third baseman, who made a strong play to knock the ball down.
    The River Hawks picked up their final three runs in the eighth, scoring on a wild pitch and two-run double from Kneeland.
Stonehill would be heard from one final time in the ninth, plating four runs to cut the final score to 14-6. Among the hits, Michael White (Lisbon, N.H.) and Karalis each knocked RBI doubles and Fratus collected a one-run single.
    Nunes (1-2) totaled seven innings of work, spreading out nine hits and two earned runs as he marched towards the victory. Nunes struck out a season-high nine batters. He was relieved by Mike Sloban (Merrimac, Mass.) and Greg Leger (Bridgewater, Mass.), who tossed an inning each. Sloban held Stonehill hitless, while Leger allowed four hits and four runs.
    UMass Lowell stays at home this weekend, hosting Franklin Pierce on Saturday and Sunday. The clubs will play a double-header on Saturday at 12 p.m., then a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.