Box Score

Junior James Katsiroubas (Milton, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI to lead UMass Lowell baseball past Southern New Hampshire, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in Manchester, NH.

The River Hawks improved to 25-17-1 on the season and 13-11-1 in the Northeast-10. The win also boosted sixth-place UMass Lowell to 8-9 in the Northeast Division, gaining ground on one of the four divisional playoff spots—two games back of Bentley. The Penmen slip to 36-12 overall, 19-10 in the NE-10 and 12-9 in the Northeast Division.

The games opened as a pitching duel, with play flying through the first four innings. River Hawk starter James Hamilton (Harwich, Mass.) allowed five hits and three walks, but was able to keep home plate clean. His counterpart, Tim Flight (Portsmouth, R.I.), held UMass Lowell hitless and walked just one while striking out eight in the first four frames.

The River Hawks snapped the no-hitter in the fifth after Mark Sanborn (Hopkinton, Mass.) led the inning off with an infield single. He was moved into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, but was stranded at second after Flight managed back-to-back strikeouts to escape unscathed.

Reliever Dallas Nunes (Easton, Mass.) took over on the mound for UMass Lowell in the bottom of the fifth. Nunes found his rhythm immediately, setting down the Penmen 1-2-3.

Southern New Hampshire blinked first as the River Hawks broke the scoreless streak in the sixth. With two outs, freshman Geoff DeGroot (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) walked and senior Cam Kneeland (Rowley, Mass.) singled to put runners on first and second. Katsiroubas delivered in the clutch with RBI single to center field to grant UMass Lowell a 1-0 lead.

The Penmen evened the game at 1-1 in the seventh, scoring on a one-run single to center field by Riley Palmer (Goffstown, N.H.). A second runner tried to score on the play, but senior Matt Jacobs (Hudson, Mass.) threw him out at home to limit the damage.

UMass Lowell fired right back in the eighth, capitalizing on an error and a walk to put a pair of runners on base. Kneeland came through with a single down the right field line to score Jacobs. On the next play Katsiroubas followed with a single through the left side of the infield to plate DeGroot and push the score to the eventual final of 3-1.

Nunes (4-3) picked up the win on the mound, tossing five innings while allowing three hits, one run and three walks.

The River Hawks won't have to wait long for their next game as they host Stonehill College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at LeLacheur Park.