Box Score

Four River Hawk relievers combined on six scoreless innings out of the bullpen in a season ending loss at Bentley University, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon. Nick Boutoures (Wilmington, Mass.), Bryant Guilmette (Hopkinton, Mass.), James Hamilton (Harwich, Mass.) and Dallas Nunes (Easton, Mass.) allowed just one hit over the final six frames.

UMass Lowell finishes the year with a 26-20-1 overall record, 14-14-1 mark in conference play and 9-12 record in the Northeast Division. The Falcons improved to 28-22 on the year, 20-9 in the Northeast-10 and 13-8 in the division.

“It was a disappointing way to end the season, but it wasn't from a lack of effort,” said head coach Ken Harring. “Our guys left everything on the field and it just didn't work out.”

“We've got a lot of good people coming back and we're excited about the new guys coming in next year—I'm looking forward to what the future holds.”

In a low scoring affair, Bentley cashed in two runs early for a lead that proved insurmountable. Nate Witkowski (Melrose, Mass.) drew a bases loaded walk with one out, followed by an RBI bunt single from Sean Keady (Norwood, Mass.) before starter Jake Finnegan (Londonderry, N.H.) induced an inning ending double play.

It took the River Hawks until the sixth inning to answer back on the scoreboard. Senior Matt Jacobs (Hudson, Mass.) led off with a single down the left field line, followed by a ground-rule double from rookie Geoff DeGroot (Wesley Chapel, Fla.). After a ground out, junior James Katsiroubas (Milton, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Senior Mark Sanborn (Hopkinton, Mass.) broke the draught, hitting into a fielder's choice that scored Jacobs from third.

Despite generating some offense and putting pressure on the Falcon's pitcher John Yohe (Merrick, N.Y.), UMass Lowell's bats stalled again from there.

The bullpen kept the River Hawks in the contest throughout. Hamilton started the dominance, holding Bentley hitless in the third and fourth. Boutoures threw a flawless fifth, then Guilmette followed suit in the sixth and seventh. Lastly, Nunes tossed the eighth and finally allowed a single after UMass Lowell had set down 15 consecutive batters. Nunes then picked up back-to-back ground outs to complete the six scoreless innings of relief by the River Hawk bullpen.

While the run production fizzled, UMass Lowell outhit the Falcons, 7-4. DeGroot finished the game 2-for-4 and sophomore Greg Wilson (Medford, Mass.) went 2-for-3. Katsiroubas was 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.