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Junior 3B Ali Ferraro (Kingston, N.Y.) batted a combined  4 for 7 while sophomore P Courtney Lanfranchi (Burlington, Mass.) tossed a two-hit shutout in the nightcap as UMass Lowell defeated Saint Michael's, 4-2 and 8-0, Saturday in a Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division twin bill at River View Field.

The wins marked the eighth and ninth in the last 10 games for the River Hawks, who improved to 21-18 overall and 11-3 in the NE-10 Northeast Division while Saint Michael's slipped to 1-32 overall and 1-13 in the Division.

The two rivals close the series Sunday at 11:00 in the River Hawks final regular season home game. Prior to first pitch, UMass Lowell will honor seniors Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, Mass.), Brianna Mahoney (Billerica, Mass.) and Katie Mazure (Burlington, Mass.).

The River Hawks have gone 18-5 over their last 23 games.

In the opener, UMass Lowell battled back from a 2-1 deficit with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning via an RBI single from sophomore CF Ariana Darcy (Walkill, N.Y.). After stealing second Darcy scored when sophomore DH Abby Jamieson (Billerica, Mass.) reached on an error.

UMass Lowell opened the scoring in the first inning when Jamieson singled and advanced to second on an error to score sophomore LF Ally Greene (Tewksbury, Mass.).

The Purple Knights knotted the score in the third on an RBI single by junior 2B Amanda Brigante; and took a 2-1 lead behind an RBI single by senior 3B Carleen McLaughlin in the fourth.

Ferraro led the UMass Lowell bats, hitting 2 for 3. Freshman P Marielle Handley (Durham, Conn.) scattered seven hits, two earned runs and no walks while striking out two to improve to 15-11.

Senior P Stephanie Frank (1-10) took the loss for Saint Michael's as she allowed seven hits, two earned runs and a walk while striking out three.

In the nightcap, Lanfranchi surrendered only two hits and a walk while striking out four to improve to 4-5 on the year. She was near flawless over the final two innings, retiring seven of eight batters.

UMass Lowell scored three runs in the second inning behind a two-run double from sophomore C Melissa King (Stamford, Conn.), who later reached home on an error.

The River Hawks erupted for five runs in the third inning, fueled by consecutive two-run doubles from Ferraro and Mahoney en route to the win.

Freshman P Jessica Niles took the loss as she allowed five hits, four earned runs and no walks while striking out one in 2.0 innings.