Playoff Hopes in Jeopardy as River Hawks Drop Game at Stonehill, 4-3

Tuesday, April 30

North Easton, MA

3:30 PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

27-19, 12-12

Stonehill College

22-20, 10-14

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UMass Lowell	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	2
Stonehill College	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	X	4	6	3

Photo by: Bob Ellis

Playoff Hopes in Jeopardy as River Hawks Drop Game at Stonehill, 4-3

4/30/2013 9:12:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Offense struggles; manages just three hits

UMass Lowell baseball's post-season hopes were dealt another blow, Tuesday afternoon, as the River Hawks dropped a 4-3 decision to Stonehill College, at Lou Gorman Field, in Easton, Mass.

“It was frustrating,” says UMass Lowell Baseball Coach Ken Harring. “We had only three hits and gave them two runs.”

UMass Lowell drops to 27-19 and 8-10 in the Northeast Division of the Northeast-10 Conference. Stonehill improves to 22-20 / 8-10. The two teams are tied two games back of Merrimack in the fourth and final playoff spot. All three teams have three games to play.

“It is what it is,” says Harring. “We still have a shot, but we have to win and we need some help from other teams.”

Stonehill and Merrimack play one another three times while UMass Lowell wraps up the regular season with a three game series against Bentley starting on Thursday night (7:00pm.)

“We've got to win Thursday night, it's as simple as that,” says Harring.

What the River Hawks could use is a big hit at a key time.

UMass Lowell scored three times, on just one hit, in the fourth innings after two fielding miscues had given Stonehill a 2-0 lead in the third inning.

The River Hawks set the table, with one out, on two catcher's interference calls and a hit batsman. The first run scored on a wild pitch, the next two came across on a sophomore Matthew Sanchez (Sunrise, Fla.) double off the top of the wall in left center.

UMass Lowell was unable to add to the lead as the offense left runners on second and third.

“We had some opportunities,” says Harring. “We just couldn't get the big hit.”

Stonehill would regain the lead in the bottom of the fourth and the River Hawks could muster only one more hit and three walks over the final five innings of the ballgame.

The Stonehill fourth inning rally featured a couple of big two-out hits. James DeAlto doubled to tie the game at three. Brian Campbell followed with a triple that put the Skyhawks on top to stay.

Senior Tyler Toyfair (Agawam, Mass.) took the loss evening his record at 2-2. He battled through 4.2 innings allowing two earned runs on five hits. He walked four and struck out four.

Sophomore Christian Lavoie (Hopkinton, Mass.) kept it a one-run ballgame throwing 3.2 innings of one hit relief.

UMass Lowell faces Bentley Thursday night, at LeLacheur Park, in the first of a three game series that will help answer the question of who does and who does not have a post season.