Box Score


Joe Consolmagno was a one man wrecking crew as the UMass Lowell baseball team swept a doubleheader from, Adelphi University, 9-0 and 9-5, Saturday afternoon, at LeLacheur Park.
 
“”He's just a really good baseball player,” says Coach Ken Harring. “Nothing he does is pretty, but you want him up in big situations.  You know you are going to get a quality at bat.”
 
Consolmagno, a freshman from Worcester, had six hits including a triple in the twin bill.  He scored six runs and drove in three on the day.
 
With the sweep, UMass Lowell improved its record to 16-10-1.  Adelphi dropped to 11-14-1.
 
“I like sitting 'dead red,” says Consolmagno.  “I saw the ball well, I had good pitches to hit.”
 
Four of his hits and runs came in the more closely contested nightcap as the River Hawks banged out 13 hits, an even dozen of them singles.
 
“He's just a gamer,” says Harring.  “We call him 'Joey Baseball.”
 
The first of the two games was not about hitting, it was about the man on the UMass Lowell mound.
 
Senior Taylor Robinson (Haverhill, Mass.) turned in a masterful pitching performance.  The righthander allowed just three hits in picking up his third win of the season. He walked four and struck out six. 
 
“Taylor Robinson set the tone today with his unbelievable performance in the first game,” says Harring.  “He threw three pitches for strikes and his fastball and change were excellent.  He's a senior, leader and he got us back on track.”
 
Robinson appeared to get stronger as the game progressed; he retired the last 13 batters in a row.
 
“I was throwing my two-seam (fastball) and getting ground balls,” says Robinson.  “I had the jitters early and then settled down and threw strikes.  The defense was great behind me.”
 
The River Hawks, with a bit of help from the visitors, broke a scoreless tie their third turn with the bat.  A two out error put Consolmagno on first.  He stole second and came around to score on a senior James Katsiroubas (Milton, Mass.) triple to right.
 
UMass Lowell increased the lead, adding a single, in the fifth inning.  A two-out Consolmagno single to right did the damage.
 
The River Hawks got some breathing room, adding a couple of run, in the sixth inning.  Five singles produced the runs.  Sophomores Matthew Sanchez (Sunrise, Fla.) and Luke Reynolds (Manchester, N. H.) got the RBIs.
 
UMass Lowell put the game out of reach in the seventh.  Five walks, an error and two hits put five runs up in lights.  Sophomore Jacob O'Keefe (Wellington, Fla.) had the biggest hit of the inning; a two run ground ball single to left.
 
The River Hawks banged out nine hits and took advantage of seven Adelphi errors.  Panther pitchers walked seven.
 
O'Keefe and Consolmagno had two hits apiece.  O'Keefe drove in three runs, Consolmagno had two RBIs.
 
The second game was more of the same from the lumber; five hits produced three first inning runs.  Senior Pat Devlin (Tewksbury, Mass.), sophomore Sam Johnson (Wakefield, R. I.,) and Sanchez each had two-out RBI singles to give the River Hawks a lead they would never lose.
 
Devlin's second RBI single and a wild pitch restored the UMass Lowell three-run lead in the third after Adelphi had narrowed the gap with two runs in the top of the inning, 5-2.
 
The River Hawks added two more runs after two were out in the fourth inning.  Singles by Consolmagno and senior Katsiroubas plated the runs.
 
In a game of ebb and flow, Adelphi made the game interesting with three runs in the fifth inning on four hits including two triples.
 
Consolmagno helped produce the River Hawks eighth run of the game with a two-out triple in the sixth, the team's first extra base hit of the nightcap.  He scored when a Katsiroubas ground ball went through the third baseman and into left field.
 
UMass Lowell closed out the scoring in the eighth inning.  A sophomore Geoff DeGroot (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) infield single scored Sanchez who'd reached earlier on an error. 9-5.
 
The River Hawks get right back at it with a doubleheader Sunday (12:00pm) against Pace University.