Live Stats | Audio (vs. Campbell Only) 

The wait is just about over for the UMass Lowell softball team; the future, a Division I future, starts in Buies Creek, N.C. with a pair of games on Friday.
 
The River Hawks will partake at the Hampton Inn of Dunn Invitational against tournament host Campbell at 5:30 P.M. and will then take on Seton Hall at 8 P.M.
 
"Our kids have worked their tails off to get this point and this year was setup to be a dominant team in the region in D-II and I think that's going to translate well into D-I," said Head Coach Cotter. "Our staff has done a great job getting our kids prepared and we're excited to see what happens."

Opening weekend for the River Hawks will also include matchups against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and Valparaiso on Saturday. Both team qualified for the NCAA tournament last year and will give the River Hawks some stiff competition early in the season.
 
"Our kids are certainly eager and excited, and our staff, as well, to see where we are," said Cotter. "This opening tournament is as tough of competition as we're going to face all year, and that was partly by design."
 
The team returns 11 members from a year ago and added seven freshmen and a transfer from Temple.  Senior Ali Ferraro and juniors Arianna Darcy and Abby Jamieson are the top players returning with trio combining for 106 RBI's and 16 homeruns.
 
Jamieson and Darcy were both ranked nationally in RBI's per game, averaging just less than one per outing. Jamieson was ranked 45th while Darcy was ranked 102nd.
 
Also returning is pitching ace Marielle Handley who won 20 games as a freshmen, good for 47th nationally among Division II players. In addition Handley had a 2.42 ERA while holding her opponents to a .249 batting average.    
 
UMass Lowell finished the 2013 season with a 26-21-1 overall record and a 15-5-1 record in their final season in the Northeast-10 where they finished second behind Southern New Hampshire University.