Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The UMass Lowell softball team split a pair of games against Rhode Island Tuesday afternoon, dropping the opener 5-3, before rallying back in the fifth inning for a 5-4 victory.
 
Following an absence from the diamond for over a week, the River Hawks (4-13) shook off a bit of rust to recover from a 4-3 deficit when the teams lone senior, Ali Ferraro (Kingston, N.Y.) put down a suicide squeeze to get Ally Greene (Tewksbury, Mass.) in to tie the game.
 
Following a 3-for-3 performance in the first game, Alyssa Zinkiewicz (Massapequa, N.Y.) pinch hit for Kathryn Donovan (Hudson, N.H.) and ripped a line drive over the URI shortstop to get Ariana Darcy (Wallkill, N.Y.) home from third.
 
The loss drops the Rams to 6-17 on the season.
 
"We've really played well the last seven games, were starting to hit, were starting to score runs and were getting better pitching," said Head Coach Sean Cotter.
 
Freshman Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) pitched all five innings, striking out five along the way to earn her first collegiate win, and is now 1-3 on the season.
 
"It feels good to come away with the split, but we certainly didn't play our best softball for 12 innings," said Cotter.
 
Junior Abby Jamieson (Billerica, Mass.) got the River Hawks on the board two batters into the second game, knocking out her first homerun of the season. Jamieson's two run shot brought Greene home after she led the game off with a walk.
 
The River Hawks will have Wednesday off before taking on Holy Cross in their home opener. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 start at River View Field.