Box Score CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (April 16, 2014) – UMass Lowell junior Danny Mendick (Rochester, N. Y.) banged out four hits and a home run, but it was a two-out tenth inning single that was the difference as the River Hawks lost to Boston College, 7-6, Wednesday afternoon at Pellagrini Diamond in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
 
"We're battling every day, we're getting close," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Ken Harring.  "It's the little things, the details, we are one play away."
 
Boston College scored two runs after two were out in the 8^th inning to tie the game and then won it after two were out in the tenth.  It was UMass Lowell's fourth consecutive loss by the slimmest of margins.  The River Hawks have lost ten of twelve one-run games this season.
 
"We make a mistake and the other team takes advantage," said Harring.  "We need to force the issue, force the other team to make the play."
 
That said, the coach remains optimistic.  "We'll pull together, fight our way through this," said Harring.  "We will get over the hump."
 
The non-conference loss drops UMass Lowell to 10-14 on the season.  The River Hawks are 3-5 in America East play.  Boston College, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, improved to 12-24.
 
The game was a roller coaster affair; the lead was never larger than two runs and changed hands five times.
 
UMass Lowell jumped on top, playing small ball, the first time it came to bat.  A Mendick walk and a junior Matthew Sanchez (Sunrise, Fla.) single put two men on base.  A double steal moved them up a base and Mendick scored when the throw was wild.
 
BC put two on the board in the second, but Mendick evened the score with a solo homerun, to left, in the third.
 
"He has the ability to learn from each at bat and adjust," said Harring.  "He understands how (pitchers) are trying to work him."
 
The right-handed hitter Mendick, after scuffling in a three game series last weekend, appears to have found his groove.  He went 4-for-4 with a single, two doubles and a home run, scored two runs and drove in two.  He also worked a walk in his other plate appearance. 
 
"He's a solid ball player, he plays the game the right way," said Harring.  "He worked his way out of a funk.  He's always working; a dirt dog always trying."
 
UMass Lowell played "double or nothing" scoring three times to retake the lead in the fifth inning.  Down 3-2, four consecutive doubles plated three runs.  Freshman Jack Trotman (East Amherst, N. Y.) started the rally with a double to right.  Juniors Kelly Rooney (Upton, Mass.), and Luke Reynolds (Manchester, N. H.) and Mendick all followed with two-baggers.
 
The see-saw game was far from over.  The Eagles narrowed the gap with a run in the sixth, but UMass Lowell got that one back on a freshman Ian Strom (Hopedale, Mass.) sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth.
 
The bottom of the eighth may be where the game got away from the River Hawks. A two out flyball to left fell for a hit when the fielder appeared to lose the ball in the late afternoon sky.  Instead of ending the inning, Boston College had a run and a life.  Another two-out hit evened the score at six and set the stage for extra innings.
 
The Eagles eventually won the game with a one-out walk, an infield out, and a two out single.
 
Freshman Steve Xirinachs (San Diego, Calif.), the last of five River Hawk pitchers, was tagged with the tough luck loss.  He is 1-2 on the season.
 
The River Hawks return to action and LeLacheur Park Friday to host Stony Brook in the first two of a three game series.  The two teams play a doubleheader Friday at 1:00 and 3:00.  They wrap up the series with a single game at noon game on Saturday.