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LOWELL, Mass. (April 18, 2014) – Junior Jacob O'Keefe (Wellington, Fla.) doubled in a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give UMass Lowell a 2-1 walk off win over America East Conference leaders Stony Brook and earn a doubleheader split, Friday, at LeLacheur Park.
 
The nightcap win ended a five game losing streak and upped the River Hawks record to 11-15 overall and 4-6 in America East Conference play.  For Stony Brook it was only their second loss in their last 14 ballgames.  They are 22-12 / 8-2.
 
The ninth inning, the second extra inning in a scheduled seven-inning ballgame, was textbook one-run baseball.  Junior Jimmy Ricoy (Lowell, Mass.) opened the inning with a four-pitch walk.  He was moved to second on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by freshman B. J. Foley (Sterling, Mass.) setting the stage for O'Keefe's heroics.
 
"It was see ball, hit ball and I got the pitch in the right spot," said O'Keefe.  "I got the pitch in the right spot and made a good swing.  I felt confident going up there and when I saw the pitch I felt good."
 
O'Keefe drilled the first pitch he saw over the head of the left fielder, one hop to the wall, scoring Ricoy from second and the celebrating began.
 
Before stepping to the plate O'Keefe had told one of his teammates "game over."
 
Head Coach Ken Harring couldn't have been happier for his catcher who spent 18 innings behind the plate before launching the game winning hit.
 
"All the hard work is paying off," said Harring. "He's a grinder; he's the hardest worker on this team.  It couldn't happen to a better kid."
 
The game may also have been a victory for baseball fundamentals and execution.  The first run had scored on a sacrifice fly and a key ingredient in the ninth inning was moving the runner up a base with a sacrifice bunt.
 
"When we execute and put the pressure on the other team, we put ourselves in a position to win," said Harring.  "We did that in game two."
 
Game two was not easy; UMass Lowell had to work from behind.  The visitors jumped on top, thanks to a bit of small ball, in the second inning of the nightcap.  A leadoff single, a stolen base and two flyballs proved to be the road map to the lead, 1-0.
 
Small ball, apparently, was contagious as the River Hawks tied it without the benefit of a base hit in the fourth.  A hit-by-pitch, a stolen base, a sacrifice bunt, a walk and a Foley sac fly proved to be the run scoring ingredients.
 
River Hawk game two starter senior Mike Calzetta (Lawrence, Mass.) battled his way into the sixth inning throwing some 102 pitches.  "Battled" is an apt description; he allowed six hits and only one run in 5.2 innings.  He walked two and hit a batter while striking out two.  Twice he pitched out of bases loaded, one-out situations. 
 
"It takes a senior and a leader to step up and set the tone and Mike (Calzetta) did that," said Harring. "He battled his way out of a couple big jams and I think the rest of the team fed off his performance.  He's a bull dog, the ultimate competitor.  He's the guy you want next to you in the foxhole."
 
When Calzetta finally ran out of gas, freshman Ian Strom (Hopedale, Mass.) took over on the mound and got the third out on strikes leaving two Seawolves stranded..
 
Strom went three innings and did not allow a hit.  He walked just one and struck out one.
 
"He pounded the strike zone," said Harring, "working the ball in and out."
 
The third River Hawk pitcher of the game, senior Nick Boutoures (Wilmington, Mass.), got the win.  It was the first of his collegiate career.

Cameron Stone, the second of two Seawolves' pitchers, took the loss.
 
The second game was the perfect antidote after a frustrating and sloppily played opener.
 
Stony Brook University exploded for five runs with two outs in the fifth inning en route to a 9-3 win over UMass Lowell in the first of a Friday afternoon doubleheader at LeLacheur Park.
 
The River Hawks took a lead, in the first game, after loading the bases on a walk, a single and a defensive miscue with one out in the third.  The run came across on a sacrifice fly hit into foul territory in left by sophomore Matt Mottola (Newburyport, Mass.)
 
Stony Brook answered back with two outs in the fourth scoring a single run with two doubles sandwiched around a single.  The inning could have been far worse, base running mistakes had put the first two outs of the inning on the board. 
 
The visitors took the lead for good in the fifth putting up a crooked number.  Again the damage was done with two outs.  A one out walk had put a runner on base, a two out bunt single and a single to right loaded the bases and set the stage for a big inning.  A Kevin Krause single to left broke the 1-1 tie and plated two runners.  A walk, an error, a stolen base and a single would puy three more runs up in lights, 6-1.
 
The Seawolves had a lead they would not relinquish.  They also would add two it.  A three-run seventh made it 9-1.
 
The home team made a bit of noise in the ninth adding two runs on RBI singles by freshman B. J. Foley (Sterling, Mass.) and junior Danny Mendick (Rochester, N. Y.)
 
River Hawk starter senior right-hander Shane Beauchemin (Manchester, N. H.), who worked into the seventh inning, struggled to keep the ball down and paid the price for his location woes.  He took the loss throwing 6.1 innings and allowing five earned runs on 11 base hits and three walks.  He struck out just one.  The loss was his third against two wins.
 
Mendick and sophomore Joe Consolmagno (Worcester, Mass.) each had three hits in the game.  Ricoy added two hits as UMass Lowell did have twelve base hits in the contest.
 
Bryan Tatelman, the second of three Stony Brook pitchers got credit for the win.  It was his third of the year without a loss.  The side winding righty allowed two runs of five hits in 4.2 innings of work.
 
UMass Lowell and Stony Brook will wrap up the series with a single game at noon on Saturday.