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LOWELL, Mass. (April 29, 2014) – One swing of the bat changed everything as freshman Zack Tower's (Auburn, Mass.) sixth inning pinch-hit grand slam earned UMass Lowell a doubleheader split with Brown University, Tuesday afternoon, at LeLacheur Park in Lowell.
 
"One swing of the bat changed the feeling in the dugout pretty darn quick," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Ken Harring.  "I thought we were putting a little too much pressure on ourselves, you could feel the tension; and then we were celebrating."
 
The River Hawks won the nightcap, 5-3, after dropping the opener, 5-4.  Both were seven-inning games.
 
The come-from-behind win pushed UMass Lowell back over the .500 mark at 17-16 overall, they are 8-6 in America East play.  Brown sits at 13-24.  They are 6-14 in Ivy League action. 
 
The River Hawks trailed 3-0 entering the bottom of the fateful sixth inning.  Singles by junior Danny Mendick (Rochester, N. Y.), sophomore Matt Mottola (Newburyport, Mass.) and junior Matthew Sanchez (Sunrise, Fla.) put a run on the board and runners at the corners.  Two outs later the stage was set for drama when freshman Jack Trotman (East Amherst, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
 
The little used Tower was sent up to pinch hit.  He'd had an RBI single in the first game.
 
"He's got tremendous power, we all know that," said Harring.  "Their pitcher was pitching inside, but he was not overpowering.  I just had a hunch."
 
The hunch paid off.  The six-foot three-inch right-handed hitter got ahead on the count 2-0 and then launched a missile into the night sky.
 
"It had to be a perfect pitch," said Tower, "and I hit it as hard as I could."
 
It was a no-doubter headed toward the Merrimack River beyond the left field wall.
 
"To hit a ball out tonight with the cold and the wind blowing across the field takes big league power," said Harring.  "And he's got that."
 
Tower was met by a exuberant crowd of teammates when he arrived at home plate.
 
Once they had the lead, the River Hawks closed it out quietly; Senior Nick Boutoures (Wilmington, Mass.) allowed a walk but shut the door on the visitors final at bat.
 
Sophomore Thulani Denaro (Acton, Mass.) picked up the win.  He's allowed a run and five base runners while getting four outs, but he'd kept the game from getting out of hand.
 
It had not been an easy day.  The visitors had jumped on top in the third and as had been the case too often in the first game the run was unearned thanks to a fielding mishap.  Brown added another run in the fifth and this time the damage was done with a two-out RBI single to left by J. J. Franco. A third run was pushed across the plate on an infield out in the sixth.
 
The first game was one the River Hawks probably feel they should have won, and they are probably correct.
 
The River Hawks jumped on top, with two runs, in the home half of the first with the help of the visitors.   Junior Luke Reynolds (Manchester, N. H.) opened the inning with a single to right, moved to second when freshman Ian Strom's (Hopedale, Mass.) come backer was thrown into centerfield.  Reynolds scored and Strom moved to second on a balk.  Strom would eventually score on a wild pitch.
 
The Bears got their first three hits of the game and narrowed the score with a run in the fourth, but it could have been worse.  A sparkling backhanded stop by shortstop Danny Mendick ended the inning with a force at second and leaving the bases loaded.
 
UMass Lowell rebuilt the lead with two more runs in the fourth.  Tower drove in one with a single to left; the second run crossed the plate on an infield out, 4-1.
 
Brown again cut into the lead in the fifth with and unearned run and took the lead with three in the sixth.  None of the runs were earned thanks to an error in the fifth and two more defensive miscues in the sixth.
 
Strom was the tough luck loser.  He worked 2.2 innings in relief, he did not allow an earned run.
 
Reynolds had five hits on the day, three of them coming in the second game.
 
Sophomore Joe Consolmagno (Worcester, Mass.) reached base in both games, hit-by-a-pitch his lone plate appearance in the first game and on a single in the nightcap, to extend his on base streak to 15 games. Sanchez, who had two hits in the first game, had a season best 19 game on-base streak earlier in the year.
 
The River Hawks return to America East Conference action this weekend with a doubleheader at Binghamton on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.