With seven freshmen contributing in the lineup, the UMass Lowell softball team is beginning to spread its wings and understand how to handle pressure situations.
 
The River Hawks (5-18, 0-2 America East) rallied for an 8-5 come from behind victory in the opener against Manhattan (10-16, 1-0 MAAC), before falling 10-3 in the backend of the twinbill.
 
"In this transition any win is a good win, so we were excited to win game one before giving in just a bit in game two," said Head Coach Sean Cotter. "All in all, it was a good day to pick up our fifth win so I'm happy with that."
 
In game one, the young River Hawks were on the brink of falling to 3-4 in 1-run games before they tallied five runs in the final frame, capped by freshman Tori Alcorn's (Lowell, Mass.) first career homerun, a 2-run blast to left center.
 
Freshman Erica Armenti (Shrewsbury, Mass.) allowed a run in the bottom of the inning, but closed out the Jaspers for her first collegiate win.
 
Manhattan responded with a strong offensive showing in the late game, scoring four runs in the sixth inning to diminish any other comeback bid en route a 10-3 victory.
 
"Our young kids are continuing to get experience of what it is, not just for Division I softball, but what it is to be a collegiate softball player regardless of level," said Cotter. "The game is the game, and we paid for some things in experience but we're getting better."
 
In the opener, sophomore pitcher Marielle Handley (Durham, Conn.) gave up four earned runs over six innings, striking out two before handing the ball off to Armenti.
 
With one out in the seventh inning and the game knotted at three, junior Melissa King (Stamford, Conn.) hit the go-ahead single through the left side to bring home Alyssa Zinkiewicz (Massapequa, N.Y.). The River Hawks added insurance runs the next two at-bats courtesy of a wild pitch, and
 
The second game featured some additional late inning drama when UMass Lowell cut Manhattan's six run lead in half in the sixth inning as Abby Jamieson (Billerica, Mass.) and Emily O'Brien (Salem, N.H.) hit back-to-back home runs.
 
O'Brien's homerun was the first of her career while Jamieson connected on her second homer in three games.
 
The River Hawks will host Holy Cross in their official home opener at River View Field for pair of games tomorrow starting at 1 p.m.