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LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Ariana Darcy (Kingston, N.Y.) went .500 at the plate with a team-best three hits and seven total bases, as UMass Lowell (10-14) split a pair of decisions against Bryant University (9-20) at River View Field on Tuesday.
 
Despite trailing the Bulldogs for most of the two and a half hours of game one, the River Hawks exploded for six runs in the fifth before extinguishing a late rally by the opposition to seal a 10-9 comeback victory. In the nightcap, the squads were tied through five innings, but Bryant went on to take a 5-1 decision.
 
"It was nice to get out here and be able to play some games," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "It's obvious at times that we haven't been able to get on the field and practice every day because there are some things you can't work on in the cage, but I think that we came out and fought. That's not something that we have to work on. We just come out with a lot of heart and grit, and that's why we are able to come back and make things happen like in game one."
 
Darcy added two runs and recorded a 1.167 slugging percentage on the day. Sophomore Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) and senior Ally Greene (Tewksbury, Mass.) both went 2-for-5 to add to the offensive effort. In addition, Alcorn, Greene and junior Emilia Davies (Parker, Colo.) paced the team with two RBI apiece. Senior Courtney Lanfranchi (Burlington, Mass.) pitched the middle 3.2 innings in game one to earn the win. Sophomore Erica Armenti (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who came on to finish the first contest, went the distance in game two with four strikeouts.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the top of the first in game one. However, the River Hawks were quick to retaliate with one run in their first trip to the dish when Greene poked a leadoff double to right, stole third and scored on a miscue by the opposing third baseman.
 
Bryant extended its buffer back to two in the second with an extra-base hit by Liana Ogata, making the score 3-1. The home team threatened in the bottom of the inning with hits from Darcy and senior Abby Jamieson (Billerica, Mass.), but both were stranded on base.
 
In the home half of the third, junior Alyssa Zinkiewicz (Massapequa, N.Y.) sent a two-bagger to right center before freshman Vanessa Cooper (Pleasant Gap, Pa.) followed with a RBI single up to middle, cutting the difference to just one at 3-2.
 
The visitors pulled away, 5-2, thanks to back-to-back solo home runs by Robyn Ukegawa and Maritza Martinez to start off the fourth inning. The margin was short-lived, though, as Jamieson drew a leadoff walk and sophomore Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia) drove a liner to the grass. Greene would later step in and connect on a double to center, scoring both runners.
 
Cooper knotted the score at 5-5 in the fifth with a RBI single to spark what would be a six-run rally for UMass Lowell. Later in the inning, Alcorn and Davies kept things alive with consecutive two-RBI singles, giving the squad a 10-5 edge.
 
Bryant went three-up and three-down in the sixth, and although the team pressured with four runs in the seventh, relief pitcher Armenti and the UMass Lowell defense held on to seal the 10-9 win.
 
Game two started off as much more of a defensive battle. Armenti quickly sat down the Bulldogs' side in their first three trips to the dish, while allowing just two base runners.
 
Jamieson earned a walk in the bottom of the third to become the River Hawks' first runner in the outing. Greene also walked in the same at-bat, but both were left on.
 
Bryant broke the game open in the top of the fourth, as Elle Madsen tripled and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Hayley Bottino to take a 1-0 lead.
 
UMass Lowell tied it up at 1-1 in the fifth on a homer over the left field fence by Darcy. However, the Bulldogs answered with a long ball from Haylee Haas in the sixth to regain the upper hand, 2-1. The visitors added three insurance runs in the seventh, including another Martinez home run to secure the 5-1 decision.
 
The River Hawks will return to action on Friday, April 3 when they host UMBC in their first America East Conference doubleheader of the season beginning at 1 p.m.