Box Score 1 (PDF) | Box Score 2 (PDF)

VESTAL, N.Y. – Senior Ariana Darcy (Kingston, N.Y.) hit .571 (4-7) with three runs scored to lead the UMass Lowell softball team (11-22, 1-7) to a split in an America East twin bill at Binghamton University (13-14, 4-3) on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The River Hawks earned an 8-6 decision in game one for their first conference win of the season. The squad then faced an 8-1 setback in game two against the Bearcats in Vestal.
 
"It was great to get our first conference win," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "I thought we came out swinging the bats really well. We had good defense, good pitching and good hitting, and you need all of those to win. Binghamton just came out a little bit better in the second game than we did."
 
Freshman Vanessa Cooper (Pleasant Gap, Pa.) went 3-for-6 (.500) on the day to add to the offense. Senior Ally Greene (Tewksbury, Mass.) also logged three hits (.429), while sophomore Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia) and junior Mia Davies (Parker, Colo.) posted three and two RBI, respectively. Junior Marielle Handley (Durham, Conn.) earned the complete-game victory in game one with three strikeouts. Sophomore Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) threw the first 3.2 innings in game two and reliever Courtney Lanfranchi (Burlington, Mass.) finished the final 2.1 innings of play.
 
In game one, the River Hawks' offense was quick to attack, as Darcy tagged a hard line drive down the right field line for a stand-up double. Davies followed with a two-out home run over the fence in left to give the visitors an early 2-0 edge.
 
UMass Lowell turned a 6-4-3 double play to extinguish the Bearcats' first chance at the dish before adding to the buffer in the second with a sacrifice fly by Greene and a throwing error by the BU catcher. The squad would then load the bases with a Darcy single and walks from Cooper and Davies to bring up junior Taylor August (Howll, N.J.), who was hit by a pitch to make the score 5-0.
 
After retiring the Binghamton side in order in the third, UMass Lowell pulled away, 8-0, in the fourth, as the team loaded the bases for Welch, who scored all three runners with an opposite-field long ball before being called out for not touching home to end the inning.
 
The Bearcats got on the board in the home half of the fourth when a leadoff homer by Lisa Cadogan sparked a six-run rally to cut the difference to just two at 8-6.
 
Neither side was able to change the score in their final three chances, although sophomores Mikayla Powlowsky (Hudson, N.H.) and Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.), and Greene logged hits for the visitors, as UMass Lowell held on to take the 8-6 decision.
 
Game two started off as much more of a defensive battle than game one. The River Hawks turned an unconventional double play on a squeeze attempt by the Bearcats in the bottom of the first to keep the game scoreless. Both sides went three-up and three-down in the second, but Binghamton broke the game open with four runs on four hits, including two home runs in the third.
 
Davies led off in the fourth with a base hit to right and August was by a pitch once again, but Cara Martin forced a pair of outs to extinguish the opportunity. In the home half of the inning, Jessica Rutherford sent a two-run triple to right and Cadogan added a RBI double to put BU on top, 7-0.
 
The River Hawks answered with one run in the top of the fifth, as Greene doubled and advanced to third on a groundout before scoring on a rope down the first base line by Cooper. Junior Brianna Martin (Metheun, Mass.) came up with a great double play in right field in the bottom of the inning, making a sliding catch in foul territory and firing to second to catch the runner on the tag.
 
The Bearcats loaded the bases in the sixth and scored once on a RBI fielder's choice to secure their 8-1 margin of victory.
 
The River Hawks have a quick turnaround, as they return home to host the University of Rhode Island in a doubleheader tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15, beginning at 2 p.m.