Game 1 (PDF) | Game 2 (PDF) | Highlights 

LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Kevin Veilleux (Manchester, N.H.) threw a complete game shutout as the UMass Lowell baseball team salvaged a doubleheader split against UMBC on Saturday at LeLacheur Park. The Retrievers rallied with a six-run ninth in the opener and took a 6-2 decision before the River Hawks edged out a 1-0 win in seven innings in the second game.
 
The River Hawks (8-19, 4-6) dropped game one in heartbreaking fashion as freshman starter Andrew Ryan (Rochester, Mass.) blanked the Retrievers (16-14, 5-6) for eight frames before UMBC capitalized on a pair of calls that went their way.
 
"Obviously the first game had a disappointing finish and two have two of our key guys ejected for losing their cool isn't something we build our program around," said Head Coach Ken Harring. "They were suspended for the second game and we used that as a rallying cry with our guys. That's why you have a team of 34 guys, somebody goes down or somebody wants to act like that we'll put the next guy in and those guys responded."
 
Sophomore Ian Strom (Hopedale, Mass.) put the River Hawks on the board in the fourth, crushing a triple off the wall in left field with two outs before stealing home with Joe Consolmagno (Worcester, Mass.) at the plate. Geoff DeGroot (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) added another run for the home club in the fifth with a single to left to bring Nick Barry (Grafton, Mass.) around from second.
 
Ryan (0-1) commanded the opener but failed to pick up his first win of the season. After giving up a single up the middle on his first pitch, Ryan would retire the next 12 batters and only gave up six hits on the afternoon. One of those was a single to leadoff the ninth before Ryan walked his final batter faced and opened the door for the Retrievers comeback as Strom came in with the save opportunity.
 
The first two batters Strom would face reached on an error and walk. With no outs and the bases loaded, the umpires ruled the ball hit the ground on a diving attempt by left fielder Luke Reynolds (Manchester, N.H.) that brought in the tying run. Two batters later Jake Barnes hit a two-run home run down by the left field foul pole that was called fair and proved to be the enough for the Retrievers.
 
All Veilleux (4-3) needed in the backend of the twinbill was an RBI single from Matthew Sanchez (Sunrise, Fla.) as the righty willed the River Hawks to victory in his first complete game since. The senior gave up five hits while striking out a pair of Retrievers.
 
"Kevin Veilleux put us on his back in game two and really stemmed the tide in another situation when a base hit puts them in the lead," said Harring. "It takes a performance like that sometimes to get you off the schneid and I was really proud of what he did."
 
Consolmagno scored the games lone run after reaching on an error by the UMBC shortstop. The junior would steal second and advance to third on a throwing error by the catcher before coming home on a dribbler down the first base line by Sanchez that wasn't fielded cleanly by the pitcher or first baseman.
 
The River Hawks and Retrievers will play the rubber game of the series tomorrow at 1 p.m.