Wednesday, April 22 at Stony Brook (DH, 12 p.m.)
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Thursday, April 23 vs. Central Connecticut State (DH, 2 p.m.)
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Saturday, April 25 vs. UAlbany (DH, 1 p.m.)
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Sunday, April 26 vs. UAlbany (12 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell softball team will face off in its final five America East Conference games of the season as part of a seven-game week.
 
The River Hawks travel to Stony Brook on Wednesday, April 22, to make up a doubleheader that was originally slated for earlier this season. Those contests are set to begin at 12 p.m. at University Field. UMass Lowell will then have a quick turnaround, as the team welcomes Central Connecticut State to River View Field for a pair of games on Thursday, April 23 starting at 2 p.m. The River Hawks will wrap up the week with a three-game league series at home against UAlbany on Saturday-Sunday, April 25-26. Sunday will be Senior Day for UMass Lowell, honoring seven graduates on this year's squad, as well as Alumni Day.
 
RIVER HAWK RECAP
UMass Lowell owns a 15-23 overall record so far in 2015, including a 4-7 mark in America East play. The team coming off of a strong, 5-2 week, including its first-ever conference series sweep at Hartford over the weekend. The River Hawks started the week with a split at Binghamton on April 14, taking an 8-6 victory in game one to snap an eight-game skid. The squad then defeated Rhode Island, 9-0, in five innings before falling, 3-2, in game two.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 38 games, senior Ariana Darcy (Kingston, N.Y.) is first on the squad with a .308 batting average and 25 runs. Freshman Vanessa Cooper (Pleasant Gap, Pa.) has added to the offensive effort with a team-best 20 RBI, while sophomore Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia) and senior Ally Greene (Tewksbury, Mass.) pace the River Hawks with 29 hits apiece. In the circle, junior Marielle Handley (Durham, Conn.) owns an 8-9 record with 62 strikeouts. Sophomore Erica Armenti (Shrewsbury, Mass.) boasts a team-low 3.64 ERA.
 
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
The Seawolves took the final two games of their series with Maine over the weekend to move into a first place tie in the America East with a 21-13 overall record and a 7-2 mark in league play. Bria Green leads the offense and conference with a .444 average, 16 home runs and 42 RBI. She also has a .991 slugging percentage. In the circle, Jane Sallen has a 12-8 record with a 2.36 ERA and 79 strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE
The Blue Devils (23-8, 9-1 Northeast Conference) won 11 games in a row from March 29-April 15 before losing to Bryant on April 19. They defeated Bryant in game two to get back in the win column. Kat Malcolm leads the team with a .363 average, five home runs and 23 RBI.
 
SCOUTING UALBANY
UAlbany has won five of its last six games, and sits at 23-11 and 6-2 in the conference. The Great Danes take on Army on April 21 for a doubleheader before traveling to Lowell. Maggie Cocks is batting .429 with four home runs and 31 RBI. Elizabeth Snow has hit a team-high six home runs and adds 24 RBI. In the circle, Erynn Sobieski has a 2.73 ERA paired with a 7-3 record. Devin Durando leads the team with 11 wins.
 
HEAD COACH DANIELLE HENDERSON ON THE WEEK
"This is a busy week, but we just have to lay everything out there and give it all we have. At the end of the week, it's our last conference series. We get to honor our seniors and play in front of the alumni we have coming back, and I'm really looking forward to it."
 
THE LAST TIME
UMass Lowell was swept by Stony Brook in three games last season, facing 5-0, 2-1 and 10-1 setbacks. The River Hawks also dropped four decisions against CCSU and three against UAlbany in 2014.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
The River Hawks are currently sixth in the America East standings. The squad leads the conference in team doubles (52), at-bats (989), plate appearances (1174) and sacrifice flies (11). UMass Lowell is also second with 97 walks. Individually, sophomore Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) is first in the league with 15 sac bunts and 135 plate appearances.
 
PERFORMING UNDER PRESSURE
Vanessa Cooper has become the River Hawks' most reliable bat when the pressure is on. She boasts a .365 average with runners on base, in addition to an even better .405 average with runners in scoring position. Ariana Darcy adds a team-high .491 average when successfully advancing runners.
 
HOT STREAKS
Alisha Welch put together an eight-game hit streak, tying the squad's longest of the year as Ariana Darcy also connected in eight straight games from Feb. 15-March 14. Junior Alyssa Zinkiewicz (Massapequa, N.Y.) owns the team's longest on-base streak this season, putting together an 11-game stretch from February 14-March 14.
 
SPEED DEMONS
Senior Ally Greene (Tewksbury, Mass.) currently sits in second place on the school's all-time record list for stolen bases (74). She needs just four more this season to take over the top spot from Kristine Botto (77, 1998-2001). Classmate Ariana Darcy is right on Greene's heels with 73 career stolen bases, good for third all-time.
 
WALKING INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Ariana Darcy drew three walks against Boston University on April 7 to compile 75 for her career and take over the top stop in the record books, surpassing Kim O'Connell's record (72) set from 1985-88. She has continued to add to her record-setting mark for a grand total of 81.
 
MORE RECORDS TO WATCH
Ariana Darcy is nearing the top of several other career record lists for the River Hawks. She is third overall in triples (16), tied for third in home runs (20), fourth in runs scored (129), sixth in total bases (294), and ninth in RBI (95). Marielle Handley is currently fifth in program history with 276 career strikeouts, as well.
 
HONORS AND AWARDS
UMass Lowell softball swept the first week of America East awards on February 10, as Alyssa Zinkiewicz was named Player of the Week, Erica Armenti earned Pitcher of the Week honors and Vanessa Cooper was tabbed Rookie of the Week. In week three, Ariana Darcy took Player of the Week accolades and Cooper earned her second Rookie of the Week nod. Zinkiewicz (Feb. 10), Ally Greene (Feb. 24) and Marielle Handley (April 21) have also been named River Hawk of the Week this season.