Box Score (PDF)

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – Junior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) batted 1.000 (2-2) with two walks, as the UMass Lowell softball team (1-4) faced an 8-3 setback against Georgia Southern (5-5) to close out its first weekend of action in 2016 at the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational on Sunday.

"Georgia Southern had a lot of fast players that were able to get on and make something happen," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "Both teams threatened every inning. They just had one big inning that we couldn't come back from."
 
Junior Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia) also logged a pair of hits in the outing (.500), in addition to one RBI. Juniors Alyssa Hasbrouck (Middletown, N.Y.) and Taylor August (Howell, N.J.) each recorded one RBI, as well. Senior pitcher Marielle Handley (Durham, Conn.) took the decision in the circle for her performance in the first 4.2 innings. Junior Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) was called out of the bullpen to finish the game with three strikeouts and no runs allowed.
 
The offense on both sides went to work right away, starting with a RBI sacrifice fly that put Georgia Southern on the board in the top of the first. In the home half of the inning, the River Hawks were quick to answer, loading the bases with hits from Alcorn and Welch and a miscue by the Eagles that put senior Alyssa Zinkiewicz (Massapequa, N.Y.) on base. Hasbrouck then put a ball in play, allowing Alcorn to score, and August followed with a RBI single to give UMass Lowell an early, 2-1 lead.
 
After Georgia Southern stranded two in the top of the second, UMass Lowell extended its lead to 3-1 in the team's next trip to the dish. Welch drove a base hit into left field to plate freshman Brianna West (Fairfield, Conn.), who had reached on a single of her own.
 
The Eagles closed the gap to just one in the third inning, when Lydia Witkowski led off with a triple to right center before scoring on a double play later in the same at bat. The teams went three-up and three-down in the fourth, but Georgia Southern rallied for six runs in the fifth with the help of a three-run home run to pull away, 8-3. The River Hawks were unable to get on the board in their final two chances, as Georgia Southern secured the 8-3 decision.
 
The River Hawks will return to action next weekend, February 26-28, when they travel to Charleston, S.C. for the Wyndham Garden Cougar Classic.