Friday, February 26
vs. South Carolina State (1 p.m.) | Live Stats
vs. Radford (5:30 p.m.) | Live Stats
 
Saturday, February 27
vs. Radford (3:30 p.m.) | Live Stats
 
Sunday, February 28
vs. Campbell (9 a.m.) | Live Stats
at College of Charleston (11 a.m.) | Live Stats
 
Twitter: @RiverHawkFH @RiverHawkNation Tweet #UnitedInBlue
 
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The UMass Lowell softball team (1-4) plays its second of four, early-season tournaments this weekend when the squad travels to Charleston, S.C. for the Wyndham Garden Cougar Classic, hosted by the College of Charleston.
 
The River Hawks will play five games in three days at the tournament, beginning with a 1 p.m. contest against South Carolina State on Friday, February 26 at the Patriots Point Athletics Complex. The team will also play two games against Radford and one against Campbell before wrapping up the weekend against the host school on Sunday.
 
RIVER HAWK RECAP
UMass Lowell opened 2016 by going 1-4 at the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 19-21. The team lost two hard-fought decisions in the bottom of the seventh on day one of the tournament, falling against Eastern Michigan, 4-3, and vs. Marist, 2-1. The River Hawks bounced back in the first game on day two, picking up their first win of the season in exciting fashion, as freshman pitcher Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) threw a one-hitter to lead her squad to a 9-0 shutout victory against Manhattan in five innings. The team dropped another one-run game to Siena (1-0) in game two on Saturday, though, and closed the weekend with an 8-3 loss against Georgia Southern on Sunday.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through the first five games of the year, junior Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia) paces the River Hawks with seven hits, four runs and a .438 batting average. Freshman Brianna West (Fairfield, Conn.) and junior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.), who both started every game so far, have added to the offense with .417 and .375 averages, respectively. Senior Alyssa Zinkiewicz (Massapequa, N.Y.) is first on the team with two home runs and four RBI, as well. In the circle, Kaysee Talcik leads the team's pitchers with a 0.00 ERA, a 1-0 record and one shutout. Additionally, senior pitcher Marielle Handley (Durham, Conn.) leads UMass Lowell with six strikeouts in a team-high 11.0 innings pitched.

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
South Carolina State enters the weekend with a 2-4 record. The Bulldogs dropped their first four games of the season before winning their most recent contests against Humber College in a non-conference doubleheader. Cianna Burt leads the team with a .438 batting average, while Charmaine Oden and Unique Whitehurst are tied for the team lead with four RBI apiece. Keirra Cromer has pitched four complete games with a 1-3 record overall and an ERA of 7.81. 
 
SCOUTING RADFORD
Radford comes into the tournament in the midst of a three-game win streak. The Highlanders' most recent victory came against Pittsburgh, pushing their record to 3-1 on the season. Radford's lineup is led by Summer Robinson and Marissa Gagliano, who are hitting .467 and .429, respectively. Gagliano is also tied for the team lead with three RBI. In the circle, Abby Morrow has started all four games for the Highlanders, boasting a 2.86 ERA.
 
SCOUTING CAMPBELL
The Camels currently sit at 0-4 on the young season. Campbell had its first two games of the year cancelled, and had a contest against Elon postponed to a later date. The Camels most recently faced a 10-1 loss against New Mexico State that ended after five innings. Taesha DuBoise leads the club with a team-high six hits and a .667 batting average. Katie Baker and Courtney Roberts are the leading pitchers for the Camels.
 
SCOUTING THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
The College of Charleston is the host of the Wyndham Garden Classic. The Cougars are 4-5 on the season, winning their last outing, 5-1, against Omaha in the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic. Sydney Shipley was awarded the win for allowing just one earned run in five innings of play. Shipley is now 1-2 on the season. Rebecca Mueller led the way with two RBI, and Kelly Sinclair went 3-for-3 in that victory.
 
THE LAST TIME
UMass Lowell also played at the Cougar Classic last season, going 2-2. In 2015, the team earned wins in its first and last games of the tournament, defeating Bethune-Cookman, 6-2, and Army, 13-8. The team's game against the College of Charleston was cancelled before the River Hawks were defeated by Marshall (3-0) and UNC Greensboro (6-0).
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
After one weekend of action, the River Hawks sit fourth in the America East standings. Binghamton and Stony Brook are currently tied for first with overall records of 2-3.
 
NOTABLES
Alyssa Zinkiewicz has already tied her career high with a pair of home runs so far in 2016 … Kaysee Talcik pitched a one-hitter against Manhattan on Feb. 20 in her first career appearance as a River Hawk.