Box Score (PDF)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The UMass Lowell Softball team (2-5) ended Day One of the Wyndham Garden Cougar Classic with a 1-1 record.
 
The team's first game of the day was forfeited by South Carolina State, resulting in a 7-0 win for the River Hawks. UMass Lowell then played the nightcap against Radford (4-1) of the Big South Conference, falling 8-1, at the Patriots Point Athletic Complex.
 
"We didn't play the first game, so that was a bad way to win," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "I don't know if that led into how we played in the second game, but overall, I didn't think our energy was very good. It didn't look like the defense we've had and Radford took advantage of those opportunities. I think we can be a better team tomorrow."
 
Senior Alyssa ZInkiewicz (Massapequa, N.Y.) paced the River Hawks with two hits against Radford (.667), while junior Emily O'Brien (Salem, N.H.) registered the team's lone RBI on the night. Freshman Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) earned the start and the decision for her two innings in the circle. Classmate Sydney Wash (Suffolk, Va.) came on in relief, striking out five in the last five innings.
 
Talcik got off to a good start, quickly retiring the Highlanders' side in order in the top of the first, allowing her team's offense to take an early lead. The River Hawks loaded the bases in the home half of the inning, thanks to hits from junior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) and Zinkiewicz, and a walk from junior Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia). O'Brien then put a ball in play to score Alcorn and give her squad the 1-0 edge.
 
Radford answered in the second with a two-out, two-run homer to center field, pulling in front, 2-1. Freshman Marisa Carrasco (Peoria, Ariz.), who recorded an infield single, was stranded on second in UMass Lowell's next at-bat before the Highlanders rallied for five runs on five hits in the third to extend their margin to 7-1.
 
The teams combined for three runners left on base in the next two innings, but Radford made the score 8-1 on a RBI single up the middle by Marissa Gagliano in the top of the sixth.
 
The River Hawks threatened with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with three walks, but were unable to close the gap, as Radford secured the decision.