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CHARLESTON, S.C. – Sophomore Samantha McQueen (Ewing, N.J.) and freshman Brianna West (Fairfield, Conn.) each batted .600 (3-5) to lead the UMass Lowell softball team (3-8) to a 1-1 split on the final day of the Wyndham Garden Cougar Classic in Charleston.
 
The squad earned an exciting, 4-3 win against Campbell (3-6) in game one before falling, 10-0, in game two against the tournament host, College of Charleston (7-6).
 
"We had some ups and downs this weekend," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "This morning and last night, I thought the team played great. We were competitive and had a lot of energy. In this last game, I didn't think our at-bats were as good. Some people are finally starting to find their comfort zone and have confidence. Now we just have to figure out how to sustain that from game to game."
 
West added one run and one RBI to her stat line for the day. Junior Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia), who was one of three players to hit .400 (2-5) on Sunday, logged a team-best two RBI. Freshman Sydney Wash (Suffolk, Va.) picked up her first career win in game one, registering three strikeouts in six and a third innings, while senior Marielle Handley (Durham, Conn.) notched a save against Campbell before getting the start in game two. Junior Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) pitched the final three innings against the College of Charleston, holding the Cougars to just four hits and no runs.
 
In their first trip to the dish in game one, the River Hawks attacked quickly with three consecutive hits from junior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.), West and Welch to load the bases, but the squad was unable to capitalize, keeping the game scoreless through one.
 
Neither team scratched a run across in the second inning. McQueen impressed in center in the top of the third, tracking down a long fly ball at the warning track to keep Campbell off the board. UMass Lowell then carried that momentum into their next at-bat, as Alcorn tagged her first homer of the season to left to give her squad the slight, 1-0 edge.
 
The Camels utilized a passed ball and a sacrifice fly to knot the score at 1-1 in the top of the fifth. However, the River Hawks retaliated in the home half of the inning when a hit from West scored freshman Marissa Carrasco (Peoria, Ariz.) on a liner to left and Welch followed with a two-run single up the middle, putting UMass Lowell ahead, 4-1.
 
Campbell cut the difference to two in the top of the sixth with a RBI triple, before making it just a one-run game in the seventh on a hard hit up the middle. Handley was brought on in relief, though, and retired the first two batters she faced to secure the 4-3 victory.
 
In game two, the College of Charleston jumped out to 3-0 lead thanks to four hits and a pair of sacrifice flies. McQueen registered the first hit of the contest for the River Hawks in the top of the second, but CofC extended its lead to 8-0 in the home half of the inning on a RBI line drive to right field by Rebecca Mueller and a three-run home run by Sara Garcia.
 
The Cougars used a double to center to drive in one more in the third, and although West singled in the top of the fourth, CofC made the score 10-0 in their next chance.
 
The River Hawks made noise in the top of the fifth, as back-to-back hits from Carrasco and classmate Sydney Barker (Upland, Calif.) put runners in scoring position with no outs, but the home team would hold on to earn the 10-0 decision in five innings.