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CLEARWATER, Fla. – Junior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) paced the UMass Lowell softball team (4-16) with a .429 average (3-7), as the squad faced a pair of hard-fought setbacks on day one of the USF Under Armour Tournament in Clearwater.
 
The River Hawks had the game-winning and game-tying runs on base late in the first and second games, respectively. The team fell, 2-1, against Rutgers (12-14) in game one for its ninth one-run contest on the young season. UMass Lowell then dropped a 4-2 decision against Marist (12-4) to finish the afternoon.
 
"I'm proud of how they showed up and played," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "In both games, you could count a couple instances where the game could have been switched to our favor, but that's how the game goes. We need to figure out how to get passed that so we do get the wins, but I think we're close. We are a young team, but they were in it until the seventh inning in both games today."
 
Sophomore Madison Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) added to the offense, going 2-for-6 (.333). Freshman Brianna West (Fairfield, Conn.), who also totaled two hits, chipped in with one run scored, as well, while sophomore Samantha McQueen (Ewing, N.J.) logged two RBI on her first career home run. Junior Taylor August (Howell, N.J.) accounted for the River Hawks' remaining RBI on the day. Freshmen Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) and Sydney Wash (Suffolk, Va.) each threw a complete game in the circle. Talcik registered a season-high six strikeouts against Rutgers.
 
In the first inning of game one against Rutgers, Talcik struck out the visitors' side, allowing her squad to jump out to an early, 1-0 edge on four hits, including a RBI single from August.
 
The River Hawks stranded three runners combined in their next two chances with back-to-back hits from M. Alcorn and T. Alcorn, and a free base for junior Alyssa Hasbrouck (Middletown, N.Y.), who was hit by a pitch.
 
Rutgers got on the board and erased the deficit in the top of the fourth on a well-placed squeeze bunt by Elizabeth Adams. The Scarlet Knights threatened to take the lead in the same at-bat, but McQueen made a fantastic diving catch in center to save two runs and keep the score knotted at 1-1.
 
Neither side was able to make any noise in the fifth, although Rutgers scratched a run across in the top of the sixth, as Bridget Carr just barely beat the tag on a steal home and gave her team the 2-1 advantage.
 
The River Hawks threatened to go ahead with two outs in the sixth, loading the bases thanks to walks from sophomore Vanessa Cooper (Pleasant Gap, Pa.) and junior Emily O'Brien (Salem, N.H.), and a base hit through the left side by M. Alcorn, but the squad was unable to capitalize. The Scarlet Knights then held onto their lead in the seventh to secure the 2-1 decision.
 
In game two, Marist used a grand slam by Gabrielle Kelliher in the top of the first to pull ahead, 4-0. West recorded the River Hawks' first hit of the game in the bottom of the inning with a hard ball up the middle. UMass Lowell's next baserunners did not come until the third, as T. Alcorn ripped a two-out shot through the left side and West followed with a walk.
 
The Red Foxes went three-up and three-down in the fourth before UMass Lowell got on the board in their next trip to the dish, cutting the difference in half on a two-run long ball over the fence in left by McQueen.
 
Together, Marist and UMass Lowell stranded four between the fifth and sixth innings. The River Hawks continued to battle through their final at-bat, putting the tying run on base with a bunt single by T. Alcorn and a liner to left by junior Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia). However, the Red Foxes would extinguish the opportunity and hold on for the 4-2 decision.
 
The River Hawks continue their final tournament weekend with two more games tomorrow, taking on Quinnipiac at 9:15 a.m. and Florida A&M at 2:15 p.m.