Game 1 Box (PDF) | Game 2 Box (PDF) | Highlights

LOWELL, Mass.— Chris Ortega (Miami, Fla.) scored the winning run on wild pitch in the sixth inning of game two to lift the UMass Lowell (7-6) baseball team to a split in their home opening series against NYIT (6-8).

UMass Lowell came out on top in the second game, 6-4, after falling in the opener by a score of 7-1.

The decisive inning started with Nick Barry (Grafton, Mass.) and Ben Prada (Laurel, Md.) earning back-to-back walks, with both advancing on a sac bunt from Oscar Marchena (Miami, Fla.). With Joe Consolmagno (Worcester, Mass.) at the dish, Ortega came home and beat the tag on a ball that just got awat from the catcher. Prada made the score 6-4 on Ian Strom's RBI groundout.

UMass Lowell started off game two scoring two runs in the first inning behind both Chris Sharpe (Burlington, Mass.) and Tyler Noe (Lynnfield, Mass.) getting hit by pitches with the bases loaded. Strom added another in the second, driving in Marchena, for the 3-0 buffer.

Consolmagno tripled home Barry in the fourth to open up the host's lead to 4-0.

The Bears struck with four runs in the top of the sixth with a two-run triple to the wall in center off the bat off Louis Mele. Two batters later a RBI groundout cut the advantage to 4-3. NYIT knotted up the score at 4-4 with an infield single with the bases loaded and two outs.

Consolmagno recorded half of the River Hawks' six hits, going 3-for-3, and Strom led the team with two RBI.

Brendan Long (Naples, Fla.) picked up his first win as a River Hawk, working over an inning with one strikeout. Steve Xirinachs (San Diego, Calif.) pitched five innings and allowed two runs while striking out four.

After falling behind 5-0 in the third inning of game one, UMass Lowell could not salvage a comeback and dropped the contest 7-1.

Marchena recorded a team-high two hits and broke up the visitor's no-hit bid with a single in the sixth. Brice Erickson (Leominster, Mass.) got the hosts on the board on sacrifice fly in the ninth, bringing home Consolmagno. The senior made a pair of web gems in right field, throwing out a runner at third in the fifth and making a diving catch in the ninth.

Andrew Ryan (Rochester, Mass.) suffered his first loss of the season to fall to 3-1, while NYIT's Elias Martinez pitched eight shutout innings to earn the win for the guests.

Both teams are back at it again tomorrow with another doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Nick Kuzia (Seymour, Conn.) and Kevin Veilluex (Manchester, N.H.) will take the rubber for the River Hawks.