QU Box Score (PDF) | FAMU Box Score (PDF)

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Junior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) went 3-for-6 (.500) at the plate with two runs scored, as the UMass Lowell softball team (4-18) was handed a pair of tough losses on day two of the USF Under Armour Tournament in Clearwater.
 
Both contests were within reach until the final out. The River Hawks dropped a 5-3 decision against Quinnipiac (7-11) in a game that was halted in the fifth inning for more than five hours due to rain and lightning in the area. The squad then battled to a 1-0 finish with Florida A&M (9-17) that came down to the bottom of the seventh when sophomore Kate Mims (West Chester, Pa.) was robbed of a game-tying home run on a leaping grab over the fence by the Rattlers' left fielder.
 
"In the first game, we had a lot of opportunities early that we didn't capitalize on," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "This last game was well-fought and came down to a home run being robbed in the bottom of the seventh, but we played the hardest that I've seen so far this year, so if we continue to play like that, I believe things will start to turn around."
 
In addition to T. Alcorn, seven other River Hawks recorded a hit on the day, including junior Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia), who picked up the team's lone multi-base hit, and junior Alyssa Hasbrouck (Middletown, N.Y.), who added one RBI. Junior Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) took the decision in the circle in game one, while Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) threw game two. Both pitchers recorded three strikeouts in their respective outings.
 
Quinnipiac plated a run in its first trip to the dish in game one on a RBI double down the left field line by Sydney Robey. However, the River Hawks were quick to answer in the bottom of the first, loading the bases with no outs before junior Taylor August (Howell, N.J.) was hit by a pitch and Hasbrouck drove a RBI single over the third baseman's head to give UMass Lowell a 2-1 edge.
 
Although the Bobcats threatened to regain the upper hand in the second, putting a pair of runners in scoring position, Ramirez and the River Hawk defense extinguished the opportunity. In the home half of the inning, UMass Lowell loaded the bases once again, this time thanks to hits from T. Alcorn and freshman Brianna West (Fairfield, Conn.), and a bunt from Welch. The squad was then able to extend its margin to 3-1, as sophomore Samantha McQueen (Ewing, N.J.) put a slow roller in play that scored T. Alcorn.
 
QU cut the deficit back to one in the third on a sacrifice fly. The River Hawks held the visitors scoreless in their next two at-bats when the Bobcats stranded three runners. After just one pitch in the bottom of the fifth, a bolt of lightning sent the game into a delay.
 
Play resumed five hours later and Quinnipiac rallied for three runs on four hits in the top of the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. Welch roped a liner to the fence in center in the home half of the inning, but the River Hawks were unable to make up the difference, sealing the comeback victory for the Bobcats.
 
Against Florida A&M, freshman Ashley Smits (Worcester, Mass.) showed her speed in right with a trio of long-range catches during the Rattlers' first two at-bats to help keep the visitors off the board. On offense, the River Hawks pressured in the early innings, loading the bases in the first and putting two runners in scoring position in the second with a shot to left by Mims and an infield single by T. Alcorn.
 
The UMass Lowell defense continued to impress in the third, as sophomore Vanessa Cooper (Pleasant Gap, Pa.) made a pair of unbelievable extensions at first and August laid out to make a great grab in foul territory near the third base dugout.  
 
Cooper led off the bottom of the fourth with a blast to left, but the River Hawks would not string anything together. Florida A&M broke the scoreless stalemate in the fifth with a single followed by a RBI triple from Jessica Nathan. UMass Lowell had the opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh off the bat of Mims, but the catch over the fence helped secure the 1-0 win for FAMU.
 
The River Hawks wrap up tournament play in Florida against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Sunday, March 20. First pitch for that game is slated for 9 a.m.