Friday, February 24 at Davidson (6 p.m.)
Live Stats
RHP Nick Kuzia (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. Durin Linger (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
Saturday February 25 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (1 p.m.)
Live Stats
RHP Luke Tomczyk (0-1, 8.31 ERA) vs. Corey Zeller (0-1, 11.25 ERA)
Sunday, February 26 vs. Lehigh (10 a.m.)
Live Stats
RHP Andrew Ryan (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs. Levi Stoudt (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Twitter: @RiverHawkBB @RiverHawkNation
LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team looks to build on its opening weekend and heads to North Carolina for the Davidson Tournament, where the River Hawks will play Davidson, Fairleigh Dickinson and Lehigh.
River Hawk Rewind
UMass Lowell took one game last weekend against UConn, winning the series finale 11-8 to finish the trip with a 1-3 record.
Russ Olive (Chelmsford, Mass.) and
Chris Sharpe (Burlington, Mass.) led the offense combining for 6 home runs, 10 RBI and three doubles over the four games. On the mound,
Collin Duffley,
Dan Cunico and
Ryan Searles did not allow a run over six innings out of the bullpen.
Ricky Constant picked up the first win of season, and
Nick Rand earned a save in the final contest.
Leading the Flock
Ben Prada (Laurel, Md.) sits atop the team with a .429 average and has drawn four walks. Olive and Sharpe are tied with three home runs and five RBI, while Sharpe leads the River Hawks with five runs, six hits and 17 total bases. The duo paces the offense with 1.000 and .895 slugging percentages, respectively. On the hill, Constant and Rand have the only win and save so far this season.
Nick Kuzia (Seymour, Conn.) has struck out six batters in his first start, two shy of his career high. The River Hawks are batting .231 and have a staff ERA of 5.45.
Scouting Davidson
The Wildcats (2-2) enter the weekend following a 12-11 midweek loss in 10 innings to High Point on February 21. Justin Lebek leads the team with a .625 average and has driven in five RBI, while Brian Fortier has connected on two homers and five RBI as well. The pitching staff has produced wins from Allen Barry and Smutzer, and Barry paces the pitchers with six strikeouts. Through for games, Davidson batters are batting .308 and the staff has a 3.65 ERA.
Scouting Fairleigh Dickinson
The Knights (0-3) dropped three straight to Savannah State over the opening weekend of play. In limited action, Jason Fatzinger has a .429 average with three runs scored, and Bobby Romano has the team's lone homer and four RBI, with eight total bases. On the mound, PJ Weeks and James Donlon leads the staff with a 2.70 ERA, while Danny Demetrops has a team-high seven strikeouts. Fairleigh Dickinson is batting .248 and the pitchers have a combined 6.00 ERA.
Scouting Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks open their season this weekend and play twice before meeting the River Hawks on Sunday morning. 2016's later in average, on-base percentage and hits returns in Jacen Nalesnik. He hit seven homers, scored 49 runs and recorded 36 RBI as well. Patrick Donnelly drove in 50 RBI to pace last season's team in 54 games, while David Young and his team-high 17 doubles is set to return as well. The pitching staff's ace, Mark Washington, will return to the top spot after going 6-1 with 1.80 ERA. The team's leader in strikeouts with 46, Peter Moore, will return to the mound as well.
Series History
This weekend marks the first meetings between UMass Lowell and both Lehigh and Davidson in baseball. The River Hawks are 1-1 all-time against Fairleigh Dickinson, following a 5-1 loss in 2015.
Power Surge
For the third time since joining Division I, the River Hawks hit three long balls in a single game in the win against UConn. The program's all-time mark is six, coming against Brandeis in 1996.
Hangin' 11
The 11 runs against UConn marked the second consecutive season-opening win that the River Hawks crossed the plate 11 times. Last season, UMass Lowell defeated Nicholls State, 11-2, to begin 2016 1-0. It also marks the third time in DI that the River Hawks scored more than 10 runs in their first win of the season (14, vs. Temple, 2014).
Notables
Olive earned River Hawk of the Week and America East Player of the Week accolades (2.21).
