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

NORFOLK, Va. – The UMass Lowell (6-6) baseball team had an impressive day in sweeping Manhattan (2-9) in a non-conference doubleheader, taking game one 10-1, before a 5-2 victory in game two on Sunday afternoon.
 
Chris Sharpe (Burlington, Mass.) powered the River Hawks in the first game, going 4-for-6 with three RBI and three runs, finishing a single short of the cycle. In game two, Collin Duffley (Manchester, Mass.) silenced the Jaspers' bats and struck out six over six scoreless innings.
 
"it was good to a get a sweep as we could not do that once last season," commented Head Coach Ken Harring. "We swung the bats and our pitching was really good, and we are really starting to figure out who we are as a team. The guys are getting better in all facets of the game and that is really encouraging."
 
Sharpe led off game one with a triple and scored on an Oscar Marchena (Miami, Fla.) RBI groundout. After Manhattan knotted up the score 1-1 in the bottom of the frame, Colby Maiola (North Reading, Mass.) scored Sharpe with a fielder's choice.
 
UMass Lowell broke the game open with a six-run fifth behind four doubles and a single, opening an 8-1 buffer. Austin Young's (Millbury, Mass.) one-out single was followed up by a Maiola double that scored Steve Passatempo (Medford, Mass.) and Young. Cam Climo (Billerica, Mass.) picked up a two-bagger to score Maiola, then Ben Prada (Laurel, Md.) hit a double down the left field line to score a pair. Sharpe recorded his second double of the contest to score Prada and the final run of the inning.
 
Sharpe continued his monster game with a two-run shot in the seventh inning to extend the River Hawks' advantage to 10-1.
 
Andrew Ryan (Rochester, Mass.) improved to 2-1 with six strikeouts over six innings, scattering four hits and two walks.
 
UMass Lowell took a 2-0 lead after four innings in game two, with Marchena scoring Sharpe in the first and John Polichetti (Atkinson, N.H.) driving in Young with a single in the fourth.
 
The River Hawks recorded their eighth and ninth doubles of the day in the fifth to score three times and build up a 5-0 buffer. Passatempo drove home Marchena after the shortstop reached with a two-out single, and Maiola picked up his fourth and fifth RBI with his double that scored Young and Passatempo.
 
Manhattan scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but Nick Rand (Hyde Park, N.Y.) was able to close the door for the win.
 
UMass Lowell looks to move above .500 for the first time this season against the Delaware Blue Hens on March 13 at 3 p.m.