Wednesday, March 15
at Coastal Carolina (3 p.m.) – Live Stats
 
Friday, March 17
at UNCW (3 p.m.) - Live Stats | Watch Live
vs. Georgetown (5:30 p.m.) – Live Stats
 
Saturday, March 18
at UNCW (12:30 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
vs. St. Bonaventure (5:30  a.m.) – Live Stats
 
Sunday, March 19
vs. Georgetown (10 a.m.) – Live Stats
 
Twitter: @RiverHawkSB @RiverHawkNation Tweet #UnitedInBlue
 
CONWAY, S.C. – The UMass Lowell softball team (5-8) is looking at a busy week with six games to wrap up its 2017 spring break trip.
 
The River Hawks start things off with a mid-week matchup at Coastal Carolina that is set to begin at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15. Over the weekend, the squad will then take part in its last of four early-season tournaments at the UNCW Invitational in Wilmington. UMass Lowell will face three opponents in five games at that event, playing host UNCW and Georgetown twice each with one contest against St. Bonaventure, as well.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
UMass Lowell owns a 5-8 overall record through three tournaments in 2017. Most recently, the team traveled to Charleston to participate in the Holy City Showdown, finishing 2-3 in those games from March 10-12. That weekend, the squad picked up a pair of hard-fought victories that both came down to the team's final at-bat. On March 11, the River Hawks led Chattanooga, 1-0, in the early innings until the Mocs knotted the score at 1-1 in the fifth. Freshman Marianne Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) stepped up to the dish in the bottom of the seventh, driving the difference-maker to center to score secure the 2-1, walk-off victory. Similarly, in the final game of the tournament against host College of Charleston, the sides were knotted at 3-3 for the last five innings to force extra innings. This time, it was senior Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia) who drove in the game-winning run in the eighth. Sparacia led the team over the weekend at the plate, batting .529 with nine hits, while sophomore pitcher Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) registered both wins in the circle.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 13 games this year, Marianne Sparacia leads the River Hawks, batting .469 (15-32) with a .528 on-base percentage. Junior Madison Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.), who is hitting .400 with a team-best .600 slugging percentage, and Alisha Welch (.308) each boast four doubles so far. Senior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) adds eight runs scored to lead the squad, while sophomore Sydney Barker is first at the plate with nine RBI. Kaysee Talcik paces the pitching staff with a 3-3 record and senior Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) totals 24 strikeouts.
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!
The River Hawks have already played three extra innings game in 2017 and have won each of those contests. The squad first picked up an 8-6 victory at North Texas on Feb. 11 in eight innings before walking off in the eighth, 4-3, against Yale on Feb. 25, and downing Charleston, 4-3, in eight on March 12.
 
GOING STREAKING
Marianne Sparacia, who has gotten on base safely in the last eight consecutive games, logged the team's longest hit streak of the season from Feb. 24-March 11 (7 games). Classmate Courtney Cashman is knocking at the door with a active hit streak of six games that began on Feb. 25.
 
WALK IT OUT
Redshirt-freshman Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) has drawn eight walks so far in 2017. That is twice as many as the next closest person on the squad (Marianne Sparacia, 4).
 
DOUBLING UP
The River Hawks logged a season-best four doubles in an extra-innings win at North Texas on Feb. 11. Tori Alcorn, Marianne Sparacia, Vanessa Cooper and Casey Harding each registered a two-bagger in that contest. The River Hawks, who combined for three doubles in three of the five games at the Holy City Showdown from March 10-12, are ranked second in the conference with 20 doubles on the year.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Heading into this weekend, only UAlbany sits ahead of UMass Lowell, as the Great Danes lead the America East with a 12-4 overall record. As a team, the River Hawks are ranked third with 120 total bases. The squad is also fourth overall for several categories, including hits (81) and runs (38).
 
RECEIVING RECOGNITION
Kaysee Talcik earned her second career America East Pitcher of the Week nod and her first of the new season on Feb. 28, following her complete-game win against North Dakota in which she recorded a personal-best eight strikeouts.
 
NOTABLES
Alisha Welch logged a season-high three hits with two doubles against Chattanooga (3.11) … Marianna Sparacia tied a personal-best mark with three hits against both North Carolina (3.11) and Northern Kentucky (3.10) … Madison Alcorn set a new career high with three hits against Northern Kentucky (3.10) … Kaysee Talcik registered a career-high eight strikeouts against North Dakota (2.25) … Tori Alcorn totaled a personal-best four RBI in the win vs. UND … Lauren Ramirez forced a season-best six strikeouts at North Texas (2.11) and against Arkansas (2.12) … Casey Harding logged her first career home run at North Texas (2.11).
 
MAKING AN IMPACT
The UMass Lowell softball team was officially matched with a new Team IMPACT teammate, Emma Crapo, during a special Draft Day event on March 3. Team IMPACT is a Boston-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing chronic illnesses.