Thursday, March 30
at Boston College (4 p.m.) – Live Stats
 
Saturday, April 1
at Hartford (3 p.m.) - Live Stats
 
Sunday, April 2
at Hartford (DH, 12 p.m.) – Live Stats
 
Twitter: @RiverHawkSB @RiverHawkNation Tweet #UnitedInBlue

LOWELL, Mass. – After 10 days without a game, the UMass Lowell softball team (7-12) is set to return to action with four contests this week.
 
The River Hawks, who were originally supposed to travel to Boston College on Wednesday, March 29, are now slated to visit BC for a weekday clash on Thursday, March 30, before opening America East Conference play with a three-game series at Hartford on Saturday-Sunday, April 1-2.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
UMass Lowell owns a 7-12 overall record after finishing it tournament season. Most recently, the team wrapped up its spring break trip with five games at the UNCW Tournament on March 17-19. The squad finished 2-3 that weekend, picking up victories against Georgetown on March 17 and St. Bonaventure on March 18. The River Hawks' bats came alive for an 18-hit performance in a 14-2 victory against the Hoyas before downing St. Bonaventure 9-0 also in five innings the following day. Freshman Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) was strong at the plate all weekend, totaling 10 hits for a .500 average with eight runs scored, seven RBI, three doubles and two home runs. Sophomore pitchers Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) and Sydney Wash (Suffolk, Va.) each registered a win in the circle.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 19 games this year, junior Madison Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) leads the River Hawks with a .394 batting average and a .636 slugging percentage. Rookies Marianne Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) and Courtney Cashman have added to the offense, hitting .389 and .379, respectively. Cashman is boasting a team-best 25 hits and six doubles, while Sparacia is first on the squad with a .450 on-base percentage. Senior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) adds 15 runs scored to pace her team and sophomore Sydney Barker (Upland, Calif.) is first at the plate with 15 RBI and four home runs. Kaysee Talcik paces the pitching staff with a 4-6 record, while senior Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) totals 32 strikeouts.
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!
The River Hawks have already played four extra innings games in 2017 and have won three 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 put together an 11-game reached base streak from Feb. 24 to March 17, good for the team's longest of the season. She is also tied for the longest hitting streak of the year with classmate Courtney Cashman (7 games).
 
BOMBS AWAY
The River Hawks' bats came alive at the UNCW Tournament on March 17-19, with eight home runs in five games. Just 19 games into the season, the team has already matched the total number of long balls they logged all of last season (13) to sit third in the America East.
 
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 currently ranked second in the conference with 27 doubles on the year.
 
WALK IT OUT
Redshirt-freshman Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) has drawn 10 walks so far in 2017. That is almost twice as many as the next closest person on the squad (Marianne Sparacia, 6) and puts her tied for fifth in the America East rankings.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Heading into the first weekend of conference play, UAlbany (11-7) and UMBC (14-16) are at the top of the America East standings. As a team, the River Hawks are ranked first with a .422 slugging percentage, and second with 140 hits and 216 total bases.
 
RECEIVING RECOGNITION
Courtney Cashman was named both America East Rookie of the Week and River Hawk of the Week on March 21 after batting .500 with eight runs and eight RBI in six games. 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
Courtney Cashman set new season highs with five RBI and four hits, and tied a program record with two home runs against Georgetown (3.17) … Emily Stevenson registered her first career home run against Georgetown (3.17) … Alisha Welch logged a season-high three hits with two doubles against Chattanooga (3.11) … Marianne 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).