ORONO, Maine – Oscar Marchena (Miami, Fla.) connected on his first career home run, but the UMass Lowell (12-11, 3-2) baseball team dropped the series finale, 8-5, to the Maine Black Bears (7-15, 1-2) on Sunday afternoon.
 
Marchena sent a line drive over the wall in left in the first inning to put the River Hawks on top, 1-0, as UMass Lowell scored in the first inning of each game in the series.
 
The Black Bears put up a seven spot in the top of the second innings, capped by a pair of two-run singles from Tyler Schwanz and Caleb Kerbs.
 
The River Hawks began to chip away in the bottom of the frame with two runs, as Chris Sharpe (Burlington, Mass.) picked up a RBI with a bases loaded walk and Marchena was hit to force across a run. Colby Maiola (North Reading, Mass.) began the inning with a single, followed by Russ Olive (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Ben Prada (Laurel, Mass.) walks.
 
UMass Lowell scored twice in the eighth to get within 8-5, but could not complete the comeback. Steve Passatempo (Medford, Mass.) got hit with the bases loaded and Colby Maiola (North Reading, Mass.) got robbed of a base hit and settled for a sacrifice fly on a diving catch in centerfield.
 
The River Hawks are scheduled to host Rhode Island on April 4 at 7 p.m.