Thursday, April 27
at Maine (4 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Saturday, April 29
vs. UMBC (DH, 1 p.m.) - Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Sunday, April 30
vs. UMBC (12 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Twitter: @RiverHawkSB @RiverHawkNation Tweet #UnitedInBlue
 
LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell softball team (18-18, 9-4 AE) will conclude what has been its best season at the Division I level yet with its final four games this week. The River Hawks first make the trek to Maine to wrap up its America East Conference series against the Black Bear on Thursday, April 27 at 4 p.m. The squad then welcomes UMBC to River View Field for its last three-game league series of the year on April 29-30.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
UMass Lowell owns an 18-18 overall record and a 9-4 mark in America East games after finishing 3-1 last week. The River Hawks first pulled out an exciting, 4-2 win in nine innings at Boston University on April 18. In that contest, junior Vanessa Cooper (Pleasant Gap, Pa.) hit what would be the game-winning homer, a two-run shot to right center in the top of the ninth. Over the weekend, UMass Lowell traveled to Stony Brook and took two of three games in that conference series with a 10-4 win in game two and a 3-1 victory in game three.
  
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 36 games this year, freshman Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) has turned in an impressive, conference-leading .418 average on 51 hits. She also paces the team with 10 doubles, a .631 slugging percentage and a .478 on-base percentage. Five other River Hawks are batting over .300 this season, including junior Madison Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) and senior Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia), who follow with .356 and .328 averages, respectively. Senior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) has notched a team-best 29 runs scored and four stolen bases, while sophomore Sydney Barker (Upland, Calif.) is first on the squad with six home runs and 28 RBI. Senior pitcher Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) boasts a team-best 8-8 record with a 3.79 ERA and two saves. Sophomore hurler Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) is leading the squad's staff with 74 strikeouts. 
 
SCOUTING MAINE
Maine currently owns a 15-18 overall record in 2017, including a 9-1 mark in America East play, after sweeping a doubleheader at UMBC last weekend. Rachel Carlson leads the Black Bears with a .356 average, while Alyssa Derrick is first on the squad with 29 RBI so far. Annie Kennedy is 5-3 in the circle this season with a team-best 3.90 ERA.   
 
SCOUTING UMBC
The Retrievers are 19-24 so far this year with a 3-7 record in America East games. Maddie Daigneau is batting .390 this season with 53 hits and eight doubles. Kaelin Jackson adds 22 RBI to pace the squad. In the circle, Kim Puccio owns a 2.33 ERA with a 9-8 record and 62 strikeouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Heading into Thursday, Maine leads the all-time series against UMass Lowell, 9-3, after the squads split a doubleheader in Lowell on April 13. The River Hawks also split a twin bill at UMBC last year, as the Retriever hold a 7-1 advantage in that all-time series.
 
CONFERENCE STRIDES
With two wins at Stony Brook last weekend, the River Hawks have now logged nine America East Conference wins this year, good for the most in the program's Division I history. The team has also won all four conference series it has played so far, another first for the program. Previous records in a single season were five league games wins and one series win.
 
SEVENTH HEAVEN
UMass Lowell's 9-8 win at Binghamton on April 15 marked the fifth time this year that the River Hawks have been tied with their opponents heading into the seventh inning. The team has consistently thrived in these pressure situations in 2017, boasting a perfect, 5-0 record so far in games that were tied at the start of the seventh.
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!
The River Hawks have already played six extra innings games in 2017 and have won five of those contests. Most recently, the squad downed Boston University, 4-2, in nine innings on the road.
 
ZEROING IN
Kaysee Talcik turned in the most dominate performance of her career to date in game one of a doubleheader at Hartford on April 2. In that contest, the sophomore pitcher not only hurled her first career no-hitter, but also picked up her second complete-game shutout of the season. The no-hitter marked the first for the program since 2010.
 
BOMBS AWAY
The River Hawks' bats came alive at the UNCW Tournament on March 17-19, with eight home runs in five games. With only 13 long balls all of last season, the team has already surpassed that mark, combining for 23 homers through 36 games, which ties the Division I program record.
 
DOUBLING UP
The River Hawks, who logged a season-best four doubles in an extra-innings win at North Texas on Feb. 11, are currently leading the conference with 49 doubles on the year.
 
WALK IT OUT
Redshirt-freshman Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) has drawn 18 walks so far in 2017. That puts her third in the America East rankings.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
UMass Lowell is tied with Maine for the most wins in league play right now (9). As a team, the River Hawks are leading the America East in several offensive categories, including batting average (.299) and on-base percentage (.374).
 
RECEIVING RECOGNITION
Courtney Cashman picked up her third America East Rookie of the Week nod this season on April 18, boasting a .588 average with 10 hits and six RBI. Previously, she had also been named Rookie of the week on April 11 following an impressive, five-game week that included nine hits, six RBI a 1.000 slugging percentage and on March 21 after batting .500 with eight runs and eight RBI in six games. She has earned River Hawk of the week honors twice so far in 2017. Kaysee Talcik picked up 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 eight strikeouts.
 
NOTABLES
Kaysee Talcik logged a personal-best 10 strikeouts at Binghamton (4.15) … Casey Harding posted a career-high three RBI against UAlbany (4.9) … Lauren Ramirez forced a season-best eight strikeouts against UAlbany (4.8) … Talcik fanned eight batters en route to her first career no-hitter at Hartford (4.2) …   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) … Tori Alcorn totaled a personal-best four RBI in the win vs. UND … Harding logged her first career home run at North Texas (2.11).