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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell softball team tied a program record with five home runs in a 9-4 victory against UMBC (19-27, 3-10 AE) in the season finale on Sunday.
 
With the win, the River Hawks completed their first ever three-game series sweep against UMBC. This squad, who finishes 2017 with its best Division I record yet at 21-19 overall and 12-5 in America East play, becomes UMass Lowell's single-season, winningest female team (.525) of the DI era, besting the 2014-15 women's basketball team (.482).
 
"I think it's great to go out with a sweep," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "We had the opportunity to get a win on Senior Day and get everybody in. This senior class is a great group of young women and they work hard. They have definitely left a lasting impression on this program."
 
The five long balls tied a record previously set in 2012 at the Division II level. Freshman Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) was responsible for two of those, marking her second game this season with a pair of homers. Sophomore Marisa Carrasco logged her first career home run in the outing, as well, with a grand slam. Seniors Emily O'Brien (Salem, N.H.) and Alisha Welch (Langley, British Columbia) finished the day batting .500 on two hits each. Senior Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) went the distance in the circle, totaling five strikeouts to finish 10-8 on the year.
 
The River Hawks celebrated Senior Day on Sunday with a special pre-game ceremony for their five graduates. The Class of 2017, made up of O'Brien, Ramirez, Welch, Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) and Alyssa Hasbrouck (Middletown, N.Y.), marks the squad's first class to play all four years at the Division I level.
 
The River Hawks came out swinging for their seniors, exploding for seven hits with three home runs to pull ahead in their first trip to the plate. Hasbrouck was the first to go yard, sending a two-run shot over the fence in center to put the home team on the board. Later in the at-bat, Carrasco and redshirt-freshman Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) went back-to-back with a grand slam and a solo homer to give their team an early, 7-0 advantage.
 
UMBC threatened to close the gap in the top of the second, loading the bases with one out, but Ramirez forced a pair of fly ball outs to extinguish the opportunity and keep the momentum with UMass Lowell. Cashman joined the home run derby in the bottom of the inning, turning on the first pitch she saw and sending it into the bullpen behind the left field fence, making the score 8-0.
 
Both sides left one on in the third, but the Retrievers were able to plate two runs in each of their next two at-bats, including a RBI double by Toni Santonastasso and a sacrifice fly by Kelly Lane, to cut the difference to 8-4 in the fifth. Cashman would score the last run of the game, though, on another solo bomb in the sixth, securing the 9-4 decision.
 
Sunday's contest marked the 11th meeting between UMass Lowell and UMBC in the sport of softball. The Retrievers still own a 7-4 edge in the all-time series.