Box Score (PDF) | Henderson Postgame Interview | Highlights

LOWELL, Mass. – In a game that was tied on four separate occasions, senior Emily O'Brien (Salem, N.H.) drove in the winning run to seal an exciting, 9-8, walk-off win for the UMass Lowell softball team (12-15, 4-1 AE) against UAlbany (16-11, 1-4 AE) on Sunday afternoon.
 
With the win, the River Hawks finished the weekend, 2-1, to earn their first ever America East Conference series win against the Great Danes.
 
"I thought this was a great series," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "A walk-off win to end it, I mean you can't get much better than that. This was our second straight conference series win. The team said it was going to come down to who had more heart and they showed that all weekend long."
 
Senior Tori Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI to help lead the River Hawks' offensive effort, while redshirt-freshman Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) logged a personal-best three RBI on two hits. Pitchers Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) and Lauren Ramirez (Dracut, Mass.) split time in the circle, with Ramirez picking up the decision in relief.
 
The Great Danes went to work quickly in the top first, jumping out to a 3-0 edge with a gapper through the right side by Donna Conrad and a two-run home run by Elizabeth Snow. Although the River Hawks left two stranded in the bottom of the first, they erased the difference in the second when Harding plated two on a rope that skipped past the UAlbany shortstop and T. Alcorn followed with a RBI two-bagger up the middle.
 
The Great Danes broke the 3-3 stalemate in their next trip to the dish thanks to Snow's second long ball of the game, a solo shot over the left field fence. However, UMass Lowell responded once again, loading the bases for senior Alisha Welch(Langley, British Columbia), who knocked in freshman Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.), to make the score 4-4 after three complete.
 
The River Hawks took their first lead in the home half of the fourth using infield singles from T. Alcorn and Cashman to pull in front, 6-4, but UAlbany leveled the board for the third time in the contest with two runs in the top of the fifth.
 
The back-and-forth action continued in the seventh when Kelly Barkevich cranked the first pitch she saw over the scoreboard, putting the visitors ahead, 8-6. The River Hawks were not finished, though, as RBI from Harding and T. Alcorn knotted the game one final time and brought up O'Brien for the sacrifice fly that won the ball game.  
 
UMass Lowell now owns an 11-7 edge in the all-time series against the Great Danes. The River Hawks will wrap up its longest homestand of the season with a doubleheader against America East foe Maine on Wednesday, April 12. First pitch from River View Field is set for 3 p.m.