UT Box Score (PDF) | MIZZOU Box Score (PDF)

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The UMass Lowell softball faced a pair of setbacks against SEC opponents on opening day for the 2018 season and the Pediatric Cancer Invitational in Clearwater.
 
The team first fell, 4-1, against No. 10 Tennessee in game one of the day before being handed a 9-4 decision by Missouri in the nightcap.
 
"I'm incredibly proud of this team," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "These were our first games of the season and we played two SEC opponents. We fought every single inning, and came out here and competed."
 
Senior Madison Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) led the River Hawk offense, batting .500 (2-4) with one RBI and two walks. Sophomore Emily Stevenson (West Jefferson, Ohio) also totaled two hits (.333) with one double. Junior Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) and freshman Katelyn Ellard (Cary, N.C.) each took a decision in the circle, as Talcik went the distance against Tennessee with nine strikeouts.
 
UMass Lowell and Tennessee each stranded a runner on third in the first inning of game one, as redshirt-sophomore Casey Harding (Cheshire, Con.) led off with a walk. The River Hawks would open the scoring the top of the second, though, when freshman Sara Siteman (Hudson, N.H.) and Stevenson logged the first base hits of the day and Alcorn followed with a RBI double to left.
 
Talcik forced a big strikeout in the bottom of the second to leave a pair of UT runners in scoring position and keep her squad's one-run margin intact. However, the Lady Vols used a base-clearing double to center to pull in front, 3-1, in the third. Chelsea Seggern then singled down the right field line in the home half of the fourth to give Tennessee its winning margin, 4-1.
 
In game two, Missouri jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a two-RBI double to deep center in its first at-bat and a solo home run by Callie Martin in the second. The River Hawks would respond in the bottom of the second, though, as senior Colleen Frank (Berkeley Heights, N.J.), who was pinch running following a two-bagger from Stevenson, and Siteman were able to score on a Tigers miscue.
 
The teams combined for five runners left on through the next two innings with Mizzou holding onto the one-run buffer until UMass Lowell took control of the momentum in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore Marianne Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) led off with a base hit to straight-away center, bringing up Harding, who drove her first homer of the season over the wall in left to give the River Hawks a 4-3 advantage.
 
The Tigers answered in their next trip to the plate, however, putting the game out of reach with six runs on three hits and an error.
 
The River Hawks will play two more games at the tournament tomorrow against Florida Atlantic at 3 p.m. and Marshall at 5:30 p.m.