Friday, February 23
vs. Missouri State (11 a.m.) - Live Stats | Watch Live
vs. Alcorn State (1 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Saturday, February 24
at Louisiana Tech (9 a.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
vs. Saint Louis (11 a.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Sunday, February 25
vs. South Dakota (9 a.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Tournament Central
 
Twitter: @RiverHawkSB @RiverHawkNation Tweet #UnitedInBlue
 
RUSTON, La. – The UMass Lowell softball team (0-5) will play five games at the Louisiana Tech Invitational this weekend, Friday-Sunday, February 23-25.
 
The River Hawks are slated to take on Missouri State and Alcorn State on Friday, Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. The team plays a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 24 squaring off against host Louisiana Tech at 9 a.m. before taking on Saint Louis at 11 a.m. The weekend then concludes with a single game against South Dakota on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 9 a.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks went 0-5 in their first weekend of competition in 2018 at the Pediatric Cancer Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. The team faced off against three 2017 NCAA Tournament participants over the course of the weekend, including No. 10 Tennessee, who took a 4-1 decision in the season opener on Feb. 16. The same day, UMass Lowell led SEC opponent Missouri, 4-3, through five innings before eventually falling, 9-4. Other decisions on the weekend included a 4-0 loss to Florida Atlantic and a 4-2 setback against Marshall on Feb. 17, in addition to a 5-3 outcome in favor of Oakland on Feb. 18.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through five games, senior Sam McQueen (Ewing, N.J.) and redshirt-sophomore Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) pace the River Hawks with three hits apiece, as well as a .250 and .214 batting average, respectively. Harding also boasts three RBI and eight total bases with one home run. Senior Vanessa Cooper (Pleasant Gap, Pa.) is first on the squad with four walks so far, while sophomore Marianna Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) owns a .357 on-base percentage. In the circle, junior Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) totaled 15 strikeouts in four appearances, including nine against Tennessee.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
UMass Lowell was one of just two America East teams to open the season last weekend. UMBC also played and now sits at 0-3.
 
WEEKLY AWARDS   
Kaysee Talcik earned the first America East Pitcher of the Week award of the 2018 season for her performance in four appearances at the Pediatric Cancer Invitational from Feb. 16-18. She led the pitching staff with a 3.00 ERA in 14 innings, totaling 15 strikeouts.