DURHAM, N.C. – Connor Metelski (Wall Township, N.J.) pitched 7.1 shutout innings with four strikeouts, as the UMass Lowell baseball team silenced Gardner-Webb, 9-0, on Tuesday afternoon.
The sophomore pitcher shutdown the Bulldogs (10-7) for his first win of the season, as the River Hawk (6-8) staff combined to force Gardner-Webb to go 0-14 with runners on and 0-9 with runners in scoring position.
Vinnie Martin (Lodi, N.J.) paced UMass Lowell at the plate, as the freshman went 3-for-5 and scored three times.
Colby Maiola (North Reading, Mass.) drove in three with a pair of hits, and b
Ben Prada (Laurel, Md.) recorded two RBI.
For the third time in the last four games, the River Hawks scored a run in the first inning after Maiola doubled home Martin following the freshman's leadoff single.
The Bulldogs had runners on base in each of the first three innings, but Metelski was able to keep them off the board. The River Hawks rewarded their pitcher with two runs in the bottom of the third, sparked by Martin's double to begin the frame.
Back-to-back walks from
Steve Passatempo (Medford, Mass.) and Olive loaded the bases, and Maiola was hit by a pitch followed by a
Cam Climo (Billerica, Mass.) single and UMass Lowell built a 3-0 advantage.
A four-run fifth broke the game open for the River Hawks, as the lineup produced two doubles with two outs to plate three of the runs.
With runners on first and third with two outs, a wild pitch scored Olive to keep the inning alive. After a
Joey Castellanos (Nutley, N.J.) walk,
John Polichetti (Atkinson, N.H.) and Prada back-to-back doubles to clear the bases and open up a 7-0 cushion.
Single runs in the sixth and eighth capped off the scoring on the day, as another wild pitch sent Olive home and Maiola picked up his third RBI with a sacrifice fly.
Brian Dolan (Lowell, Mass.) and
Matt O'Connor (Malden, Mass.) pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out three and only allowing one baserunner.
UMass Lowell heads back to Virginia for a three-game weekend series at James Madison.
