Box Score (PDF) - Game 1 | Game 2

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sophomore Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) hit .500 (3-6) with three runs and two RBI to lead the UMass Lowell softball team (5-15) to a split at Sacred Heart (15-9) on Saturday.
 
The River Hawks first pulled out a 3-1, extra-innings win against the Pioneers in game one before falling, 4-1, in game two.
 
"We played well on defense and in the circle in both games," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "We had some hits in the first game. We had too many strikeouts in the second game, which gave us less opportunity to score."
 
Cashman slugged 1.333 on the day with a .571 on-base percentage. Freshman Sara Siteman (Hudson, N.H.) went 2-for-2 in game one with one RBI, while redshirt-sophomore Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) also logged two hits on the day. Rookie Lovina Capria (Deltona, Fla.) matched a personal best with eight strikeouts in the game-one win.
 
The River Hawks and Pioneers combined for just three hits through the first three innings, as game one remained a scoreless pitchers' duel. UMass Lowell was able to plate the first run of the day in the top of the fourth when Cashman doubled to right field, advanced to third on a long fly ball by Siteman and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
 
SHU knotted the score at 1-1 in the fifth with two hits and a RBI groundout. The score remained even for the next two frames, sending the game into extra innings. However, UMass Lowell would pull ahead in the top of the eighth, thanks to RBI from Cashman and Siteman, before holding the Pioneers in their final at-bat to secure the 3-2 victory.
 
In game two, sophomore Marianne Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) recorded the first hit of the contest, but Sacred Heart pulled away early with four runs on four hits in the second inning.
 
Freshman pitcher Katelyn Ellard (Cary, N.C.) and the River Hawk forced the Pioneers to leave the bases loaded in the third, although the visitors would leave two of their own on in their next at-bat.
 
Both sides were retired in order in the next two innings until Cashman tallied the River Hawks' lone run of the outing on a solo homer in the sixth.  
 
The River Hawks will remain in Connecticut to play another twin bill against Quinnipiac tomorrow, Sunday, March 25, beginning at 12 p.m.