POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The UMass Lowell baseball team nearly erased an 8-1 deficit after five innings, but fell 8-7 to Marist in non-conference action on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The River Hawks (9-12) had the tying run on second in the ninth, following a Steve Passatempo (Medford, Mass.) RBI single, but could not draw even.
 
Passatempo paced the visitors on the day with three hits and four RBI, including a three-run home run in the sixth to help spark the rally. UMass Lowell's two through four hitters combined for six hits, four runs and drove one run in as well.
 
Kyle Maurice (Exeter, N.H.) continued his recent hot streak with the contest's first RBI, singling home Passatempo after a double in the second.
 
After the River Hawks took their lead, the Red Foxes (8-11) scored at least one run in the next four innings, including three in the third and fifth to build an 8-1 lead.
 
The visitors began their rally with two singles after a walk in the sixth, as Maiola singled home Mark Tumosa (Willington, Conn.), leading to Passatempo's blast, cutting the deficit to three.
 
Marist looked to respond in the bottom half of the frame with runners on the corners and one out, but Ricky Constant (Nashua, N.H.) picked up two strikeouts to end the threat.
 
UMass Lowell added single runs in the seventh on a wild pitch and in the ninth on Passatempo's third hit.
 
In his first career start, Matt O'Connor (Malden, Mass.) struck out two in over two innings of work, allowing two earned runs. The River Hawks used eight pitchers including John Polichetti's (Atkinson, N.H.) college debut on the mound.
 
UMass Lowell heads to Long Island for a three-game series at Stony Brook on Friday and Saturday. Action on both days will start at 12 p.m.