Saturday, March 10
vs. Illinois (10 a.m.) - Live Stats
at Mississippi State (12 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Sunday, March 11
vs. Illinois (12 p.m.) – Live Stats
at Mississippi State (2:30 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Twitter: @RiverHawkSB @RiverHawkNation Tweet #UnitedInBlue
 
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Following a week off, the UMass Lowell softball team (2-8) returns to action with four games at the Mississippi State Tournament on Saturday-Sunday, March 10-11.
 
The River Hawks will play Illinois and Mississippi State in that order on both days, with games on Day One scheduled for 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. and games on Day Two set for 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks went 2-3 at the LA Tech Invitational in Ruston, Louisiana from February 23-25. The team picked up its first win of the 2018 season against Alcorn State in walk-off fashion, as redshirt-sophomore Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. The following day, the River Hawks picked up another thrilling victory, coming from behind to defeat Saint Louis, 3-2, in eight innings thanks to RBI from senior Madison Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) and freshman Meghan Chojnowski (Templeton, Mass.). Freshman Lovina Capria (Deltona, Fla.) earned both wins in the circle for UMass Lowell with a season-best seven strikeouts against Saint Louis.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 10 games, Casey Harding paces the River Hawks with a .333 batting average, 10 hits, six RBI and 20 total bases. Sophomore Marianna Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) has added to the offense, hitting .280 this season. Senior Colleen Frank (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) has scored a team-high seven runs so far, while Meghan Chojnowski owns a team-best .750 slugging percentage. Senior Vanessa Cooper (Pleasant Gap, Pa.) totals five walks, as well. In the circle, Lovina Capria boasts a 1.62 ERA, while junior Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) is first with 29 strikeouts.
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!
The River Hawks picked up a win in their first extra-innings game of 2018 against Saint Louis on Feb. 24. The team has a history of success in extras with a 7-4 record since 2016.
 
WEEKLY AWARDS  
Casey Harding received her first ever AE Player of the Week nod on Feb. 27 after boasting an impressive 1.221 OPS that included a .750 slugging percentage and a .471 on-base percentage at the LA Tech Invitational. 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.
 
NOTABLES
Freshman Olivia Labbe (Rochester, Mass.) recorded three hits against South Dakota (2.25) … Lovina Capria logged a season-high seven strikeouts against Saint Louis (2.24) … Casey Harding matched a career high with three RBI against Alcorn State (2.23) … Kaysee Talcik posted a season-best nine strikeouts against No. 10 Tennessee (2.16).