Wednesday, April 11 at Maine (DH, 2 p.m.)
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Saturday, April 14 vs. Army (DH, 12 p.m.)
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Twitter: @RiverHawkSB @RiverHawkNation Tweet #UnitedInBlue
 
LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell softball team (11-17, 5-1 AE) will play a pair of doubleheaders this week, first visiting America East opponent Maine on Wednesday, April 11 at 2 p.m. before hosting Army on Saturday, April 14 at 12 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks swept a three-game conference series against Hartford on April 7-8 to improve to 5-1 in America East action. All three of the weekend's contests were decided in six innings, with 14-5 and 9-1 victories in a doubleheader on April 7 followed by an 11-1 decision on April 8. Sophomore Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) paced the team at the plate in the series with a .727 batting average and a 1.182 slugging percentage. Each of the three River Hawk pitchers on staff earned a win, as freshman Lovina Capria (Deltona, Fla.) set a new season high with 11 strikeouts in game one.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 28 games, sophomore Marianne Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) paces the River Hawks with a .383 batting average and a .427 on-base percentage. Courtney Cashman and redshirt-sophomore Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.), who follows closely with .365 and .337 averages, respectively, are tied for first on the squad with nine doubles. Cashman is leading the River Hawks with 19 runs scored, as well. Harding and senior Madison Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) each boast four home runs, while Harding owns a team-best 16 RBI and a .614 slugging percentage. Freshman Sara Siteman (Hudson, N.H.) totals 14 walks. Lovina Capria leads the pitching staff with an 8-3 record and a 2.54 ERA. Junior Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) is first with 65 strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING MAINE
The Black Bears currently own a 13-15 overall record with a 4-1 mark in conference play. Most recently, the squad split a doubleheader at UAlbany with a 3-2 loss in eight innings and a 4-3 win. So far this season, Rachel Carlson (.344) and Maddie Decker (.312) are pacing the team at the plate, while Annie Kennedy is 6-3 in the circle with a 1.66 ERA.
 
SCOUTING ARMY
Currently, Emily Ballesteros is batting a team-best .308 with 16 RBI. In the circle, Courtney Springman is 10-12 with a 1.66 ERA.  
 
SEEING DOUBLE
As a team, the River Hawks lead the America East with 47 doubles in 2018. The squad logged a season-high five two-baggers in both the first and third games against Hartford on April 7 and 8, respectively. Individually, Courtney Cashman and Casey Harding are tied for first in the league with nine doubles each. Cashman posted a season-high, two at both Sacred Heart (3.24) and UMBC (3.31).
 
PLAYING THE LONG GAME
The River Hawks already have 16 home runs as a team in 2018 and are in the midst of a five game streak with at least one home run. During the stretch, the team has set a season high with two long balls on three occasions, including twice against Hartford. Madison Alcorn was responsible for three of the team's five homers in the Hartford series. Additionally, Sarah Ratcliffe went yard with her first career grand slam and the team's first of the season against Hartford on April 8.
 
SHUT.IT.OUT.
Lovina Capria registered her first career shutout, hurling a one-hitter to seal a 6-0 victory against Holy Cross on March 17. In that contest, she fanned a season-high eight batters, as well. She then added a 9-0 shutout with just one hit at Quinnipiac on March 25.
 
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 squad also earned a 3-1 win in eight innings at Sacred Heart on March 24 and a 4-2 win in eight innings at UMBC on March 31. The team has a history of success in extras with a 23-0 record this season and a 9-4 record since 2016.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
UMass Lowell and Maine currently lead the America East with 5-1 records in conference play. As a team, UMass Lowell leads the league with 290 total bases and 94 RBI. Individually, Marianne Sparacia and Courtney Cashman are tied for second in the league with 31 hits, while Casey Harding is second with a .614 slugging percentage. Lovina Capria is first in the America East with eight wins, 65 strikeouts and two shutouts.
 
WEEKLY AWARDS
Courtney Cashman turned in a .727 batting average and a 1.182 slugging percentage and Sara Ratcliffe logged seven RBI with a walk-off grand slam to earn America East Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively, following the Hartford series on April 10. Sara Siteman and Lovina Capria were tabbed with weekly awards on March 27, as Siteman batted .833 (5-6) with a 1.500 slugging percentage to garner her third straight Rookie of the Week and Capria went 2-0 with her second shutout of the year to earn Pitcher of the Week honors. The River Hawks also swept the America East Weekly Awards on March 20, as Courtney Cashman was named Player of the Week, Siteman was named Rookie of the Week and Capria was tabbed Pitcher of the Week. Siteman was also named America East Rookie of the Week on March 13, having led the team with a .444 on-base percentage with two hits and two walks at the Mississippi State Tournament. 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 Katelyn Ellard (Cary, N.C.) earned her first career win in the circle against Hartford (4.8) … Sara Ratcliffe jacked her first career grand slam against Hartford (4.8) … Madison Alcorn posted a single-game, personal-best two home runs against Hartford (4.7) … Lovina Capria fanned a season-high 11 batters against Hartford (4.7) … Ratcliffe notched her first career home run to plate the game-winning run in a 4-2, extra-innings win at UMBC (3.31) … Ratcliffe drew a season-high four walks at Sacred Heart (3.24) … Courtney Cashman registered two doubles at Sacred Heart (3.24) … Sara Siteman logged three hits, three RBI and two doubles vs. Seton Hall (3.16) … freshman Olivia Labbe (Rochester, Mass.) recorded three hits against South Dakota (2.25) … 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).