Tuesday, May 1 vs. Boston College (4 p.m.)
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Friday, May 4 at UAlbany (DH, 2 p.m.)
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Saturday, May 5 at UAlbany (12 p.m.)
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Twitter: @RiverHawkSB @RiverHawkNation Tweet #UnitedInBlue
 
LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell softball team (19-22, 12-2 AE) heads into the final week of the regular season with four games on the schedule. The River Hawks will first host Boston College (26-21) in their final home game of the year on Tuesday, May 1 beginning at 4 p.m. The squad then visits UAlbany (24-13, 9-4 AE) for a three-game series on Friday-Saturday, May 4-5, looking to capture its first ever America East regular-season title.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks went 4-0 last week, defeating Maine in a duel for the top spot in the league standings before picking up a 4-2, non-conference victory at Holy Cross on April 26 and sweeping a doubleheader against America East opponent Stony Brook on April 28.  Senior Vanessa Cooper (Pleasant Gap, Pa.) paced the squad at the plate during the week with a .545 batting average, an .818 slugging percentage and six RBI. Junior Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) went 2-0 in the circle with a 0.64 ERA, allowing just six hits and fanning six in 11 innings. 
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 41 games, sophomore Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) leads the River Hawks with a .368 batting average, 46 hits, 28 runs scored, 13 doubles and a .592 slugging percentage. Classmate Marianne Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) and freshman Sara Siteman (Hudson, N.H.) follow closely with .342 and .314 averages, respectively. Redshirt-sophomore Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.), who is batting .308 in 2018, is tied with Siteman with a team-high 18 RBI. Freshman Lovina Capria (Deltona, Fla.) leads the pitching staff with an 11-4 record and a 2.49 ERA, while Kaysee Talcik is first with a career-best 98 strikeouts.
 
SEEING DOUBLE
As a team, the River Hawks lead the America East with 64 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 is first in the league with 13 doubles. Cashman posted a season-high two at both Sacred Heart (3.24) and UMBC (3.31).
 
PLAYING THE LONG GAME
The River Hawks, who already have 24 home runs as a team in 2018, put together a five game streak with at least one home run from March 31 to April 8. During that stretch, senior Madison Alcorn (Lowell, Mass.) was responsible for three of the team's five homers in the Hartford series. Additionally, freshman Sarah Ratcliffe (Pelham, N.H.) went yard with her first career grand slam and the team's first of the season against Hartford on April 8. The squad set a season high with three long balls in a single game on April 28 against Stony Brook.
 
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. She added a 9-0 shutout with just one hit at Quinnipiac on March 25 and a 1-0, extra-innings shutout at Maine. Talcik then recorded her first shutout of the year against Binghamton on April 21 when she allowed just two hits in the second game of a doubleheader. Capria and Talcik logged back-to-back clean sheets against Stony Brook on April 28 to improve to six shutouts for the staff in 2018, marking the most for the program since 2013.
 
K IS FOR KAYSEE
Kaysee Talcik is leading the America East with a career-high 98 strikeouts so far this season. The pitcher is ranked 42nd in the nation for strikeout-to-walk ratio. She has matched a career high with nine K's on three occasions, including back-to-back outings against Binghamton. She needs just two more strikeouts to become the first River Hawk to hurl 100 strikeouts in a season at the Division I level.
 
MOCCIO MAKING HER MARK
Freshman Maria Moccio (Feeding Hill, Mass.) had a breakout game against Maine on April 24, as she drove her first career home run to lift the River Hawks to a 5-4, walk-off victory. Since the Maine game, she is in the midst of a four-game hitting streak and is batting an impressive .500 (7-14) with five RBI.
 
GOING STREAKING
Courtney Cashman and Marianne Sparacia have each registered a 10-game hitting streak this season. Cashman also put together a 21-game stretch of reaching base safely.
 
WALK IT OUT
Sara Siteman, who totals a league-best 24 walks, is ranked 28th in the nation in free passes.
 
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. UMass Lowell is now 4-0 in extras this season with a 1-0 victory in eight at Maine on April 11. The team has a history of success in extras with a 10-4 record since 2016.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
UMass Lowell is currently leading the America East with 12-2 record in conference play. As a team, UMass Lowell is first in the league with 293 hits, 134 RBI and 437 total bases.
 
WEEKLY AWARDS
Lovina Capria picked up her third Pitcher of the Week nod this year on April 17 following a 1-0 week, and nine and two-thirds innings of scoreless work. 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 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
Maria Moccio recorded her first career home run to give the team a 5-4, walk-off win against Maine (4.24) … Kaysee Talcik struck out nine batters in back-to-back games against Binghamton (4.21, 4.22) … junior Sydney Barker (Upland, Calif.) junior Marisa Carrasco (Peoria, Ariz.) logged her first home run of the year against Army (4.14) … 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).