Box Score: Game 1 | Game 2

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The UMass Lowell softball team (2-0) swept two games on the first day of the 2019 season and day one of the River City Leadoff hosted by Jacksonville University.
 
The River Hawks first defeated Providence (0-1), 7-4, on Friday afternoon before earning a 6-1 victory against Jacksonville (0-1).
 
"We played well all day," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "We were very patient the first game and drew a lot of walks. We added more offense in the second game and barreled up to more balls."
 
Junior Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) led the offense, going 4-for-5 (.800) at the plate with three doubles. Senior Sydney Barker (Upland, Calif.) added three hits and a team-best three RBI, while sophomore Sara Siteman (Hudson, N.H.) and freshman Tori Mueller (Clovis, Calif.) totaled two hits each and combined for three RBI. Senior Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) went the distance for the win in the circle in game one, and sophomore Lovina Capria (Deltona, Fla.) logged seven strikeouts en route to the game two victory.
 
Against Providence, Mueller led off the game with her first career hit to center field in her first collegiate at-bat to spark her squad's offense. The River Hawks then capitalized on three walks and a pair of hit batters to pull ahead, 3-0.
 
The Friars erased the difference in the top of the third with a base hit and a two-run miscue, forcing a 3-3 stalemate. PC was then able to take its first lead of the day following an inning and a half of scoreless action on an RBI double from Vanessa Portillo in the fifth.
 
The River Hawks responded in their next at-bat, though, plating four runs to pull in front, 7-4. Sophomores Meghan Chojnowski (Templeton, Mass.) and Olivia Labbe (Rochester, Mass.) both scored on passed balls in the inning, while Cashman and redshirt-junior Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) drew RBI walks to extend the margin.
 
Talcik allowed just two Friars to reach base in the final two innings, securing the 7-4 outcome for her squad.
 
In the nightcap, the defense controlled the early innings of play, combining for eight runners left on base. The River Hawks broke the scoreless stalemate in the top of the fourth when Mueller slapped a base hit to shallow left to score Barker.
 
Capria then retired the Dolphins' side in order in their next at-bat, allowing the visitors to make the score 2-0 in the fifth with back-to-back doubles from Cashman and Siteman. UMass Lowell would add four insurance runs in the seventh thanks to another RBI two-bagger from Siteman and a three-run home run from Barker, and although Jacksonville got on the board in the home half of the inning, the River Hawks sealed the 6-1 decision.
 
UMass Lowell plays two more games at the River City Leadoff tomorrow, Saturday, February 9, squaring off against Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. and Jacksonville again at 6 p.m.