Box Score (PDF): Game 1 | Game 2

STANFORD, Calif. – Junior Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) went 3-for-6 at the plate to lead the UMass Lowell softball team (6-8) to a 1-1 finish on day two of the Cardinal Classic.
 
The River Hawks picked up a 4-1 victory against Bucknell in game one before being handed a 4-3 setback against Stanford in game two.
 
"We played well today," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "We keep playing better in the pressure situations. We will be ready for another tough game tomorrow against Bucknell."
 
Four other River Hawks added multiple hits on the day, including freshman Tori Mueller (Clovis, Calif.), who scored a team-high three runs, and sophomore Maria Moccio (Feeding Hills, Mass.), who totaled two RBI. Sophomore Lovina Capria (Deltona, Fla.) turned in a complete-game performance against Bucknell with three strikeouts, while senior Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) went the distance in game two.
 
Game one started as a defensive battle with six runners stranded through the first two innings before the Bison got on the board in the top of the third on a single up the middle. The lead was short-lived, though, as sophomore Sarah Ratcliffe (Pelham, N.H.) and senior Brianna West (Fairfield, Conn.) recorded a sacrifice fly and a base hit, respectively, to give the River Hawks a 2-1 edge.
 
Bucknell threatened to tie the score, putting a runner in scoring position in the top of the fifth, but the River Hawks stretched their lead to 4-1 in their next at-bat with another sacrifice fly, this time from Cashman, and a RBI two-bagger by Moccio. Capria limited the Bison to just one runner in each of their final two at-bats to secure the victory.
 
In Saturday evening's contest against Stanford, the River Hawks took a 1-0 lead in their first trip to the plate when sophomore Marianne Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) doubled in Mueller, who had led off with a base hit down the left field line. The Cardinal answered in the bottom of the same inning, though, thanks to a two-run home run.
 
The teams combined for just two hits in the next two innings, but Stanford extended its margin to 3-1 in the fourth. Moccio tagged a RBI single to plate Mueller and senior Sydney Barker (Upland, Calif.) knocked in Sparacia in the top of the fifth to knot the score at 3-3.
 
The deciding run would come in the bottom of the sixth on an infield groundout, giving the home squad the 4-3 win.
 
The River Hawks wrap up the Cardinal Classic on Sunday, March 10 against Bucknell at 12 p.m.