Box Score (PDF)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Junior Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) tied a program record with two home runs, while redshirt-junior Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) added a solo shot of her own to help propel the UMass Lowell softball team (7-8) to a 6-4 victory against Northern Kentucky (4-13) at Santa Clara University on Tuesday afternoon.
 
"Today we had a great day at the plate and it was a good team win," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson.
 
Cashman finished 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored, while Harding went 3-for-4. Freshman pitcher Kaylie See (Chino Hills, Calif.) notched her first-career win with two strikeouts, and senior Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) earned the final two outs to record the save.  
 
See held the Norse hitless through the first two at-bats, allowing the River Hawks to take an early, 1-0 lead when junior Christina Rizzi (Manorville, N.Y.) stepped in with a pair of runners in scoring position and drove a shot to left center that scored senior Sydney Barker (Upland, Calif.), who had led off the second with a base hit.
 
Cashman stretched UMass Lowell's buffer with a two-run home run to straight-away center in the top of the third, but NKU scored on a sacrifice fly in the home half of the inning to make the score, 3-1.
 
The River Hawks turned a double play to quickly end the fourth inning before Cashman and Harding tagged back-to-back homers to start the fifth, extending the difference to 5-1. However, a three-run rally on two hits and three miscues in Northern Kentucky's next trip to the dish made it just a one-run game.
 
UMass Lowell was able to add an insurance run in the sixth, though, and Talcik came out of the bullpen in the seventh to seal the 6-4 win.
 
The River Hawks will play five more games in California this week as part of the Spartan Invitational hosted by San Jose State on March 14-16.